Obviously not every game can offer this level of customisation, but it’s the gold standard I always look to as an example of how great games can be when they give the player that level of agency. In situations like these, I always think back to my first time looking through the gloriously extensive options offered by Dishonored 2.ĭoes your quick-access wheel slow down time or not? Will you allow yourself multiple save slots or just one? Can enemies see you when you lean? How fast-acting are your sleep darts on enemies? How many guards do you want to respond to alarms? How accurate and how frequently do you want enemies to be when they attack you from range? Do you want your mana to refill naturally? How loud are your footsteps?Īll this and much, much more has a number of options and sliders that allows you to customise your experience of the game to however you want it to be. On this, Steve Spohn, COO of the Able Gamers charity which helps people with disabilities obtain custom gaming setups (including modified controllers and special assistive technology), said it best. I want to play these games, some of us just need the options for the game to meet us half-way. Many have said, with varying degrees of condescension, that “Not every game can be for you, and that’s okay.” (So uncivilised!)īut I want it to be for me. Given that there’s no levelling system either in Sekiro, the end result is a game that you either deal with and master on its terms… or you don’t. Where Dark Souls offered a potential reprieve through its online functionality, where players could leave messages in – and even enter (with good or ill intentions) – your game world, Sekiro removed that altogether. There’s been a lot of discussion, particularly since the release of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice earlier this year, From Software’s latest outing, about difficulty and accessibility. It is a rich and intelligent series, one which delights in having the player uncover its secrets with near-total freedom.Īnd yet, my attempts to get to grips with it – to ‘git gud’ – have been rebuffed every time. I am fascinated by the world design, the story, the community around this genre-defining juggernaut…
Over the years, I have tried many times to get into the series. This week, we look at Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and how the ongoing discourse about ‘Soulsbourne’ games has influenced its approach to difficulty and accessibility to help everybody learn the ways of the Force. Years after the execution of ORDER 66, CAL KESTIS, an abandoned PADAWAN must complete his training, develop new and powerful Force abilities, and master the art of the LIGHTSABER – all while staying one step ahead of the evil GALACTIC EMPIRE. Jump down there, and the bonfire is through a doorway on the left (leads into a room directly under where that smashy saw blade guy was).A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…. You'll see a ledge that runs along the side with 1-2 enemies patrolling along it. Stand in the middle of that bridge, face towards where Curse Rotted Greatwood is, and look down. The doorway and the minivillage are connected by a natural stone bridge. Once you've cleared it out or decided to just run through, your only way forward is to the left leading you towards a big doorway that is likely blocked (this can be unlocked from the otherside if you so choose). In that area there's also a ring and some souls lurking around. As you pass through the archway, be careful, as there are 2-3 enemies above you waiting to ambush. There's a big smashy guy with a saw blade in front of an archway, take care of him.
Head down the stairs killing those enemies, and take the staircase on the right up towards the buildings. All the way down on the right is a ladder that leads to the barred door opposite Dilapidated Bridge. Along the left wall is the door you open with that key you bought. Go down the ladder and you'll face some rats and a miniboss in the sewers themselves.
Ignore that for now and look to the right and there should be a doorway in the side of the cliff-and an ambush near the door so be cautious approaching it. When you get further down there's a bridge with some enemies. Head down the stairs and go straight killing the dog, 3 hollows, and stupid caster mob in that opening. Head to the area where Curse Rotted Greatwood's fight is (run through the graveyard and up towards his arena).