10 Video Games That Punish You For Being Smart
7. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Gives You Nothing For Beating Genichiro
In most FromSoftware games, the very first boss, or even very first enemy, is expected to kill the player. 'Expected' is the key word there, as most of these early encounters are beatable, albeit only to those who possess immense amounts of skill.
Consequently, killing the first boss usually nets you some tasty secrets as a result of its sheer unlikeliness. In Demon's Souls you get to cherish your victory for about 10 seconds before you're introduced to one of the late-game arch-demons who will absolutely obliterate you, while Bloodborne let's you bypass the first werewolf to explore Yarnham before ever visiting the Hunter's Dream hub world. The recent Elden Ring similarly allows you to decimate the first enemy, and then die by an unfortunate crumbling path.
Sekiro, sadly, doesn't have much to offer if you do beat the first boss, Genichiro. Unlike the other games, it doesn't actually register it as a victory - you'll just be hit with a cutscene where this villainous samurai wins anyway, and cuts off the player character, Wolf's, arm.
Considering Sekiro is the most scripted game FromSoft has ever made, it's no surprise that winning here doesn't yield any major story differences, but it's a shame smart players weren't given some kind of reward.