SAMURAI’S CHOP STAR

The classic RPG lands on Switch with new features almost 19 years after its PlayStation debut.

For starters, you can speed up battles – handy for summon animations.

But the most helpful addition is the option to skip the random encounters that have long been a turn-off.

All of this feels conducive to playing on a handheld device, allowing for bursts of play on the commute.

But playing on TV isn’t pretty, with characters and backgrounds that don’t age well when stretched to larger displays.

Playing on Switch is more palatable at the lower 720p resolution.

At £16.99, we wish it wasn’t another lazy port of a game that deserves better. Hot on the trail of his kidnapped master, Sekiro must battle mutated samurai in an ancient Japan gone wrong. Sekiro revolves around combat and clearing areas of enemies and bosses before moving on to the next clearing. Our hero’s prosthetic arm with its grappling hook becomes the perfect tool for zipping between rooftops and trees, and is a handy way to escape enemies.

The sword combat revolves almost entirely around unbalancing your foes by deflecting their incoming attacks.

If a deflection is performed at the perfect time, the attacking foe will lose balance, opening them up to a lethal blow.

Above the head of each foe is a posture bar, highlighted in yellow. With each successful blow (whether it landed true or glanced off a weapon or shield) the meter will increase – and this is usually the best way to fell your enemies.

Back off to recover your own stamina and you might lose the progress you gained. But stay too close when a foe has the upper hand and your attempts to defend yourself will leave you open to attacks.

It’s a hard formula to get to grips with as a player, but once mastered it transforms Sekiro’s combat into a fluid exchange of sword blows, making you feel like you’re in a cinematic samurai blockbuster.

This isn’t a game that feels unfair, it’s a game that lets you know there’s no button mashing or “cheesing it” early on, and then delivers throughout the campaign.

When you live by the sword, you die by the sword, so be aware this is a game that will see you die many, many times.