Choose a difficulty you can learn on
The first playthrough offers Story and Action. Story reduces incoming damage and increases Musashi’s damage and stamina damage. You can switch between these modes at save points. Action prompts, tutorial tips and navigation icons have separate toggles.
Carnage unlocks after completing the game. Unlike Story and Action, it locks your difficulty choice. These settings are described in PC Gamer’s full-game difficulty guide.
Our recommendation: choose Story if repeated retries interrupt your enjoyment; choose Action if learning enemy patterns is the main attraction. Keeping prompts on while learning is a useful middle ground.
Understand the defensive controls
The inputs below follow Xbox Wire’s full-game guide. They are Xbox button labels, not a keyboard or PlayStation mapping. Check your own control settings if you use another controller or remap buttons.
| Move | Xbox input | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Block | Hold LB | Stops most attacks, but consumes stamina. |
| Parry | Press block as the hit lands | Builds the Blaze Gauge toward Blazing State. |
| Deflect | Block + A as the hit lands | Deals stamina damage; repeated success can enable Break Issen. |
| Issen | Attack just before impact | A powerful counter with tighter timing than Parry. |
| Dodge | B | Avoids attacks; precise timing produces Reflex Dodge. |
Reflex Gauge progression becomes available later, so do not expect every follow-up immediately. Some attacks cannot be parried or deflected. Dodge when your blade cannot answer them.
A simple way to practise
Start with one readable attack. Try Parry, observe whether the enemy continues its sequence, then practise Deflect against that same attack. Add Issen once you recognise the wind-up consistently.
This is our suggested practice order, not a required upgrade path. If a fight becomes frustrating, take one attempt just to watch the attack sequence instead of trying to win it.
Keep your Demo save for the reward
For your next steps, see equipment upgrades, Ganryu and Daidara combat notes or the collection checklist.
Demo progress does not continue into the full game. Follow the separate Kubi Akari claim instructions to collect the save-data charm.
For launch or performance problems, use the full-game PC troubleshooting guide. The older Demo combat guide remains labelled for that version.