Now Or Never: SK8 Or Die Twice
GAMING: Shadows Die A Lot More Than Twice
In one Croatian dialect, the verb “sekirati” means getting really agitated about something. This makes it the perfect verb to describe how the creators of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice supposedly wanted you to feel, and is exactly how I thought I’d feel when playing this game. Agitated.
Still, I promised myself to actually finish one From Software game during my lifetime, so it might as well be a Shinobi-type action game in fantasy-themed medieval Japan, since the setting and the character really appealed to me. Backstory, dad loved Kurosawa and I loved everything about Ninjutsu and karate (quit right after getting the green belt, though).
Now, if you’re not a gamer or are just unfamiliar with From Software just know that their games likely present the most difficult challenges in the history of gaming. Calling them hard is an understatement, so let’s just say you die. A lot. There are no “easy” or “normal” modes, just “hard” and “super-hard”. I hated Dark Souls because of its mechanics, I was semi-competent in Bloodborne but never finished it because of the bleakness of the world — at least that’s what I was telling myself. Truth is, I always wanted to be the guy who completed a From Software game, but when things got too dicey and extra hard, I would quit. Like karate. Not worth raging over, I said.
So, my gamepad at the ready, I assumed the role of Sekiro, a Shinobi serving the young Divine Heir Kuro, whose immortality is basically the root of all evil in the game. Upon starting the game, there are two instances where the narrative basically tells you to adhere to the key adage of the Shinobi code — win at all costs. Use any solution at your disposal to vanquish your enemies, cheat if you must. I didn’t really understand what that meant, but I figured it out as soon as I crossed swords with the first samurai general mini boss… so I cheesed him hard.
To cheese — “A term in gaming used to describe strategies or ways of playing that are really powerful and do not require much skill from the player. Finding an exploit or cheating the game.”
My cheese was blinding the poor angry bastard with copious amounts of in-your-face ash before cutting him down with my blade. Up to that point, the only thing I was crossing with the general’s blade was Sekiro’s butt. Here was me, a seasoned gamer, running from this guy in terror (one slash and 90% of your health bar is gone) and using all the ash that I collected just to guerrilla-style slay him in around fifteen minutes. I remember thinking: “My God, this was not even a boss fight! How is it this hard?”. The first real boss, a spear-wielding Chad on a giant horse, forced me to figure out the fun new mechanics. When I say forced, I mean, you REPEATEDLY DIE until you “git gud”. Side note — almost every death in Sekiro carries a penalty that depletes half of your coin, experience AND potentially transmits a disease to all NPCs (non-playable character, everyone but you) which can temporarily halt your progress on certain side quests. A sadomasochist gamer’s dream, really.
But then, something wonderful happened. There was a clear and distinct moment where I stopped being petrified of the game’s difficulty and knew I was actually good enough to stay toe-to-toe with anything the game could throw at me. In one part, you’re fighting a giant headless ape, a fight, like many, that was designed to scare players and make them lose composure. He looks terrifying, his attacks are devastating and the music/sound adds a completely new layer to the tension.
It was in the middle of that fight, that my Sekiro avatar went from running madly across the battlefield to me confidently yelling out: “I got this!! You got nothing on me you albino midget King-Kong impersonating assclown!” and beating him with confidence. And then, I was struck with the feeling that gaming hadn’t provided in ages — accomplishment. Like in the movies, it was the moment the hero realizes she (or HE!) is the hero, stops being scared of the bad dude, starts kicking his ass.
Having mastered this boss, I felt skilled, which was proven later on when the game craps out the immortal version of Albino Ape (he lives!), accompanied by his bride, in a much smaller arena. That took me only four tries, only because the bride is unsure about what she wants to do. A 35-year old, I have friends with similar issues, but that’s neither here nor there.
These days, it’s rare that anything challenges you enough to teach you things about yourself. This society has settled for giving out 6th place prizes and participation trophies, while at the same time telling us that everyone can change the world. It’s a paradox. Not everything should be made easily accessible or simple to do. If it is, we suddenly have nothing to strive for. True achievement or accomplishment can only be found in doing something challenging for you. The weight of those words — it’s much more than “do”, “pass” or “complete”. You complete a task, you achieve victory.
Indeed, things actually worth doing require you to overcome. Once you do, you’ll be glad you did. You’ll be proud. Even if it’s a stupid video game. And what a glorious stupid video game it is. On my first playthrough, I opted for the quicker Shura ending, figured out I could spam Shadowrush on Isshin, which is the Pecorino Siciliano of cheeses, and won. Fuck you, From Software! You told me to win at all costs, and I did. Also, love you, From Software — for reminding me how meaningful gaming can be.
Now, time for the longer ending with the Demon Bell on. Nema sekiranja.
LIFE: Is It Really Now Or Never?
Consumer demand fuels instant access. But is instant or immediate really all that good? Listen, the reason why Netflix releases full seasons of shows isn’t because they are thinking about your sanity during the work week while you desperately want to find out what happens to Jane after last Sunday’s episode had her plummeting into an overzealous mushroom overdose-induced coma. They are using this model to get you hooked on as many shows as possible. Uhum. Think about it. When you binge watch a season, what do you do? Find another show to binge watch, of course. Then another. And, faster than you can say “White rabbits multiply!” you’re hooked on five shows. So, by the time you finished watching Season 1 of the fifth one, Season 2 of the first one is starting. And all the while you’re diligently paying your monthly subscription fees, because that’s the model and your addiction. Still a shit ton of content for a relatively low subscription fee, gotta give them that.
I find that there is a certain romanticism in waiting. Waiting for that album to drop, waiting for that movie to come out, just talking to your friends about how long you’ve waited to see it, being all excited. Think Pele, the soccer star. In 1958, when he won his first World Cup with Brazil, there were no clips on Twitter or quick highlights on Instagram. You would hear rumors about how he played — a god in cleats. “My dude, this guy can do a triple back-flip scissor kick header and score twice before the goalie can blink!” (I do know more about soccer than this quote would imply).
Point is, this kind of talk would get you psyched. Because everything’s so instant, we’re missing out on that buildup and emotions that come with expectation. Maybe Jane wakes up, realizing she’s a magical unicorn. Maybe Jane gets buried alive in the back yard because there was always something wrong with Jim, her doll-collecting second husband. We didn’t get to find out until next Sunday. And that was kinda awesome.
SPORTS: SK8 For Gold
Skateboarding is an Olympic sport, and this guy is the face of it. Listen, I know this blog usually has me complaining about things wrong with modern society (because a lot of it is broken), but this one is a win.
I had a friend in high school, his name is Jan. We lost touch, just how life goes. Jan is one of those people I wouldn’t mind catching up with to see how he’s doing. Let’s face it, most of the time when you meet people from your past lives you’re saying shit like: “Oh, yeah I would DEFINITELY love to catch up over coffee one of these days!” knowing full well you would much rather shoot yourself in the armpit than spend another precious second of your life on that waste of space. Besides, given how you haven’t seen the other person in quite a while, I imagine this sit down playing out something like this: “So, what’s new!?” And you’re like: “Hey Mike, it’s been 10 years, so a fucking lot of the stuff is old and new.” Don’t bother.
But Jan, he’s a dude I’d actually like to get in touch with. We skated together a lot through high-school, and I loved it back then. We would also drink beer and talk skating all the time, dwell on technical greats like Rodney Mullen, to the coolest guy ever in Chad Muska. SK8 was indeed life back then. It might be a trivial example of progress with everything going on, but if the Coronavirus didn’t push back the Tokyo Summer Olympics, we would have likely seen Nyjah Huston, a black, tatted out, new-generation skateboarding icon put an Olympic gold medal around his neck this year. Who would have thought? A skater standing next to Mark Spitz, Nadia Comăneci and Carl Lewis. Whatever life had in store for my friend Jan up to that point, there’s one thing I’m sure of — both of us would be smiling then.
Till next time, take care of yourselves and each other. #BlackLivesMatter
