[h1]YOU WILL BE SURELY F*CKED, DO NOT WORRY[/h1]
[h3][Master Difficulty Detailed Review][/h3]
I completed this game on the maximum difficulty, and I can confidently say it's one of the hardest "Souls-like" games.
If you're a fan of Sekiro, at least you shoud consider this game on hardest difficulty.
[h1]Hardcore souls-like with crisp boss animations and no chaotic visual effects[/h1]
The game features 16 unique bosses. Most of them have multiple phases, unique animations, different attack patterns, huge HP pools, and fast, large-scale attacks. Many encounters require their own strategy rather than simply relying on reflexes. Some you will meet again, but in more difficult circumstances.
[h1]You can't create a broken build or something to make bosses unbalanced[/h1]
In most situations, Kena dies in just 2-3 hits. Bosses have massive health pools, while your own damage often feels very low. Even regular enemies that accompany certain bosses can kill you in only a couple of hits.
The levels themselves can be challenging too. You'll often encounter flying enemies launching fireballs and dive attacks. Some bosses bring those same enemies into the arena with them...
[h1]Healing is one of the most unforgiving systems in the game[/h1]
During most boss fights, you'll only have access to 1-3 healing flowers. To activate them, you need Courage energy. Courage is generated by dealing damage, but every time you get hit, you lose part of that resource - This often creates situations where you're forced to fight at 1 HP just to rebuild enough Courage for a heal. The catch is that the same resource is also used for some of your unique attacks, so you always have to make a choice - Take risks and hit a little harder or have the right to make a mistake.
[h1]I like a lot the mobility in this game[/h1]
Kena moves and runs quickly, there's no stamina, dodging works in any direction, fairly quickly and without pauses, dashing allows you to instantly dodge or attack, the shield allows you to continue pressing or survive a mistake, and the bow can even fire powerful unique attacks.
Your toolkit is limited to:
[list]
[*]Shield
[*]Double Jump
[*]Staff
[*]Bow
[*]Slow-motion archery
[*]Bombs
[*]Dash
[*]Parries (at the perfect timing) and dodges
[*]some other perks and upgrades
[/list]
You'll need to combine all of these mechanics efficiently and develop an individual approach for almost every boss.
[h1]Take skill leveling seriously in a semi-open world before taking on the next boss[/h1]
I definitely overestimated some things, underestimated others, and completely missed one important mechanic related to overall survivability. Because of that, some bosses took me much longer than necessary - but that's my experience.
If you've neglected upgrading the Rot, the game becomes significantly harder. Skill upgrades and staff enhancements also have a noticeable impact on difficulty.
Timed combat challenges hidden inside chests can be absurdly difficult, especially if you discover them early in the game. Their rewards are usually cosmetic skins, which often makes the frustration feel disproportionate.
Trials are much more enjoyable. They reward Kena cosmetics as well, but usually allow you to choose which challenge condition you want to complete. They're still difficult, just far more fair.
As for Crystal Currency... it only allows you to buy skins - Unfortunately, the game gives you a lot of it.
The game also contains puzzles. Most are straightforward, except for one candle puzzle.
[h1]Technicaly the game feels very smooth[/h1]
[list]
[*]Responsive movement and game physics in general
[*]Good visual clarity during combat, without visual trash on the screen
[*]No 60 FPS cap - High framerate support
[*]DLSS provides substantial performance gains at higher resolutions
[/list]
Graphics, visual effects, animations, music, atmosphere in general - all of it is excellent.
The soundtrack feels unique, the world is beautiful, and the presentation is consistently impressive throughout the entire game.
Playing on a controller on Master Difficulty will make things noticeably harder. The game includes a lock-on system, but during fights involving multiple enemies, it often becomes more of a problem than a solution.
[h3]There were some things I don't like[/h3]
- I don't agree with the developer's attempt to sometimes waste my time by making me do a very routine task before the boss every time I die.
- I disagree that before the final boss you can't go back for upgrades in the open world - In general, I recommend loot everything possible for upgrades before playing the second half of the game.
- I often found myself pressing space and right-click to aim my bow while jumping, but it just didn't work because there was no pause between the two presses, which really annoyed me.
- Bugs do exist, most are visual, but I also encountered a few rare serious ones.
[h3]Conclusion[/h3]
At first, it will seem to you that the game is not very difficult, but everything will change when you meet the third boss.
This is genuinely a difficult game. What surprises me most is how rarely Kena gets mentioned among Souls-like fans.
Ironically, the developers classify it as: Action, Adventure, Indie
Technically that's correct, but in practice, this is a Souls-like first and foremost, but without without builds.
Everything revolves around one goal: [b]Defeat increasingly difficult bosses.[/b]
There is no alternative path. There is no overpowered build. You either learn the fights, or you lose.
Hunter boss I liked the most.
The bosses that were the hardest weren't at the end of the game: Wood Knight, Taro, Stone Guardian, Woodsmith.
[quote]
P.S. Don't pay too much attention to the "Beat the game on Master Difficulty" achievement statistics.
Over the years, various exploits, save-load tricks, and file modifications have allowed players to obtain it without completing a legitimate Master Difficulty playthrough. Because of that, I strongly believe the number of players who actually beat Master Difficulty is significantly lower than the achievement statistics suggest.
[/quote]
