Following its release on March 22, 2019, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has already been praised by critics, streamers, and most of the gaming community.
With titles such as the trilogy Dark Souls or Bloodborne behind them, the Japanese studio FromSoftware set the bar very high. How does this evilly difficult game differentiate itself from its predecessors?
The one-armed wolf
The game takes place in Japan at the feudal age, more specifically during the Sengoku period in the 16th century, where you play as Sekiro (隻狼, short for one-armed wolf in Japanese), a shinobi with a mechanical arm rescued to the brink of death, whose mission is to protect a young lord from a clan who wants to sacrifice him for his blood.
When the lord is kidnapped, you embark on a dangerous journey to regain your honor, and will succeed no matter the cost, even through death …
Similar games…
Like the other games from video game studio FromSoftware, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is known for its incredible difficulty, challenging even the most skilled players.
The game features melee combat against a wide variety of enemies; you can also fight many bosses, some of which are optional. The world is vast and full of secrets for the player to find.
…but not really
Despite similarities with Dark Souls and Bloodborne, the game system is based on fighting enemies with parries to perform with precise timing. This way, you make them lose posture and balance, which leads to an opening for landing a hit. You will need to adapt to this combat system, otherwise fights might seem impossible to win.
Moreover, a big part of the game is stealth. The game lets you execute enemies who did not notice the player’s presence. Developers at FromSoftware say they originally wanted to create a spiritual sequel to Tenchu, a series of infiltration video games.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is available on Steam (Windows PC), PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Have you played the game? If so, what did you think about it? Otherwise do you plan on buying it? Tell us in the comments below!
