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It’s not long now
until the One-
Armed Wolf reveals
the full extent of
what’s up his
sleeve. We now
know he won’t be a silent
protagonist, your experience points
are carried through multiple deaths,
and there’ll even be
a proper pause
button. Developer
FromSoftware are
keen to keep the
tease going in the
run up to release,
revealing little
details here and there that are
keeping us satiated... for now.
The developer stresses that while
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice owes a
debt to Dark Souls, Bloodborne and,
yes, Tenchu too (don’t forget that
FromSoftware worked on thatoriginal ninja series), its intent was
very much to create something new
and distinct from those games.
The most obvious differences that
set it apart from their own
self-made competition are things like
the prosthetic tools (essentially ninja
trick weapons on your main man’s
false arm), and the ability to use
stealth to pick off
enemies. But really,
at its core, it’s all
about the katana.
Where games like
Dark Souls were
about caution and
shields, and
Bloodborne about quick dodges –
Sekiro is all about living by the blade.
Using your Japanese sword to
parry is simply essential to surviving
in the grim world of Sekiro. Don’t
expect to be able to translate your
knowledge of parry systems fromthe Soulsborne games, though. Any
leniency is out the window. It’s all
about precision, and that’s led into
the design. Reading enemy stances,
and their animation – you’ll need to
get to know your foes as well as you
know yourself to get the upper hand
on them. The path to mastering the
art of swordsmanship is not going to
be an easy one, but expect to feel
rewarded with your own progress
when you get there.FLICKERING SHADOWS
Sekiro features a world on fire,
figuratively and literally, like Yharnam
and Lordran. It’s interconnected,
navigable via the sculptor’s idols
which also transport you to the hub
area of the dilapidated shrine. There
you can interact with a number of
characters in the name of upgrades.
The lady Emma adds charges to your
healing gourd, and the ImmortalMoving out from
the Shadows
FromSoftware’s latest Soulsborne will cut its own path
THE WORLD
IS ON FIRE,
LITERALLY AND
FIGURATIVELY.You can return to the temple
hub area using a sculptor’s
idol – they work in a similar
way to Dark Souls’ bonfires.team talk
Mastering the blade is
all about precision but
wearing down your
opponent’s posture
will make that killing
blow all the sweeter.
It also doesn’t hurt
that experience won’t
be wiped completely
clean after having
your behind handed to
you more than once.
Jess Kinghorn
Staff Writer