Prepare to Die Twice* in Sekiro

FromSoftware provided the bare minimum of info for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice upon announcing it at E3 2018, just enough for fans of the company’s previous games to anticipate it. All they needed to say was that this is Hidetaka Miyazaki’s next project, who previously directed all the Souls games outside Dark Souls II, and directed Bloodborne.

But they were also quick to say that Sekiro won’t be a follow-up to those titles, and will have several elements to distinguish it from them. They also confirmed how this will be an action game where players will favor a strong offense and defense when fighting enemies, which made it sound similar to the newer Ninja Gaiden games. Some details were translated from a Japanese source, while others were provided by the press through their observations, so it was tough to tell precisely how accurate the early assessments of the game were.

After reading the details, I surmised that it sounded like a good version of Ninja Gaiden III. (That’s not Ninja Gaiden III: Razor’s Edge, by the way.)  The better Ninja Gaiden games also favored strong offenses and defenses, since enemies can hit hard while the player has to look for openings. Like Ryu Hayabasa in NGIII, Sekiro’s shinobi protagonist will use unique techniques with his disfigured arm, and the game was said to have light stealth. Though the press saw it in action behind closed doors at E3, it took until Gamescom for FromSoftware and western publisher Activision to show it to the public. The game itself looks different than some early impressions insinuated.

Sekiro actually resembles a fusion of the Tenchu games (most of which FromSoftware merely published, and Activision published in western territories), with elements from the so-called Soulsbourne games and the Otogi titles mixed in. There’s a good reason for this: FromSoftware community manager Yasuhiro Kitao explained to GamesIndustry that the game started as a new Tenchu installment, but the game grew beyond the scope of that. Since Activision is publishing this outside Japan, this marks a happy reunion.

The aforementioned mention of light stealth made it sound like a tertiary feature, but it’s actually quite important. It’s an easier way to get the jump on small and large enemies. While approaching them from behind is the most predictable way to take enemies out, they can also be silenced from the air, while hanging from ledges below them, and while hugging the wall as an enemy strolls past. This is where it’s easy to see how it started as a Tenchu game, and some of the added traversing options also wouldn’t be out of place in one of those games.

Like any action game, the smaller enemies don’t appear to be too big of a threat when fought separately, but can become a hassle in groups, particularly when they’re all capable of defending attacks. The larger enemies, however, can take a while to topple, and hit hard. One stealth attack is capable of either taking half of their health, or can kill them altogether, however.

The melee combat further distinguishes this game from FromSoftware’s other familiar titles. The shinobi can attack regularly, dodge, and block, and his sword will often clash with the enemy’s. Weakening their defenses will enable the player to land a finishing blow, admittedly where a slight Ninja Gaiden similarity comes in. The battles with larger enemies show where players have to show how they’ve been paying attention, as they’ll require a healthy dose of parrying, blocking, attacking, and dodging to defeat. They’ll be even harder to take down with other enemies coming for the player during the battles.

There are also attacks that can instantly break the opponent’s guard, like the axe in the demo. But strikes from this are noticeably slower than normal attacks, and risk the player being exposed for a quick second. This only applies to the weapon in the demo, so there’s a chance other weapons could be faster. I’m emphasizing “chance” since they may want this to be risky.

Like any recent FromSoftware game, the player will die a lot. But precisely how death will work will be unique here. The player can revive themselves on the spot upon dying, but they’ll have to earn the right to revive again afterward. They can do that by killing several enemies in a row without dying, which won’t be easy given how hard they hit, even with the existence of healing items.

With how the approach to battle and death works, it’s easy to see where early reports about this game potentially being harder than the Souls games came from. This might only apply to early parts of the game, as players adjust to the learning curve. Following that, there’s a good chance that it could remain challenging, but won’t be unfair. That would make it similar to the Souls games Miyazaki directed, but in terms of action games, it would also be similar to… Ninja Gaiden. See? That comparison wasn’t entirely off base.

There’s also a chance the difficulty could be adjusted after a potential beta, reminiscent of Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja’s Nioh. That’s not just me putting the possibility out there, as FromSoftware PR manager Yasuhiro Kitao mentioned to Fextralife that one could happen this fall. Keep the word “potential” in mind, so don’t come after me if it a beta never arrives. But here’s hoping it does.

Sekiro will release on March 22nd for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.