It’s been over a year since Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice released. The game was critically well-received by the gaming community. Furthermore, it went on to collect much Game of The Year awards. I love the Souls games. After completing the previous three games, I was eager for Sekiro’s release. But due to some reasons, I could not play the game at release. After a year, however, I finally picked up the game and completed it.
In my opinion, it is indeed the best soul game out there. Here’s why:
Purely Skill-Based Combat
Battles in Sekiro test one’s skills and in a way that no other mainline souls games do. It’s not to say that the other soul’s games don’t do that. Their combat is also skill-based, but it relies much more on character progression via leveling instead of actual progression of player’s skills. Hence it’s not uncommon to see players cheesing an area or a boss in the mainline souls game. Since the mainline souls are RPGs and you level up your stats by collecting souls, the game design allows for easy farming. If a boss is too tough, farm for souls, level up, and beat the crap out of it.
Of course, it’s not easy but it’s easier than Sekiro. In Sekiro, one’s locked to using their Katana as the main weapon and the only HP and attack boosts can be gained by defeating bosses. So one has to skilled enough with the combat system to beat a boss or clear a particularly tough area.
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Fair Fights
People who play Souls know that one’s not expected to beat a boss on the first try because the attacks are unpredictable. After a couple of deaths, one does get a sense of the attack pattern and one can defeat them. In Sekiro, one might be tempted to think the same way since most of the boss’ attacks are long and devastating.
But, Sekiro’s revamped combat system, particularly the posture system is designed in a way that even blocking these combos move one closer and closer to victory. The frames and parry windows are also generous once the players get the hang of it. And one does have to get the hang of it.
In Sekiro, players can’t hide behind their shields like the souls game. They can’t dodge their way out. They have to head on face the enemies and rely on parrying to diminish their posture so as to make progress in the battle. It’s a fairly neat process, one that requires constant dedication and practice.
The Sculptor’s Idols or checkpoints are also mostly placed close to the boss room which ensures you don’t have to kill the same enemies again and again. Also, If one dies, they can resurrect themselves at the cost of spreading a deadly disease in the game world.
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More Focused Narrative
The story of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is more focused and easy to understand. Most of the story is told through cutscenes. However, you can wander off the beaten path, search through item descriptions, and exhaust NPC dialogues for additional information about the world and the people in it. In Dark Souls, the lore and dialogues are mostly cryptic.
Again, not to say it’s bad in any way. I know people who love this approach and read all item descriptions and travel every inch of the game world to know more about the story. That being said, I do feel that spreading a part of that narrative via the cut scenes serves better for the majority of the people.
FromSoftware is currently hard at work on their next big project called Elden Ring. Even though Miyazaki has confirmed that the game is a spiritual successor of Dark Souls, it would be much appreciated if the game borrows a few of the key elements from Sekiro than the previous souls’ games.
What are your thoughts on Sekiro Shadows Die Twice? Do you think it does things better than the previous souls’ games? Tell me in the comments down below.
