We are just days away from the release of the upcoming Sekiro Shadows Die Twice. Best known for its Dark Souls games and Bloodborne, Hidetaka Miyazaki and his development studio From Software are set to unleash the new ninja action title to eager PS4, Xbox One and PC gamers this Friday. Just ahead of this week’s launch, From Software has dropped a new gameplay overview trailer that will hopefully give gamers a better idea of how they are going to die over and over again on March 22nd. Head below for all the details.
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Background:
What originally started as a Tenchu spiritual successor of sorts became a new From Software IP somewhere along the way (sorry Tenchu fans). Gamers that remember the stealth ninja title will see remnants of the long lost franchise alongside classic From Software Dark Souls tropes. However, we are looking at a number of notable diversions from the usual formula. In other words, the combat mechanics have changed quite significantly, but you’re still going to die…a lot.
Initially unveiled at E3 2018, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice continues From’s attempt at making AAA console games about as hard as anyone will let them get away with. Despite the fact that Sekiro speeds things up and forces players to be even more aggressive than its past works, it is still in no way a casual experience. Most early hands-on impressions from experienced Soulsborne players have suggested as much.
Story:
The game takes place in the late 1500s during the Sengoku period in Japan. Players take on the role of a Shinobi warrior that goes by the name of the Wolf as he is tasked with rescuing his master. The young boy is known as the “Divine Heir” and is the descendant of a mysterious bloodline Wolf must protect from nefarious clans. As usual, the story appears to be quite vague – forcing players to piece it all together through bits of dialogue, item descriptions and more.
Gameplay:
This time around you will have one main sword that you will use through the entirety of the experience. In your other hand, however, is a Shinobi prosthetic arm you can find new attachments for. That includes the Loaded Axe, Loaded Spear, Flame Vent, Shuriken, Firecrackers and the Loaded Umbrella for defensive maneuvers. The new Grappling Hook also falls in that category while adding an entirely new mobility to a From Software game. Players can zip around the map adding a level of vertically to both traversal and combat.
Combat:
Speaking of which, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is a much more aggressive game as you won’t find much success dodging everything coming your way or hiding behind a shield Dark Souls-style. Enemies have a Posture gauge you will have to break through with well timed blocks in order to land a death blow. And the same goes for you. This creates a sort of clashing of the swords and a much faster paced combat. It forces players to pay attention to every encounter and sword slash coming their way.
Can You Really Die Twice Though?
The short answer is, yes. After being bested on the battlefield, players can decide to resurrect themselves right at the spot they dropped to take another shot at it. In fact, you earn multiple resurrection points just by defeating enemies, although the frequency with which you can use the mechanic is limited by the devs. Think of a cool down period of sorts where you have to elimninate a number of enemies in order to gain the ability once again.
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Dragon Rot:
It certainly won’t make things easy though. You will lose half your gold and other resources upon resurrection in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice. there is also a mysterious world tendency mechanic tied into the resurrection process that will see something known as Dragon Rot spread. Details are thin here as I have a suspicion it will play into the narrative at large. The basics here are that the more you abuse the resurrection mechanic more of the NPCs around you will begin to come down with Dragon Rot. This will in turn inhibit your ability to play out certain quests lines, access optional gear and more. It is easily one of the more interesting parts of the experience as far as we can tell.
Take a look at today’s new Gameplay Overview trailer above.
9to5Toys’ Take:
This one is being published by Activision so it will appear on Xbox as well as PS4. That’s certainly a good thing, but it did worry me initially. Maybe Activision would make them to play ball with industry standards forcing them to make the game easier and more palatable for the masses. While the team has shed the deeper RPG elements (like the class system and individual stat points), it appears as though From Software has remained at the helm on this one. We haven’t heard any damaging complaints from the Soulsborne community just yet, so anything From may have done to make this thing a little bit more accessible hasn’t gutted the experience entirely. There are some tutorial like elements to the game that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but anything that can make From’s incredible titles more playable without taking the soul out of them is a good thing.
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