Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Review

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is one of the most difficult games put out by FromSoftware—and this is even though FromSoftware is known for their tough games. Even with Elden Ring and its extremely difficult DLC in the picture, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice still tops in terms of difficulty because of how far it strays from the standard FromSoftware formula. The RPG elements of the previous FromSoftware games go out the window, but the combat itself is so meticulously refined that it almost comes across as a masterpiece—that is, only if you manage to overcome the steep learning curve that comes with it.

When I first beat Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, I consider it one of my proudest moments in gaming. If you have heard anything about the game online, you know why I would make such a statement. I remember Demon of Hatred and Isshin, the Sword Saint, who made me tear my hair out in frustration, but the satisfaction that came when I finally beat them was like no other feeling.

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Let me start with the story and setting of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice first. The story takes place at the end of the Sengoku era in Japan. Japan was in constant conflict at this time, and you play as a shinobi, who is referred to as Wolf, serving a young lord with a powerful bloodline that lets people who die come back to life. This is where the "Shadows Die Twice" subtitle comes from. When your lord gets kidnapped by Ashina, Wolf takes responsibility for rescuing him at any cost.

When you start Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, you are presented with a beautiful, prerendered cutscene that sets the backdrop of this game. The way Sengoku era Japan is presented in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is stunning. The cutscene sets the scene and plays out Wolf's origin story, and you play through how he loses his arm as an adult. Don't worry; you get a prosthetic arm later that is, quite frankly, much cooler than what Wolf had before.

Of course, you have your scripted battle to lose before the real game begins, but funnily enough, a special cutscene plays if you manage to beat Genichiro in the prologue. It is really cool that FromSoftware has accounted for the ones who would attempt that.

The story in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is very straightforward this time, and the sort of dialogue that plays out in cutscenes and games is not the usual cryptic, you-will-understand-during-your-second-playthrough style we are used to. The world-building here is excellent, and the way FromSoftware incorporated a mechanic that lets you revive yourself is seamless.

Enough about the story. The combat in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the main reason the game is so good. Unlike Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring, you have no RPG elements. This means there is little to no build variety, and this becomes significant because you essentially have no way to work around the combat system FromSoftware has cooked up for you.

You can do a Strength-heavy build and tank a lot of hits or perhaps do a mage build to do damage from a distance in the other games, but in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, your only choice is to conquer the mechanics.

Befitting to the era you are in, your primary weapon is a sword, and it is generally what you will be up against. Each combat situation is a swordfight, and you will have the ability to dodge, stomp, attack, parry, and a block at your disposal. There is no FP bar or even a stamina bar in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Instead, you and your enemies both have a posture bar. When you attack an enemy, their posture bar fills up, and this is whether they block it or not. When this bar is full, their posture breaks, and you can do a finisher that takes away all the enemy's HP, but this also applies to you.

The HP bar is a secondary bar, and only the posture bar matters during combat. Posture recovers when you stop attacking, so you want to constantly attack the enemy to keep up the pressure. You have mechanics like Mikiri Counter, where you dodge toward a thrusting attack to step on their blade and do significant posture damage. You also have your parry to deal with the enemy's constant barrage of attacks and build up posture damage as well.

In combat, when an enemy is about to pull off a big move, the game throws up a red warning sign above your character. This gives you a split second to figure out what's coming and how to stop it. You can't parry these attacks, so you have to try things like jumping or dodging to avoid them. If you time your counter right, you can deal a good chunk of posture damage. This further emphasizes how much aggression this game expects from you.

And here's why your prosthetic arm is so cool; it's a game-changer in combat. As you explore, you'll find different upgrades that give your arm new tricks. You can use it to throw shurikens, or you can equip the Loaded Axe to smash through shields and stagger enemies.

The result of these mechanics is that almost every successful battle in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice ends up being this badass swordfight with little to no moments where nothing happens. You are constantly doing attacks, dodging, jumping to avoid certain attacks, dashing in, and parrying. And you have no choice but to do all of this because your HP is only enough to tank two hits or three if you are lucky. You don't get any stronger if you can't beat bosses, by the way.

This is why players who do not have the patience to master these mechanics find Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice so difficult—it actually is extremely difficult. When the game finally clicks for you, you feel as if the boss music you hear is because you are the boss fight and not who you are fighting. It almost feels like you are playing a rhythm game once you have figured out the bosses' attack patterns.

Since you also have the mechanic of reviving yourself during battles, it all feels fair enough—especially considering that the combat fundamentals are nearly flawless. Reviving yourself does come at a cost, though. Dragonrot takes place, where if you revive too much, NPCs will begin to die, which could lock you out of certain endings. You can get an item to counteract this, but there is a finite amount of them, so you have to be careful.

Being able to resurrect may sound slightly overpowered at first, but the game is nicely balanced around the mechanic. Dying completely results in a permanent loss of half of your experience and money. However, there's a 30% chance you'll receive Unseen Aid that saves you from losing anything. Resurrecting too much also reduces this percentage, though.

It's not just the combat that is excellent; the bosses are also top-class in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Sure, there are some annoying ones, like the Guardian Ape. It literally flings feces at you, but each mini-boss and main boss, with their multiple phases, is a lot of fun to crack.

The boss fights to feel like a puzzle and later feels like muscle memory once you have all the mechanics down. You can parry almost anything in this game, and it is a lot of fun to figure out the timings of all the crazy attacks you come across while playing.

The combat isn't all direct, either. You will generally be taking on huge enemy bases, where many men will be grouped together, so you are expected to take these situations on stealthily. Your prosthetic arm is a grappling hook, and you can double jump walls and hang off ledges, so you have a lot of tools to sneak around. You can simply jump-attack an unaware enemy from behind or from above to take them out in one blow.

Stealth in video games is always a mixed bag. I think Dishonored has one of the best executions of stealth mechanics. With that game as the standard, the stealth section of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice gets the job done. It never gets annoying, and the whole area doesn't get alerted too easily when you start killing things. Plus, slashing enemies' throats from above or behind is always satisfying.

Because you have all of these tools to maneuver yourself, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice comes across as a much more vertical game than previous FromSoftware titles. You can grapple hook to tree branches and ledges and swing around, almost like Spider-man at times.

The exploration is reminiscent of Dark Souls and Bloodborne. It has a large, interconnected world full of sprawling twists, hidden treasures, and secrets—the good stuff FromSoftware is known for. There is a considerable amount of variety between areas, and FromSoftware does an excellent job of presenting them without making them feel disjointed. You also, of course, have a poison lake section. You can't have a Hidetaka Miyazaki game without a poison lake.

The music and visuals in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are thematically on point. Admittedly, Ghost of Tsushima takes the crown, in my opinion, for representing this sort of era of Japan, but Sekiro is one of the most pleasant-looking FromSoftware games while still keeping the dark vibe to hint at the dark secrets of this world. And FromSoftware never misses their soundtrack. The music is absolutely perfect here.

There are also some great quality-of-life features, like the ability to redo any boss fight you have previously beaten without having to replay the whole game. It is perplexing why this feature is unavailable in the other Souls games. The boss fights are the game's highlights, and it is not unreasonable to want to fight them on demand.

When you take it all in, it is no surprise why Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice won the game of the year back in 2019. The flawless combat system, the glorious emphasis on parrying, and each successful boss fight turns out to be absolute cinema. Much of this is due to the game's exceptional boss design as well.

FromSoftware cooked up one of the best combat systems with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and never did anything like it again. That may be a good thing, as it makes this game one of a kind. If you are a fan of Souls games or a borderline masochist, you will, without a doubt, love Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice because it is a masterpiece. It is a must-play for all hardcore gamers.