Should Sekiro include an easy mode?

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a new game from From Software (Dark Souls series, Bloodborne). The director, Hidetaka Miyazaki, is known for creating difficult games and telling stories through limited text descriptions. Sekiro is no different but the gameplay is more intense and fast-paced in comparison to the Dark Souls series.

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Why is everyone arguing about Sekiro?

As usual, many people are complaining about the difficulty of the game. However, an article from PC Gamer where a journalist used cheats to beat the final boss has greatly spread across the internet. The writer wrote about how he didn’t feel guilty about using cheats because he had lost patience constantly dying and challenging through the gauntlet to fight the final boss. In From Software’s games, respawning after death makes all the previous enemies revive which forces the player to kill them all over again. It can be extremely frustrating, especially if you’re mentally exhausted from dying often (which will happen). James Davenport, the writer, used a slow-mode option for the PC version of Sekiro that allowed him to beat the final boss more easily. He wrote about how he still felt good about defeating the final boss despite using cheats. This has sparked much argument through Twitter, Reddit, and other forums about whether all video games should have difficulty options. Sekiro has none.

For Easier Difficulties:

Many games have difficulties settings. What has been a great addition is adjusting difficulty based on your experience with the game type or if you prefer just playing for a story.

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Deus Ex Human Revolution difficulty settings

Deus Ex Human Revolution received grand praise for its difficulty settings by changing the easy difficulty to Tell Me a Story. In single player RPG’s, some people prefer to play the game for a story rather than playing for the gameplay. Some people think Sekiro should have an easier setting or accessibility mode for players who want to experience the story of Sekiro.

The argument against Cheating:

Fetusberry 'Ass Bastard' Crunch @Fetusberry You cheated not only the game, but yourself. You didn't grow. You didn't improve. You took a shortcut and gained nothing. You experienced a hollow victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained. t's sad that you don't know the difference. PC Gamer @pcgamer I beat Sekiro's final boss with cheats and I feel fine buff.ly/2VIrBNK 1:09 PM-5 Apr 2019 5,104 Retweets 21,065 Likes
The comment that spawned the argument

Memes aside, the other side of the argument is that you shouldn’t cheat because it robs you of the experience of success. It feels unearned and the writer or other players who cheat shouldn’t boast about cheating. There are also arguments that the difficulty is part of the game experience of Sekiro and to make the game experience is against the game’s artistic views.

 

 

 

 

My Opinion:

I don’t particularly care whether a person cheats on a single player game. It doesn’t affect my enjoyment but with the huge range of social media, I can see how people can be angered by it. I haven’t played Sekiro Shadows Die Twice yet but I have played Miyazaki’s previous titles and beaten them. I personally enjoy the difficulty of the games but I understand that the game isn’t for everyone. Miyazaki has never wanted to make his games easy so asking for it from the internet seems pointless. Although Activision published the game, Miyazaki stated that they were given full directing control of the game. I don’t understand why people are asking for it. There are plenty of amazing games out and if you want to experience the story, watch a let’s play on YouTube.

Yoshi’s Crafted World Underperforms for Nintendo

Yoshi’s Crafted World released for the Nintendo Switch on March 29th, 2019. According to Media Create, the game only sold 53,327 units in its debut week and sold 35.96% of the initial shipment. Media Create is a website that gathers data analytics from Japanese Gaming Market.

The game did sell better than its predecessors such as Yoshi’s Woolly World in 2015 for the Wii U which sold 31,000 units in its first week. It also sold better than Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World on 3DS in 2017 which sold roughly 40,000 units in its first week. For clarification, both predecessors may have sold poorly due to the systems they were on. The Wii U sold extremely poorly (only 13.5 million units during its lifecycle) and was an unpopular system for Nintendo. The Switch has sold over 14 million units by the end of 2017. The 3DS is also reaching the end of its life cycle and more people were excited to play on the Switch which had released on March 3rd, 2017.

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Poochy, why don’t people love us?

Metacritic score wise the game is pretty solid with an overall 80% for reviewers. The game also was the top of the sales in Japan according to Famitsu (Japanese Game Magazine/site). I believe Yoshi and the gameplay aren’t mass appealing compared to Nintendo’s bigger titles.

Sources:

Metacritic

Twinfinite

Siliconera

Apex Legends Player Progress restored after Update 1.1

Yesterday, players were shocked to see their experience progress for Apex Legends were deleted. The 1.1 update had accidentally removed all player progress. Respawn Entertainment shut down the servers overnight to restore everyone’s progress. The update had accidentally moved players to a different server without moving their progress over.

“Once we confirmed internally that we had fixed the issue we started rolling out the right servers starting with Xbox and staggered the updates to PS4 and PC,” the developer explained on the Apex Legends subreddit. 

Your progress should be updated the next time you log in. All player progress and purchases you made in 1.1 will be reverted. Refunds will be applied if you have purchased anything.

 

Borderlands 3 will release September 13th!

Gearbox has announced that Borderlands 3 will launch on September 13th. They also release a new trailer that showcased the Vault Hunters’ names and abilities. They also revealed the antagonists’ names: The Calypso Twins. More gameplay details will be showcased on May 1st during Gearbox’s live stream.

Borderlands 3 will be on PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One on Sept. 13. It will also be an Epic Store exclusive until April 2020 for PC players.

The Vault Hunters:

  • Moze as The Gunner: When Moze needs backup, she digistructs her mech – Iron Bear – for a sucker punch of additional firepower.
  • Amara as The Siren: A confident, capable brawler with the ability to summon ethereal fists, Amara uses her Siren powers to smash her enemies.
  • FL4K as The Beastmaster: FL4K lives for the hunt. So do the loyal beasts that follow their master’s every command. Their preferred prey? Unsuspecting bandits, those poor suckers.
  • Zane as The Operative: Specializing in battlefield gadgetry, Zane is extremely proficient at slipping into combat, creating chaos, and sneaking back out as if he were never there

Co-Op

According to the facts sheet, you’ll be able to level up easier with friends regardless of your progress in the story. You’ll still be able to play with anyone online or via split screen. Your loot will also be exclusive to you so no need to argue with friends over specific items.

The Bundles

If you pre-order the game, you’ll get gold-skin guns in the beginning. They have no stat differences.

Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition ($79.99)
Includes the base game, as well as bonus digital content:

  • Retro Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head & skin, Echo Device skin, weapon skin
  • Neon Cosmetic Pack: Vault Hunter head & skin, Echo Device skin, weapon trinket
  • Gearbox Cosmetic Pack: weapon skin, weapon trinket
  • Toy Box Weapon Pack: 2 Toy guns, Toy grenade mod, weapon trinket
  • XP & Loot Drop Boost Mods

Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition ($99.99)
Includes all the bonus digital content and pre-order bonus of the Deluxe Edition plus the Borderlands 3 season pass, which includes:

  • Four (4) campaign DLC packs featuring new stories, missions, and challenges;
  • Butt Stallion weapon skin, weapon trinket, and grenade mod.

Borderlands 3 Diamond Loot Chest Collector’s Edition ($249.99)
Includes the full game, season pass, and all bonus digital content and pre-order bonus of the Super Deluxe Edition, plus:

  • Diamond Loot Chest Replica
  • Borderlands 3 character figurines (x10) including the four new Vault Hunters, the Calypso Twins, and other characters from the Borderlands universe (approximately 3 inches tall)
  • Sanctuary 3 snap model
  • Vault Key keychains (x4)
  • Cloth galaxy map
  • Character art lithographs (x5): Character prints starring the new Vault Hunters and Calypso Twins
  • Borderlands 3 Steelbook case