Sairento is a game about being a cyber ninja, and it’s become one of my top most played in VR. I love my share of boxing and rhythm games, but something about the pacing and movement in Sairento keeps me coming back for more.

Every level is a self-contained arena, either built vertically or as a series of connected hallways. The game also taunts players with harder difficulties adding higher rewards. Sure, you could continue beating the average or hard difficulties, but don’t you want just a little bit more for your efforts? Don’t you think you can survive elite or shinobi?

I believe in you, and I’m here to offer you some tips that I think will help you tackle Sairento’s hardest difficulties.

Advanced Sairento Tips

You’ve learned the basics: how to shoot and how to move. Now, let’s dive into the advanced stuff.

Projectiles

First, let’s think about weapon properties. Your guns can score criticals with every headshot. Make sure you work on accuracy with pistols, and reloading efficiently with automatic hand pistols. Make sure you think about how your loadout will function in game. Claw users need to get close to be effective. What’s better than a shotgun? Rifle users need distance. Why not Kusuragami or Shuriken?

Enemies also have an assortment of things to throw or fire at you, so learn how to deflect and slice incoming fire. This is super stylish, but also helpful in a pinch. Nothing quite like switching to slow motion, then using your sword to slice a barrage of incoming shotgun bullets and cut your damage taken by 30-50%.

Even better, you can block bullets with swords, Kusuragami and Shuriken.

Slow Motion

Now that we’ve covered blocking, let’s look at slow motion. It’s critical for blocking, but it triggers everytime you want to move. I almost never use the slow motion button (your grips). I trigger slow motion frequently with my offhand, so my primary hand is always shooting at enemies before I move to my next location.

I see where the danger is coming from, but enemies also tend to swarm on your location. If you move this way, you’re always prepared to dish out max damage to the hoard of enemies closing in on you.

Relics

Want to deal fire or poison damage? Want your critical hits to kill more often? How about bullets that pass through enemies or higher health regen? All of these abilities are available with gear upgrades called “Relics”. Find your favorite loadouts, then add relics that change damage dealt or clip size, among a host of other benefits.

You can even change the color of your guns and their awesome glowing auras.

Try Out Single-Hit Death

The hardest difficulty kills you in one hit from any enemy. It’s tough. No doubt about it. You’re going to die a lot and you might not even finish. So, why play it? It’s a fun challenge, first off, but it’s an excellent workout that teaches you the pacing you need to survive at the highest tiers.

You’re going to be doing a lot of squat work to slide and duck under incoming fire. You’ll win or collapse in exhaustion trying.

Assassination or Purge are the Easiest Hard Modes

Sounds weird, but it’s true that there’s an easy hard mode. With a set number of enemies to dispatch, you have a goal you can reach for. As you die and replay, take special note of the level layout and think about your approach. Enemy patrols will vary, but you can think about what you’ll do in a scramble.

You can usually slip in some nice stealth kills too before someone spots you. Especially if you utilize walls to block the enemy field of view. But once you’re spotted by even a single enemy, everyone sees you.

Remember to slide across covered bridges and walkways by squatting. You can avoid fire from below and to the sides, and you can plan your next move.

Sliding and Slow Motion

Maybe you’ve noticed my emphasis on slides. Most enemies can’t hit you when you slide properly, so it’s helpful to master this action. Although slides do not trigger slow motion, dodging bullets is still beneficial. If you hold your blade to your side, you can cut as you slide and take out your opponent’s legs.

Just be wary of melee samurai. They do not conform to this rule and will kill you during your slides.

Everytime you need to move, you consume slow motion. I use this time to plan my next move. Slow motion meter depletes slowly by default (even slower when you upgrade your weapons and gear), and it regenerates quickly. Master using one hand to point to where you want to go, while the other does some fighting before you get there.

Sumos

One of the most difficult enemies for beginners is the Sumo. It can absorb a lot of damage, and it’s unexpectedly fast. It also instantly kills or severely injures any player at higher difficulties. And it has knockback. Neat!

First, put the sword away. The sumo’s hardened skin reduces the blade’s effectiveness. If you insist on melee only, look for the hardened skin to vanish before you strike, but you will need to make liberal use of slow motion to pull off a close-range assault.

In general, this enemy is all about utilizing slow motion effectively. Target the pipes on the mecha sumo’s back. Go ahead and drain your entire meter if it means getting in some good damage, just make sure you can escape one or two levels out of the sumo’s reach.

Don’t forget, it will follow you and it’s ground pound does a ton of damage too.

Other Things That Can Kill You

Invisible assassin ninjas leave confusing traps that disorient your vision. Triggering one is an indication that an assassin may be near, but they also toss shuriken from a distance. If you notice one is around (you can spot their shimmer), and you didn’t finish it, keep moving so you’re never caught from an angle you can’t see.

Samurai vary in color and strength. Make sure you prioritize, and don’t try anything while they are charging unless you’re safely out of the way. You’ll see them adopt a classic samurai sword stance before unleashing a wave of punishment. Don’t get caught anywhere near that attack.

Other Tips

Collect power ups and utilize the upgrade system before your game starts. You get something for completing every mission, and you earn more with style points. Execute headshots, slow motion kills, wall runs, slides and flips (a new motion where the user raises arms mid-jump) to add to your style score.

Experience also levels you up and gradually makes you stronger. You’re always getting stronger, but like any great ARPG you can fine tune your gear to dish out maximum damage.

Slide as much as you can. It helps you traverse the levels quickly, you can cut opponents off a the knees so they cannot follow you, and you can leap a level or two above for surprise attacks. That’s how you think like a ninja!

Use every available tool. If you find yourself stuck on a level or challenge, think about whether you’re too focused on a certain approach or weaponsite. Try something new and make sure you’re striking with focus and precision.

Oh, and don’t forget that you can add modifiers that increase your difficulty tier. If all of these tips work too well for you, and you can demolish everything in seconds, then pump up those modifiers. They come with better loot, more experience, and more items at the end of successful missions.

Enjoy the workout! Sairento is super fun! The higher your difficulty, the greater your rewards.