The Soulsbourne phenomenon continues into 2019, with Sekiro: Shadows Die destined to become the next From Software title to make players despair at their TV screens as they inevitably reload a boss-battle for the 50th time. For those who enjoy the excruciating - some would say, satisfying - experience conjured by the studio in Dark Souls and Bloodborne, however, Sekiro will likely be top of their most anticipated releases of the year.
Shown off at last year's E3, the game boasts a brand new setting inspired by Japanese history and mythology, with the player taking on the role of a shinobi (or ninja), as they take revenge on the samurai who attacked him and his lord.
As with most games from this year Sekiro looks like a visual delight, but of course the main draw will be its gameplay, which seems to be capturing the perfect balance of challenge and depth FromSoftware's previous titles have all managed to do in one way or another.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
