Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs

Ups...

7. It's More Of The Same, And Then Some

Veterans of the Soulsborne games will be glad to hear that Sekiro is indeed a continuation of the level of majesty from previous Fromsoftware games that we adore, but it is also full of surprises to keep us on our toes.

Fans of the first Dark Souls game may feel a warm glow of deja vu in the few moments leading up to gameplay, as Sekiro begins with an almost exact parallel of Dark Souls' intro.

Shinobi combat is a breath of fresh air, but still has that same Dark Souls/Bloodborne feel to it. You cannot play this game as if it were Soulsborne, but having those skills from playing those games will transfer over to this one, especially the skill of keeping your patience!

However, this time around, we have a pre-set character and a much more personal story to discover alongside him. The world and its inhabitants are much more clearly defined, and we will learn about Sekiro's situation as he does, as we work to piece the broken pieces of his memory back together. You will genuinely really care about recovering young Lord Kuro.

There are so many new items to collect and discover their uses, and excess inventory is stored at idol checkpoints, as seen in Bloodborne. Loot is picked up from all enemies at once by holding a button to channel a little loot vaccuum with decent range, so stopping to pick up a shiny item is no longer perilous, although now that conversations with NPCs stop you in your tracks, interactions have become perilous instead!

Also... I fell off a cliff and did not die. What a welcome change!