History VideoGame / SekiroShadowsDieTwice

* FlashStep: The Mist Raven prosthetic tool allows Wolf to perform one, leaving on his wake a dark trail and raven feathers. It is used to perform invulnerable dodges in order to get away from troublesome situations. It can be further upgraded to the Aged Feather Mist Raven to perform the dodge even more rapidly, or the Great Feather Mist Raven to create a fiery trail that hurts enemies.

** Another recurring theme is the Buddhist concept of karma. First, there's the resurrection mechanic. Using the Divine Heritage to resurrect requires the life force of another to work, which is how dragonrot is spread. Spreading dragonrot means your chances of receiving Unseen Aid is reduced. [[spoiler:Also, as mentioned above, the worst endings seem to be a result of Wolf being cruel and selfish at pivotal moments, while the best endings are brought about by him being kind. Another example of karma would be the Sculpter, who, after decades of being a ninja, succumbs to his rage and guilt and turns into a Shura.]]

** The GOTY update adds four of these to the game, but you'll need to play through a NewGamePlus with at least one ''Shura'' ending to unlock all of them. In each gauntlet, you'll fight through a series of bosses themed after the beginning of the game, the ''Shura'' ending, or the regular endings, with certain final bosses being modified "Inner" versions who have some new moves. Luckily, the game allows you to rest up and restock between each boss, and beating the first three gauntlet will unlock either one of the "Inner" bosses' move or a costume. The last gauntlet makes you go through every single boss in the game, but you get no prize for beating it.

** Choosing to [[spoiler:obey Owl's Iron Code will cause the game to reach straight to the Shura Ending where you fight two bosses before the game abruptly ends, leaving the endgame permanently locked out until the next New Game Cycle]]. To prevent the player from accidentally picking the option when they didn't intend to, [[spoiler:Owl will then ask again to confirm Wolf's decision if the player initially chosed the "Obey the Iron Code. Forsake Kuro" option]].

** [[spoiler:Ultimately this applies to Ashina in general. Every morally dubious length Genichiro stooped to in order to try and protect Ashina from outside encroachment comes up short -- the aforementioned power gained from red eyes is easily subdued by fire (which the Ministr employs heavily), Kuro's power is never able to be exploited before Wolf puts a stop to it, and even Genichiro's own choice to forsake his humanity for more power doesn't save him from meeting his demise no matter what ending occurs. Indeed, Genichiro's decision to kidnap Kuro and get Wolf involved in the conflict winds up crippling Ashina's forces even ''more'' because Wolf wipes out many of the Ashina army's toughest fighters in pursuit of Kuro, but even if he'd left Kuro alone, the downfall of Ashina was likely inevitable.]]

** In a shockingly merciful touch, it is impossible to fall off cliffs by accident, i.e. by running or dodging towards the edge. If the player does so, an invisible wall will stop them, and this even applies to knockback from enemy attacks, meaning you can't be killed via RingOut, which is a ''very'' common cause of death in other From games. Only deliberate jumps and a few notable enemies like the Chained Ogre’s throws and Armored Warrior’s attacks (which is a side effect of the [[DisneyVillainDeath victory condition]]) can bypass this.

** In a shockingly merciful touch, it is impossible to fall off cliffs by accident, i.e. by running or dodging towards the edge. If the player does so, an invisible wall will stop them, and this even applies to knockback from enemy attacks, meaning you can't be killed via RingOut, which is a ''very'' common cause of death in other From games. Only deliberate jumps can bypass this.

** Mibu Village, a Japanese village shrouded by fog and and inhabited by people that turned into undead monsters after drinking water said to grant immortality that originated from a white deity, is very reminiscent of Hanada from ''[[VideoGame/Siren1 Siren]]''.

*** The Divine Abduction as a whole suffers from this. It turns enemies around when used, opening them up for a backstab, and it insta-kills the Seekers in Senpou Temple (including the Taro Troops). However, it has to be charged before unleashing. Unfortunately, the charge animation is ''very'' long, the charge itself dissipates very quickly if not unleashed, and Wolf can easily be knocked out of both the charging and unleashing animations. Making things worse, the spirit emblems are deducted when charging the fan, so if the charge dissipates before you can unleash it, you've just wasted spirit emblems. Outside of Senpou Temple, it's mostly useless.

*** [[spoiler:When Isshin is revived as the FinalBoss, he eventually summons a recreation of the strongest spear he ever used, which is the same spear Gyoubu used as the first boss.]]

* {{Expy}}:
** The centipedes infecting the Undying bring to mind the Vermin of ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', which are also centipedes associated with ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kegare kegare]]'' (spiritual defilement) that can be found within the bodies of the unclean.
*** Speaking of centipedes, the Centipede enemy type and their boss variant, the Long-Armed Centipedes, verge on being a LawyerFriendlyCameo of Voldo from the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'', with both being insane contortionists who fight via wrist-mounted claws and only vocalize in strained grunting noises. They even sport a BandageMummy aesthetic, similar to Voldo's ''[=SoulCalibur=] II'' appearance.
** Sekiro is a living OneManArmy warrior who is driven by vengeance, has a prosthetic arm, a patch of white hair despite being a young man, a JerkWithAHeartOfGold personality, a backstory of serving someone they used to care about, and is commonly known to others by his nickname (The Wolf). That description of the Wolf sounds a lot like Guts aka the Black Swordsman from ''Manga/{{Berserk}}''. Heck, both Sekiro and Guts even have a wolf-related AnimalMotif. No coincidence, given that the creator of ''Sekiro'' worked on the ''Dark Souls'' series, which is heavily inspired by ''Berserk''.

*** [[spoiler: Genichiro]] was a former peasant child adopted by [[spoiler: the Ashina clan]].

** There are two [[spoiler: Great Serpents]].
*** [[spoiler: And each of their hearts are imperative to the creation of the Frozen Tears (through the Divine Child’s consumption of them) in order to unlock the games GoldenEnding, ''Return'']].

The gameplay of ''Sekiro'' has shifted in several ways from the template of the ''Souls'' series, letting go most of the RPG elements such as weapon and armor customization or stat builds. In exchange, it adds the movement options and stealth of ''VideoGame/{{Tenchu}}'', and Wolf's prosthetic left arm also serves as a combination of [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} trick weapons]] and a grappling hook, enabling him to use a selection of special tools which add unique spins to combat. The game's combat system is also much more developed than in past titles, allowing Wolf to attack directly, deflect strikes, dodge out of grabs, jump above sweeping attacks and either deplete the enemy health bar or fill a Posture bar to perform a [[FinishingMove Shinobi Deathblow]], killing the foe instantly. The game also leaves behind the MedievalEuropeanFantasy world for a brand new setting based on feudal Japan with a slightly more defined story. However, ''Souls'' fans will still recognize the brutal difficulty, dynamic enemies, and [[PrepareToDie very frequent deaths]].

* NintendoHard: Compared to other games by [=FromSoftware=], ''Sekiro'' is considered the hardest game made by the company, with the game's head-on combat being difficult for slightly different reasons than in ''Dark Souls'' or ''Bloodborne''. Wolf is a shinobi who has little health, no armor, no shield, and limited healing items — but the enemies are still just as tough, requiring only a couple of hits to kill him. The main line of defense is its game's parry system. Wolf can block all damage regardless of his timing, and a successful deflection only depends on ''when'' the player blocks; parry frames are no longer an issue for this game. The grappling hook considerably diminishes the dangers the environment can present and allows Wolf to flee from normal fights. Similar to ''Demon's Souls'' and ''Dark Souls II'', the game punishes you for dying repeatedly by having a terminal, incurable plague called Dragonrot spread to various [=NPCs=].

** In a shockingly merciful touch, it is impossible to fall off the cliff in [[spoiler:Sword Saint Isshin]]'s arena due to invisible walls at the edge. Other boss arenas in the game with similar drops aren't so lenient, so it can be deduced the devs were probably throwing players a bone here considering how ''ferociously'' difficult this boss is.

Emphasis on the last point. Out of all of [=FromSoft's=] games, ''Sekiro'' may very well be their hardest, and is considered by many as the most difficult game in the eighth generation of console gaming, standing out from even other NintendoHard titles made by the company.

Emphasis on the last point. Out of all of [=FromSoft's=] games, ''Sekiro'' is very well their most NintendoHard game, and is very well considered by many as the most difficult game in the eighth generation of console gaming, standing out from even other fellow NintendoHard titles made by the company.

''Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice'' is an ActionAdventure game developed by Creator/FromSoftware and published by Creator/{{Activision}}. The game released on March 22nd, 2019 on UsefulNotes/XboxOne, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, and PC. It is directed by Creator/HidetakaMiyazaki, of ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fame.

* ContinuingIsPainful: If Wolf dies [[DeathIsCheap "for good"]], he loses half of his money and current experience. Moreover, a plague named the Dragonrot will eventually spread to almost every [=NPC=] he's met if he keeps dying too many times. The Dragonrot itself mechanically punishes Wolf by lowering his chances of keeping his experience and money upon death, and halts [=NPC=] quest lines as long as it's not cured.

*** [spoiler: And each of their hearts are imperative to the creation of the Frozen Tears (through the Divine Child’s consumption of them) in order to unlock the games GoldenEnding, ''Return'']].

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:When the Ministry begins their invasion, several Ashina soldiers undergo the DeadlyUpgrade of acquiring red eyes… Only for the Ministry forces to use fire, [[KillItWithFire the red eyes' only weakness]], as their weapons.]]

* VideoGameCaringPotential: Outside of halting certain [=NPC=] questlines and reducing chances for Unseen Aid (which one shouldn't be dependent on), inflicting Dragonrot on the people Wolf meets does not significantly affect gameplay or the overall story in the long run; [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential you are free to go through the entire game in the wake of a Dragonrot epidemic of your own doing.]] At the same time, the game still encourages you to cure victims anyway. The item description on the Dragon's Blood Droplet says it best for the reason why: "The incessant coughing must cease."
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: A sidequest allows you to send either the witless GentleGiant Kotaro or the friendly samurai Jinzaemon Kumano to the "care" of MadDoctor Doujun to be experimented on.

** The Sculptor [[spoiler: served under Isshin Ashina as a shinobi and had his arm severed by the latter]].
** Inosuke Nogami [[spoiler: became blind as a result of a confrontation with Lady Butterfly]].