Sekiro stands out the most from Elden Ring – Probably the greatest challenge
What kind of game is this?
- Sekiro leans on the other FromSoftware games, but has some significant differences.
- The story is told in a much more linear and concrete manner. Side quests are closely tied to it.
- The setting still offers some fantasy elements but is this time embedded in a real historical context.
- You have only one real melee weapon available: the katana.
- Instead of magic, there’s a prosthetic feature that gives you several offensive and defensive tools.
- Skills must be unlocked via skill trees, which was not the case in any of the recent FromSoftware games.
- Otherwise, Sekiro emphasizes the same mix of action-packed, challenging combat system, nested level design, and dark characters with a mysterious story.
- The combat system revolves around rhythmically parrying enemy attacks.
- New, however, is the grappling hook, which allows you to move quickly and agilely across the map like never before.
- Stealth and jumping are also part of the repertoire, similar to Elden Ring.
- Sekiro completely dispenses with multiplayer.
Here’s what it’s about: You take on the role of Sekiro, a shinobi who has pledged allegiance to the young lord Kuro, the heir to the Japanese imperial family. However, he is kidnapped by a hostile, very powerful clan.
You must set out to rescue your lord and uncover a far larger conspiracy revolving around the hunt for immortality. This involves numerous monsters, dark legends, and myths connected to Japanese mythology and history.
As in other FromSoftware games, you will explore many different areas, defeat numerous powerful bosses, and keep getting better and stronger. Sekiro significantly revises the gameplay.
Differences and similarities to Elden Ring
Here are the gameplay differences to Elden Ring:
- Unlike in Elden Ring, you don’t have a huge arsenal of weapons or armor at your disposal.
- The game world of Sekiro is nested and large but significantly smaller than the Between Lands.
- Instead of magic, you have prosthetic modules that enhance your offensive and defensive capabilities.
- You are as agile as never before in any FromSoftware game thanks to the grappling hook.
- With skill trees, you can unlock new abilities.
- No multiplayer mechanics.
- Since you only have one weapon and no coop options, Sekiro is considered the hardest of all Soulslike games.
- Sekiro relies much more on blocking and countering attacks at the right moment, while dodging is essential in most Soulslike games.
Here are the similarities to Elden Ring:
- Despite the linear story, there is a very similar narrative style for characters, main quests, and side quests.
- Stealth and jumping mechanics work almost identically.
- The structure of the game world is very similar to the legacy dungeons in Elden Ring.
- The controls remain almost identical.
Sekiro is also a critic’s darling and is celebrated by fans
This is how it’s rated: Sekiro received a score of 91 from critics on Metacritic on Xbox. The PC version received 88 from the press, while the PlayStation versions scored 90.
Sekiro was also rated very well by players. The user score ranges from 84 to 88.
Our colleagues at GameStar rated it 88 at that time, with Dimi Halley conducting the review. This was his conclusion:
Sekiro doesn’t let me go. […] The battles give me absolute highs, even if I’m getting my ass kicked by a giant gorilla for five hours. I study every attack of an enemy samurai, every feint, every trick – until he can no longer surprise me. Now it’s my turn. Suddenly my katana parries every attack until the enemy trembles and kneels – and then I serve him the bill with a cold smile.
But you have to be up for that. I’m a big fan of such parrying systems, where split-second skill is rewarded. I love to tinker patiently about how I can outsmart enemies. I felt that way years ago with Street Fighter 3, I also liked that mechanic in Dark Souls (where it appeared in a simplified form) – and I love it in Sekiro! But if you’re not into that fighting game precision, Sekiro offers frustratingly few alternatives.
So you should know exactly what kind of player type you are. If you’re like me, Sekiro could be your contender for Game of the Year 2019. But for that you have to be ready to bang your head against a wall in a dead end until the brick wall breaks. Not everyone has such a thick skull. I can understand that. In that case, you might want to consume Dark Souls as an easier entry snack. I never thought I would ever write that.
Unlike other FromSoftware games, however, Sekiro didn’t receive a dedicated DLC. But how do the two games compare in difficulty to Elden Ring?
Difficulty – Are Bloodborne and Sekiro harder than Elden Ring?
How difficult is Bloodborne in comparison to Elden Ring? In general, it’s difficult to compare FromSoftware games in terms of difficulty. Each game sets a different focus. This was also a big topic around the release of Bloodborne.
Bloodborne is definitely one of the more challenging games, but it is rarely truly unfair. So if you managed to cope with the difficulty in Elden Ring or fought your way through, you will likely have no major problems after a little acclimatization.
What about Sekiro? Here the question can be answered more definitively. Sekiro tightens the gameplay constraints a bit more than Bloodborne does.
- Since there are no multiplayer elements, players cannot simply call for coop partners when they struggle with a boss. There are also no aids like the spirit ashes, with which you can summon powerful allies to assist you.
- Thanks to prosthetic modules, you have numerous aids, but your only proper weapon remains the katana. This makes your selection much more limited than in Bloodborne with its many trick weapons or in Elden Ring with its vast selection of dozens of weapons.
In summary, it can be stated that Sekiro is likely to offer the greatest challenge for most players of all Soulslike games.
Bloodborne I would rate in the upper mid-range, while Elden Ring falls somewhere in between. But keep in mind that individual experiences can vary widely from player to player.
But what do you think about it? Have you played Bloodborne or Sekiro? Which titles would you recommend as alternatives to Elden Ring?
- 1
- 2
