How is the game meant to be played?

[Nanty Riah]

I understand that there is only one weapon that you ever get - the Katana.

Is it possible to learn all you need to know to fight and defeat bosses before you encounter them?

Or do you have to encounter bosses and repeatedly attempt (and lose) to learn their patterns and the counters to defeat them?

[spy]

not possible before. But once you finish the game, you know the characteristics of all bosses. The rest is just speedrun. The best way to defeat bosses is timed dodge and deflect. get used to it

[Sokurah]

This game is about learning and mastering bosses. No i dont think you can. Every boss is different, well except the obvious copy/paste bosses.

You fail, adapt and win in the end.

[Nanty Riah]

Originally posted by Sokurah:

This game is about learning and mastering bosses. No i dont think you can. Every boss is different, well except the obvious copy/paste bosses.

You fail, adapt and win in the end.

Thanks - I thought this may be it.

While I do enjoy the swordplay aspect, the thought of continuously trying/failing at bosses just to learn their attack patterns doesn't make for an engaging game play loop for me

[Sokurah]

To each his own🤷‍♂️

[LightLance]

Offense + Deflection is the key. When you recognize boss rhythm you can constant pressure on and will lead the fight flow.
Offcouse also you need in time recognition rhytm' breaks by red sign (kanji) and choose appropriate counteraction. That is all.

[VisciousFishes]

This game is about recognising posture of your enemy. The game tells you about the posture bar, the link between vitality and posture - mechanics that work for AND against the player. This makes the game much fairer than it appears because you and the enemies both have to manage the same things.

But more than this, it is about the body posture (stance) and the weapon placement. You need to read these things and react accordingly. Spotting openings that the enemies have in their combos. Yes, you need to have good timing, but this game is not a rhythm game and if you treat it like one, you're playing suboptimally. The reason I say this is because I completed the game without the soundtrack playing so there was nothing to keep time and a steady rhythm. It is about timing and recognising openings, but this doesn't make it a rhythm game.

What it is, is chess at 100 miles per hour. It is far more about strategy than spamming attack. Knowing when to press and punish, or, when to sit back and react.