Test Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice game from FromSoftware

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is often brutally difficult and often esoteric, like Dark Souls and Bloodborne from the developer FromSoftware, but compared to other games in the studio, it has surprisingly friendly touches.

Playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice at a recent Activision event in New York, a many familiar elements of Soulsborne games. Melee battles are tense and difficult. There is a woman in a guardian role, Emma the Physician, who behaves much like the Dark Souls Fire Keeper 3 or the Bloodborne Doll. She will improve your healing gourd and tell you stories about this world and its people. 

There are places to rest - Buddha statues, in the case of Sekiro - that allow you to travel quickly around the world. Of course, there are often opaque game concepts that are introduced with little explanation and it will take time to fully understand. And the challenges are immense.

There are also surprises that seem destined for newcomers in challenging action games. Sekiro is kind enough to offer a very clear combat tutorial - but optional and potentially unfortunate. A man named Immortal Hanbei was waiting for me outside the game's starting area, a ruined temple. Infested with a condition he called "immortal," Hanbei challenged me to kill him, which  forced by putting a sword on his neck. To his dismay he was not dead, but we made friends and he taught me the basics of Sekiro's swordplay, dodges and counter-attacks.


One of the nicest additions is simply the ability to pause a Sekiro game, something  could not do in Dark Souls or Bloodborne because of their online connectivity. Very early, the game stops from time to time to introduce new elements or new mechanisms. This taught me how to use the protagonist's grapple to move quickly around the world and even pick up objects on the ground. While FromSoftware 's other games have relegated players' instructions to field - based messages and a battle in the thick of everything, Sekiro' s first moments seem to be reaching out to a wider audience.

But make no mistake: Sekiro is a huge challenge. Sword fighting requires intense concentration and quick reflexes.  ducked and deflected sword shots, jumped over irreproachable attacks - the game had warned me with an upset red kanji every time it was about to happen - and reduced the stamina of my enemies until can strike a fatal blow. These deadly blows spread violent jets of red on the screen, and each kill is extremely rewarding.
Some early combat situations are extremely easy. Unarmed soldiers suffer only a few quick katana strikes to break their defenses. But there are soon big ambitious mini-leaders, like heavily-armored samurai generals who are relentless and resilient.

While fierce fighting is at the heart of Sekiro's action, they are balanced by moments of stealth. Using the grapple, one of Sekiro's "shinobi prosthetic" tools, It was able to quickly and gracefully jump to the top of trees or on the roof of a building and hide from enemies. Or it could sneak through the roofs, carefully planning my attack on a solitary soldier once his companion left. it could camouflage Sekiro himself by slipping in the tall grass of the shoulder, or sneaking under the buildings to hear the guards' conversations. Listening to my enemies - there is a dedicated "Listen" button - provides valuable information, such as locating a tool that it need or the weakness of a particular creature. At one point,  looked up to hear a peasant soldier tell his friend that the ogre chained, a rabid-fueled giant  could see chained to the top of a hill, hated fire. When  needed respite in a battle with this angry ogre later,  approached a nearby bonfire to get him away from me. It was a welcome tip from FromSoftware, rarely known for its warm welcome.

In addition to a warm katana and grappling hook, used to kill and move fast around the world, Sekiro also gave me a fascinating toolbox of skills and non-lethal combat options. The shinobi prosthesis can be upgraded early to allow effective shuriken to harass enemies or knock them out. Later, the prosthesis can be improved with an ax to crush the wooden shields. Much later, he can fire fireworks that muffle his enemies or spurt a wave of flames to set his enemies on fire.
Have seen other strategic combat options, including what FromSoftware calls combat skills that include a powerful descending katana strike and ninjutsu powers, such as the ability to turn my enemies' arterial sprays into clouds. Bloody dust - a bloody smoke grenade that it could summon. to hide me.

Death itself can be used strategically in combat. Although it comes with punishment , could get better after being knocked down. This is extremely useful in some combat situations, because the enemies take the death value.  Could resurrect him and immediately stab an unsuspecting enemy in the back as he moved away.

 While some opportunities to reverse death can only be reset with Buddha statues, others can be fulfilled by killing the enemies.

Death also has other implications. The magic blood flowing through Sekiro's veins can cause problems for non-player characters around him, such as the mysterious busshi, called only The Sculptor. An affliction called Dragonrot will spread as Sekiro dies in the game and, very early, he infects The Sculptor. According to my playing time, it is difficult to know how to fix it, and as accessible as it may be Sekiro: Shadows Die Two, the game still contains obtuse elements.



Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice feels simple and streamlined in another way. There is a story easy to digest where a hero seeks revenge and protects his divine lord. There is also a little twist in time; At one point,  prayed to a Buddha statue that sent Sekiro a few years back, where he seemed confused about his time and his place in the world. The enemies  fought are not the bloody creatures of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but samurai, monks, mounted soldiers, yokai and giants. But there are also unexpected things to face, like huge roosters watching buildings and a gigantic white giant snake. And, as the FromSoftware tradition has it, there are mysterious characters with whom to talk, who will offer cryptic clues to the world and its supernatural elements.

You can see many of these items and the high speed action of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice in the above gameplay video, which offers a 20 minute overview of three areas of the game.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be released on March 22 on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One.

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