Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice 2019

Is it still worth playing?

FromSoftware's 2019 action game, set in a fictionalized Japan in the Sengoku period, with Buddhist mythology and philosophy. You play Wolf, a shinobi who sets out to rescue his lord and is drawn into a conflict over the fate of Ashina. Combat revolves around a katana and attacking an enemy's posture and balance, which works like a fighting game's guard meter. The protagonist has a prosthetic arm with tools, including a grappling hook that opens up vertical exploration, and stealth can eliminate or badly damage most enemies you reach undetected. There is no character creation and no levelling of many stats. Once per life you can come back with minimal health. Mastering the parrying is the reward now: the combat is built on it, and getting good at it gives a sense of pride.