Three and Out – ‘Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’

It is Ben’s recommendation that you listen to Yuka Kitamura’s score of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice while reading.

Beneath Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s core is a simmering swath of magical realism. The game unfolds like a long, confounding dream that only makes sense as a whole rather than the bits and pieces that compose it. With an atmosphere ranging from ape-infested mountains to serene temples filled with supernatural horrors, Sekiro is From Software’s most visually and emotionally diverse game to date. Every step forward feels like an adventure – one that inevitably feels worth the story that it delivers, no matter the horrific encounters along the way. With divergent landscapes, swift combat, and terrific world building, Sekiro is an unforgettable experience. One that lingered with me in the moments before falling asleep at night and until after I woke up the next morning.

For as much as the high-velocity combat in Sekiro will be talked about, and should be talked about, its universe is a fascinating one that will go less noticed. The game’s central plot is arguably its most organized feature, which is a hefty departure for From Software. Loosely taking place in 16th-century Japan, Sekiro tasks Wolf, the game’s one-armed protagonist, with preventing the existence of an immortal army. With several different routes to choose from and a dozen or so interesting players involved, Sekiro is a tightly wound narrative experience where player choice still holds weight. Even more engaging are the side quests scattered around Ashina, where characters roam and exist boundless from the game’s main arc. I experienced quests that involved fulfilling a merchant’s life-long dream of becoming a carp and fooling a well-intentioned samurai into an early grave. The only thing unifying these characters is a single game element: my own death. The more times I died as Wolf, the more a brutal disease called “Dragonrot” spread to the game’s various NPC’s and, as far as I could tell, it was only spread to the ones that I had met. I felt like King Midas. Only, in Sekiro, my touch brought a plague alongside it. The mechanic is certainly interesting, and while it doesn’t have the fatalistic impact I almost wish it had, it still alters the game in all sorts of different ways.

Much like the world surrounding it, Sekiro’s combat is brutal, precise, and beautiful. The earliest moments were frustrating as I failed to meet the game’s frenetic pace. Luckily, Sekiro is also From’s best effort in terms of guiding player development. An undying NPC helped me develop my moveset, which consisted of five imperative elements: block, parry, attack, counter and dodge. While the game does force one style of play in a vacuum, this style of play can be broken into all kinds of elements. For instance, there were a handful of enemies that appear twice in the game, and I found success with both a hit-and-run tactic and a more nuanced (but often more effective) parry, counter and then attack style. Both breed separate feelings of triumph: one chaotic and smooth, the other merciless and satisfying. With Sekiro’s more experimental design also comes an abundance of frustrating issues, including poorly mapped key-bindings (which can be changed), a camera that has a life of its own (especially in the game’s tighter arenas) and occasionally unresponsive counters. Especially when boss fights have a tendency to range into double-digit minutes, these minor hiccups are a lot more upsetting than they normally would be. With that being said, whether it was my first try or my 20th, Sekiro’s boss fights hit the sweet spot between variety and progression. Each boss brings a new set of challenges with it, but more often than not, my previously learned skills were put to good use. There is a lot of trial and error involved, but the immense satisfaction that comes with an enemy’s defeat is unmatched in video games. Alongside a cache of special attacks that come from Wolf’s prosthetic arm, all of which can be upgraded, each enemy has exploitable weaknesses. Experimenting in each fight, whether it be a larger strategy or involving the game’s wide choice of equipment, is where most of the fun comes from in the face of an incredibly difficult and arduous challenge.

Thank you for reading. Your Patreon support keeps our community entirely Ad free.