My evident journey into the Souls-like games was something I never anticipated coming, nor did I know of the impact it would have on me in the coming years.

I can honestly say that it ruined gaming for me by making me want more of a challenge in almost all kinds of games. I find it more enjoyable now in defeating an enemy that has destroyed me countless time than anything else.

I’ve played all of Dark Souls and Nioh games, but it still couldn’t prepare me for the hell that awaited me in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. In terms of difficulty, all games are similar in their unique way; but there was one thing that made Sekiro much harder than the rest, and it was the heavy reliance on parrying. You can read all about it in our review.

I’ve never gotten the hang of parrying in anything before, but this game forced me to learn and master it in a short period. And when I defeated the final boss, Isshin, the Sword Saint, I vowed to never return to it.

The return of Sekiro.

In hindsight, I knew I shouldn’t have made that vow about not returning because here I am on my PS4 with Sekiro being downloaded onto the system, as I wait for the Game of the Year update to arrive.

On October 28, players will be getting a free update that offers new challenge modes, skins and a recording mode to showcase your talents off to other players. Given that the Sekiro literally did win the title of Game of the Year, it’s about time it received some quality updates.

The update will introduce two challenge modes that will focus on battling bosses. Reflection of Strength is a mode that allows you to fight against any bosses from the game again without forcing you to replay it entirely. I’m probably going to stick to fighting the easier ones first because I’m certainly not ready to rage out by fighting The Demon of Hatred, just yet.

Gauntlet of Strength is the mode for all those hardcore players out there. The challenge is to do battle against waves of bosses without dying. I know it sounds somewhat impossible, but some people are so experienced in Sekiro that it won’t be a surprise to see a no-damage run in this mode down the line, especially from this YouTuber called Ongbal.

Honestly, I can’t wait to get back into Sekiro and see if I can still tackle the bosses. There is a high chance that I’m going to have to relearn all of the parryings again.

Ibrahim's a hardcore gamer and Star Wars fan. He's obsessed with Obi-Wan Kenobi, even claiming that he's a descendant of the fictional Jedi Master. Other than that delusion, Ibrahim's pretty down to earth, collecting figures and buying games he'll never finish.