Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Coming 2019) Discussion

[LoopyPanda]

Note: this is a thread following publicized updates regarding the upcoming game by FromSoftware (who brought you Bloodborne and Dark Souls) and will serve as a place for people to discuss the game until its actual release, by which point this thread may or may not be closed to open a proper game discussion thread when it comes out.

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Platforms: PS4, XBox One, Microsoft Windows​

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an upcoming action-adventure video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Activision. It will be directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. Also available for preorder.

Trailer, from E3 (Official)​

[align=center][video=youtube]

Important Links & Resources (in progress)


Sekiro subreddit
Sekiro FAQ
Playstation Blog interview with Miyazaki
Official Website (pretty bare, but I expect it to become more filled out as development continues)

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Lore Teased so far:

Carve your own clever path to vengeance in an all-new adventure from developer FromSoftware, creators of Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series.

In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice you are the “one-armed wolf”, a disgraced and disfigured warrior rescued from the brink of death. Bound to protect a young lord who is the descendant of an ancient bloodline, you become the target of many vicious enemies, including the dangerous Ashina clan. When the young lord is captured, nothing will stop you on a perilous quest to regain your honor, not even death itself.

Explore late 1500s Sengoku Japan, a brutal period of constant life and death conflict, as you come face to face with larger than life foes in a dark and twisted world. Unleash an arsenal of deadly prosthetic tools and powerful ninja abilities while you blend stealth, vertical traversal, and visceral head to head combat in a bloody confrontation.

What's new (gameplay mechanics):
-Resurrection: players revive themselves immediately without returning to a checkpoint. And despite how it might sound, game director Hidetaka Miyazaki says this can make Sekiro harder than Souls, not easier.
-Supposedly, Sekiro subverts much of what Dark Souls introduced to players in terms of gameplay.
-Miyazaki: "Sekiro's difficulty was designed with the knowledge players can die and resurrect on the spot."

"There are three ways death influences Sekiro," Miyazaki tells the PS Blog. "For the gameplay purposes of keeping the flow good and being able to have this risky situation, to be able to use it creatively, and also that the story centers around the concept of resurrection.

"There’s one thing I’d like to make sure isn’t misunderstood: the resurrection system was not introduced to make the game easier. If anything, it actually can make the game harder because it allows us to push the edge of risky combat where the player can die at any moment."

Miyazaki doesn't commit to the specifics of Sekiro's resurrection system—"the system itself is not yet 100 percent final," he says—but does suggest it controls the pace of the game, and the difficulty based around it. 

"Just because you have this resurrection mechanic, it doesn’t mean the player won’t be afraid of death," he adds.

• Right-hand weapon is limited to a Katana, left-hand weapon gains accessories as you progress.
• Grapple mechanic to traverse vertically.
• Arsenal of ninja tools/weapons
• Visceral melee combat - a focus on "Posture" and "Parry" to execute finishing moves.
• Stealth is a mechanic, and there's a persistent "cat-and-mouse" atmosphere.
• There's a dedicated jump button.
• The level design is interconnected, complex and vertical, with many secret ways and doors.
• The "revive" mechanic carries an unknown penalty but can be used to fool a group of enemies into dispersing.
• There is some sort of healing item that was used during the demo

General Info

• Developer: FromSoftware
• Publisher: Activision Blizzard
• Bandai Namco are not associated with the title. The IP of Sekiro has nothing connected to Dark Souls or Bloodborne series; thus making Sekiro its own universe/narrative.
• Single-player experience only, NO multiplayer.
• Dark souls and Bloodborne were Western-oriented settings (predominantly Medieval/Dark Age and Gothic themed), whereas Sekiro departs from that and focuses on the 1500s Samurai period.
• NOT AN RPG. Instead, it is an action-adventure with RPG elements unlike other fromsoft games.
• No stats, no character levels or classes. No traditional RPG equipment or upgrades.
• "Tenchu" is a cited influence.

Essentially, this is a game that is almost entirely unlike anything Dark Souls or Bloodborne players have dealt with in the past. It is a new experience that fans and new ones alike could easily get behind (especially if it isn't touting itself as an RPG title like DS and BB). It is unknown if Character Customization will still be present in spite of the lack of class and stats to choose from.

ETA: Polygon and Fextralife added screenshots of the game.

 

[ShineCero]

Now that's badass! 

I really like the aesthetics of the game and the world looks amazing. The resurrection system seems interestingly enough. I assuming that each time you die and come back, the game becomes significantly harder as an result. :thinking:

 

[LoopyPanda]

If resurrection is an option, it makes me wonder how savepoints or progress checkpoints would work. Kind of makes me nervous lol.

In Bloodborne, the currency system is essentially centered around how long you live and your inevitable death, but it seems Sekiro's money will stay with you even if you die. Its map layout was very linear and requires you to essentially open gates for shortcuts and serve as your way back to any lanterns for save points. The grappling technique sounds interesting though, and with a dedicated jumping button (which would have solved a lot of inconveniences in BB and DS) makes me think Sekiro's world layout may differ.

 

[ShineCero]

There's a new trailer for the game!

[video=youtube]

 

[LoopyPanda]

There's a new trailer for the game!

[video=youtube]

Now this is some dank stuff-- we get a higher quality preview with more sneak peeks at the actual gameplay!

I noticed that the prosthetic arm looks to be somewhere between completely artificial and still part of the actual body; there's a red string going down the upper arm and he seems pretty able to move it like it were no different than having a normal arm. Looks to be more bone and twine than metal or something else. This may tie into the instant-resurrection mechanic Miyazaki mentioned a few months prior-- and maybe the fireflies to some extent carry into the lore behind the resurrection.

Bosses look really freaking cool though and seem to have their own dedicated attack set that vastly differs from each other... I'd love to use that fan-shield thing in a battle lol! I also hear the visceral attack sound effect right down to the last second.

For those unable to watch the video, I want to point out that we now have an official release date (which I'll add to the OP): March 22, 2019! Mark your calendars!

Some may wonder, "well, I'd like to get used to playing Miyazaki's games, but I don't know which of the Soulsborne titles to pick first!" 
Just know a few things:

• The previous titles he made are all RPG-reliant systems. As far as we know, Sekiro will not go along with that, and has a more limited weapons selection from the looks of it.
• Your first Soulsborne game is your hardest. But it doesn't have to be! there are many Walkthroughs available online that you can follow along with for both the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne so you can feel less lost while learning after observing a more experienced player guide you properly. And while Bloodborne has a more 'linear' world path, the game doesn't really tell you too much on where to go (at least, not beyond what a few NPCs will tell you, and even then, it's mostly up to you in what order you want to do things if said tasks are not immediately inherent to advancing the game via chronology.). I only have knowledge of Bloodborne though, and have not played Dark Souls, so I can only give you advice based on opinions I've heard around the web. (Though, I do plan on making a Bloodborne thread-- yes, people still play it and find new things to this very day!)
• Dark Souls is slower paced compared to Bloodborne, and feels more punishing in terms of rushing into combat and forcing you to plan your moves instead. Bloodborne is more on-the-spot and rewards you for being a little more headstrong; if you get hit by an enemy, and hit them back, you can gain almost all your HP back in the same or lesser time it takes for you to run behind a tree and use a HP-restore item. Dark Souls does not have a parry-HP absorb system like BB, and only in DS3 can you actually parry your opponent anyway. (correct me if I'm wrong though).
• Bloodborne's pacing remains the same regardless of what builds/classes you choose to pursue. The game play is unique for each build (i.e. beasthood boost, arcane-only, bloodtinge, etc). It has different endings based on what you do in-game. Not sure if DS has any different ending routes.
• Even if you're in it for learning the gameplay, I think the stories are well worth exploring.

 

[ShineCero]

Sorry for the delay! I saw this 40 minutes of gameplay, so what do you guys think so far?

[video=youtube]

 

[LoopyPanda]

It's interesting that unlike Soulsborne, your healthbar and items/hotbar are at the bottom of the screen ahile the enemy healthbar is at the top right corner where you would expect your things to be. The combat and way of getting around is also quite a change of pace, although if you've ever used the grappling hook to go places in Dying Light, this doesn't seem much different.

It's coming out tomorrow at midnight, but there is no demo, so if you don't want to immediately spend 60 USD and didn't preorder it already, I would wait until they launch a discount special. The preorder is still possible until midnight, but the only real perk to that is that they thrown in the Sekiro dynamic PS4 theme after checkout for free.

 

[ShineCero]

Pretty sure none of us have the game at the moment, but what are your overall thoughts from the various gameplays? I thought it's very interesting. It seems similar to Dark Soul, but it's clearly it's own different beast.