Rarely have I felt so powerful as I did the second time I defeated Lady Butterfly in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. During my first playthrough, Lady Butterfly was the boss that forced me to really learn how to play the game, to spend time internalising all the movements and steps of the intricate dance of metal and death that makes the game what it is. I was determined to beat her fair and square, rather than engaging in any kind of underhanded cheesy tactics like stunlocking. It must have taken me twenty attempts to finally triumph, and it wasn’t anything like as clean as I wanted it to be.
In my second playthrough, I defeated her on my first attempt, without hesitation or injury. Like all the best moments in Sekiro, it was relentless and beautiful. It showed me exactly how far I’d come.
