If you’ve ever played any of the Dark Souls games, then you know what to expect from From Software: Challenging but extremely engaging gameplay. And their new action RPG, “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” is nothing short of that. It’s too bad that I didn’t have time to play more of the game, but I did have two good hours of gameplay so far. Let me share some quick first impressions.
As soon as I jumped into it, I noticed how much more mobile my main character is compared to those in the Souls games. Jumping is a simple button press and is now a core part of the gameplay. Not only do you jump a lot higher, but you can wall jump to get even higher. As a result, the level design has a great emphasis on verticality. There are parts where you will have to jump to climb up ledges, and it almost feels like I’m playing “Uncharted” at times, and there seems to be no fall damage, which makes platforming a lot more fun for me because I normally suck at it.
In addition to jumping, you also get an awesome grappling hook that allows you to easily go from one rooftop to another. By grappling on to vantage points, you can perform drop stealth kills that can take out enemies in one hit, or get away from bosses that would otherwise kill you. It’s super exciting to do because you really feel like an agile shinobi who can go anywhere and efficiently murder anyone. Unlike in Souls games, where your vertical movements are limited to small-distance jumps, using ladders and elevators, and falling to death, “Sekiro” is a great change of pace and a welcome addition in regards to movement mechanics.
But let’s move on to the combat, which is obviously the core focus of “Sekiro.” First of all, there’s no stamina bar, which is great news for players who hated the system in Souls games and just want to spam attack and quickstep to their heart’s content. There is also, quite surprisingly, a resurrect mechanic. You get to come back from the dead on the spot once, with half health, if you’re killed, but you die for real if you die a second time, unless you kill enough enemies to get another charge. However, shields are not present in this game and guarding enemy attacks requires parrying with your weapon with precise timing. This isn’t much of a trade-off though because you can always evade attacks with quicksteps.
The speed of combat is quite fast, probably faster than any Souls game to date, but don’t expect to be able to play the game like “Dynasty Warriors” and stun-lock enemies with pure button mashes. All the enemies I’ve encountered so far will try to parry and deflect your blows, especially the humanoid bosses. It’s also a lot easier to die, at least in the earlier levels, as your starting H.P. bar is quite small, and healing items aren’t easy to come by.
So how does this all translate to difficulty? I have only played for a few hours, but I think I have a decent grasp of it. If you’re familiar with the gameplay of Souls games, you’ll be thoroughly challenged, but it’s not too far from what you’ve experienced before. In other words, it’s everything you expect it to be plus some new things to learn.
As a Souls fan, you shouldn’t miss out on this one. But if you’re a brand-new player to these kinds of games, you’ll probably struggle a lot because there are no games on the market that are quite like them. They are very demanding, and it’s easy to get frustrated, and “Sekiro” will probably be especially more so with its high-speed combat, low health and lack of healing. However, I still highly recommend it to those who might be turned off by the game’s difficulty because it will be an immensely rewarding experience. If you can spare some quality time for gaming, “Sekiro” will make every second worth it. Trust me. I can’t wait to play more when the weekend comes.
