Posture mechanic seems to ruin this game from being much better?

[cool skill]

I don't consider this game to be much better than decent. But I'd never call it great. Although I really like the default level of difficulty which should really be an industry standard. Unlike some other games that label beginner mode as "normal". I don't mind ignoring a pretty bad story and some of the worst dialogue I've ever seen. Especially from the main character who also happens to be the title of the game. Not liking the story at all isn't a problem for me. I can still enjoy this game much despite that. Many games can still be good like any arcade-style linear game that may not have much of a story. And I would probably recommend this as a quite good one. However, as much as I like it for the most part, the entire posture design is really problematic for me.

I'm not even referring how it might be appeal to some or even something good. I'm just trying to figure out if I'm missing something regarding why it's even OK to have. The meter can even be completely reversed where 0% is 100% and 100% is 0%, to show that it operates just like HP. So that this meter is a secondary HP bar, and deplete. But it's really the primary HP bar. And you don't actually deal damage to it by landing hits. You damage it by defense.

This means that in this game, most of the "damage" I'm dealing to the enemy is from defensive moves. Which I don't understand the point of. Roughly 60%-75% of harming enemies to defeat them isn't even about landing actual hits on them. This makes zero sense to me, and gives the game a cheese ball feel to it. For example, without posture design, I'd have to deal damage to the enemy actual HP by landing hits on them, and all of my defensive maneuvers would just be for my defensive benefit. So why is there a design for posture damage?

I do like the Tenchu/Dark Soul style combo for a game. I think the Spider-Man and stealth, and aggressive sword fighting is fun. I even prefer a more aggressive fast paced style over stamina management style. But this can be perfectly designed without anything like the current posture system to be as fun.

I'm having a difficult time seeing the point in dealing most of my damage to enemies by accurate defensive maneuvers. Contrast that to actually trying to kill the enemy by landing hits, while all of my defensive moves are strictly there to protect me. I definitely think there should be some bonus to accurately timed deflections and even accurately timed dodges. Such as getting some temporary passive buff or something. Which other games do have. I'm fine with even a meter based on these timed maneuvers that contributes to some kind of super. However, I don't understand how it makes sense for defensive maneuvers to basically be the main way to damage an enemy.

I'd like to know from users who either think it's good. Or have some other insight about it in a way that it makes sense to win like this without feeling cheesy. Even a bit broken. Because I only need to deal bits of damage here and there, while spamming block and laughing at enemy taking posture damage. Because using defensive maneuvers as an offensive strategy, I can't help but be put off by it as feeling pretty cheap way to win. As if being deprived of the use of defensive maneuvers for my own preservation in order to rely fully on offensive maneuvers for defeating opponents.

This is why I consider many things about this game to be really fun and well made, but the posture thing is just something I can't get around feeling ruins it. Perhaps somebody has some perspective as to why this type of design is worth it.

[Phishfood]

If you've come to the point where you can deflect perfectly then attacking becomes an extra step that is unnecessary. You've completely shut down an enemy's ability to inflict damage so it reasons you would have killed them anyway.

[Artek [General]]

Personally i like the mechanic.
Yes, it is questionable wether or not such approach to combat is practical. But it stands to reason that if your defense is inpenetrapable - then you win by simply existing.

Sekiro doesn't actually deals damage to enemies most of the time. His attacks but scratch most of his opponents. What he's trying to achieve is to break opponent's composure, so that he would make a mistake and open himself for an attack that will actually count - a deathblow.
So that's precisely what happens.

You deflect opponent's attacks, his stamina runs out, he becomes angry / scared of Sekiro's skill, makes a wrong move / loses his balance and that's when Sekiro strikes for real with a blow that counts. That's basically this game's combat in a nutshell.
Personally i love it, as actually clashing swords with my opponents all the time is something i wish Dark Souls games always had.

[Nibbie]

Good luck beating a decent number of enemies without attacking them. Hitting an enemy's block builds posture damage, preventing it from decaying between attacks, while damaging an enemy's health reduces their posture regen, which is essential for several bosses. The game is at its best when you are in this dance of offense until deflected, then deflecting the retaliation, then comboing back. Genichiro Ashina is often cited as one of the best bosses in the game, due to him feeding super well into this style.

[Zu]

Aesthetic choice for one. It's like asking "Why can I plunge?". You're a ninja boi. It's your thing.

Originally posted by Artek General:

Sekiro doesn't actually deals damage to enemies most of the time. His attacks but scratch most of his opponents. What he's trying to achieve is to break opponent's composure, so that he would make a mistake and open himself for an attack that will actually count - a deathblow.

And mechanically it adds another layer to combat where it's a good idea sometimes to dodge or sprint because otherwise you couldn't poke their face for hp damage which in turn lowers their posture regen. Fighting thicc ghost monk without doing so is the textbook example.

Sure you could still argue that attacking could just deal more posture damage or even chip hp damage and that deflecting could not, but then there's less of an incentive to do the coolest fkn thing. Like, why bother learning how to deflect Isshin's wombo combo if I can just back off and then mikiri the last attack?

Personally I'd rather just get rewarded with immediate deathblow progress than a buff which achieves the same thing in a roundabout way or fuels itself by making defending easier which I'm probably good at already to even get the buff in the first place.

[cool skill]

Originally posted by Artek General:

Personally i like the mechanic.
Yes, it is questionable wether or not such approach to combat is practical. But it stands to reason that if your defense is inpenetrapable - then you win by simply existing.

This is absolutely false. You do not win by existing. You win by killing. Existing means nobody wins.

Originally posted by Nibbie:

Good luck beating a decent number of

Irrelevant to anything.

Originally posted by Zu:

I'd rather just get rewarded with immediate deathblow progress than a buff which achieves the same thing

Yet nothing to do with anything that doesn't achieve even close to the same thing. Hence, the entire point. It's a legitimate design that actually works well according to the game. There's no actual cheese going on because it is the game design. It's just off in the sense of user experience.

[Phishfood]

By having an impregnable defence you effectively exhaust your opponent leaving them wide open for a critical hit that you wouldn't be able to land if they still had stamina. Does that make sense to you?

[Yorshka]

You actually do a defensive playstyle with some counter attack after perfect deflections only when fighting an agressive type of enemies or the big one which has some hyper armor on their attacks, like corrupted monk, giraffe, o'rin, etc. But with some enemies like owl, headless ape, chained ogre, or demon of hatred, you probably want to combine both of offensive and defensive playstyle in it.

The posture mechanic is actually helping you to destroying your opponent is life a bit by bit because if they don't put that mechanic on it, you will certainly need more time to deplete all of enemies health bar. You just need to keep maintaining your pressure to them as well as to not letting your guard down at the same moment. Also even they give you some passives skills to get more damage on posture while doing a counter attack.

For me all of that is just perfectly balance and it feels really good to do the combat.

I think you just need to learn how to not doing a parry spam instead pressing it at the right timing at least most of the time, because that is the point of the game anyway. Its like a rhythmic gameplay applied to 3D combat. And i think the idea of posture is like a "perfect combo bar" thing in the rhythm game.

I feel like sekiro combat are just simillar with in the shadow of mordor or batman, but in sekiro we don't have a prompt buttons and without time slow feature on every each of the action.

Sorry for the english by the way, i hope you understand what i mean.

[Yorshka]

Originally posted by Phishfood:

By having an impregnable defence you effectively exhaust your opponent leaving them wide open for a critical hit that you wouldn't be able to land if they still had stamina. Does that make sense to you?

Well, that is just really good point actually.

[Dregora]

Originally posted by sourcecode:

I don't consider this game to be much better than decent. But I'd never call it great. Although I really like the default level of difficulty which should really be an industry standard.

Yeah, no. While I love difficult games, I do not need all of my games to be that levels of difficult and it's insane to me you think this is a good idea or should be an industry standard.

It would single handedly kill the industry.

[✟ Scarlet Weather Rhapsody ✟]

Originally posted by Dregora:

Originally posted by sourcecode:

I don't consider this game to be much better than decent. But I'd never call it great. Although I really like the default level of difficulty which should really be an industry standard.

It would single handedly kill the industry.

Good

[cool skill]

Originally posted by Yorshka:

You actually do a defensive playstyle with some counter attack after perfect deflections only when fighting an agressive type of enemies or the big one which has some hyper armor on their attacks, like corrupted monk, giraffe, o'rin, etc. But with some enemies like owl, headless ape, chained ogre, or demon of hatred, you probably want to combine both of offensive and defensive playstyle in it.

The posture mechanic is actually helping you to destroying your opponent is life a bit by bit because if they don't put that mechanic on it, you will certainly need more time to deplete all of enemies health bar. You just need to keep maintaining your pressure to them as well as to not letting your guard down at the same moment. Also even they give you some passives skills to get more damage on posture while doing a counter attack.

For me all of that is just perfectly balance and it feels really good to do the combat.

I think you just need to learn how to not doing a parry spam instead pressing it at the right timing at least most of the time, because that is the point of the game anyway. Its like a rhythmic gameplay applied to 3D combat. And i think the idea of posture is like a "perfect combo bar" thing in the rhythm game.

I feel like sekiro combat are just simillar with in the shadow of mordor or batman, but in sekiro we don't have a prompt buttons and without time slow feature on every each of the action.

Sorry for the english by the way, i hope you understand what i mean.

Nothing here has absolutely anything to do with anything.

[Yorshka]

Originally posted by sourcecode:

Nothing here has absolutely anything to do with anything.

Umm, so i take that you failed to understand my point. Ok then thats my bad. Im not good with explaining something. I am so sorry about that, and i'll just take my leave here.
Well goodluck to you to understanding the point of the game mechanic dude. :)

[pcdeltalink]

This game probably has some of my favorite combat I've ever had in any souls-esque title. Reason being is that I actually FEEL like I'm in a sword fight with these enemies. I'm not just spamming R1 and bowling them over. I'm actually trading blows back and forth. My victories feel like a huge result of skill and knowing what I am doing rather than a result of stats or huge tanky armor or a giant shield, etc.

The combat feels like a dance to me where each partner attacks and the other defends at certain times and the skill in the combat comes in part from knowing when it's your turn to lead and attack or the opponent's turn to lead where you defend and also how and when those roles switch. It feels amazing to pull off and the great sound design provides excellent feedback on this as well.

You don't want to be on the defensive all the time. That was actually one of the hardest things I had to get over at first is that you actually have to be fairly aggressive and press the attack.
Attacking the enemy keeps them on the defensive and also can damage their health which slows posture regeneration which is crucial especially in boss fights. Counters like the Mikiri counter actually reward you for being aggressive and up close to the enemy. Countering a sweep properly by jumping over it and landing on the enemy's head also requires you to be close.

[them4pples]

it shouldn't feel cheesy, because that's the design of the game. you're supposed to learn the attacks of each enemy so you can get perfect deflects on them, break their posture and then critical hit. that's the combat system in this game.

there's even an item called kuro's charm, that you can give back to kuro at the start of a game that forces you to deflect instead of block so you don't lose health. it makes the game a lot more challenging, but more fun as well. deflecting everything a boss throws at you means you've mastered the fight and there's nothing more satisfying than that in from software games.

[LightLance]

Originally posted by pcdeltalink:

Attacking the enemy keeps them on the defensive and also can damage their health which slows posture regeneration which is crucial especially in boss fights.

Attacking also fill enemy posture even he blocks health damage.