Sekiro: FromSoftware's Shadowy Shinobi

Sekiro:

Sekiro: FromSoftware's Shadowy Shinobi

Sekiro: Equipped With A Flexible Prosthetic For Boss Battles and Exploration

Sekiro: A Strange, Solo Reflection of Dark Souls

Time to Beat:

53 Hours

In 2018 I reviewed Dark Souls III, awarding it Game of the Year on Awkward Mixture. This year From Software released their spiritual successor, Elden Ring. Most likely Elden Ring will walk away with numerous Best of 2022 awards. In between Dark Souls III and Elden Ring, From Software released Sekiro. Sekiro wasn't heralded like its Software siblings. It isn't that Sekiro didn't receive strong reviews or awards (it scores in the top 10 on Metacritic (2019) and won The Game Awards Game of the Year). Its success was limited to a niche title, which failed to overwhelm gamers and press alike. Other noteworthy games overshadowed its release. Resident Evil 2, Disco Elysium, Red Dead Redemption 2, Apex Legends, and Control all experienced extended longevity in the comparison. When I visited the Sekiro Reddit page this year I found players lamenting that the development of Elden Ring halted the creation of DLC for Sekiro. True or not, it illustrates a point; in the story of From Software's success, Sekiro is a shadow between two beacons of light.

There's probably a hint of truth in the Reddit complaints. Some details dissuaded audiences. Sekiro rejected the European Medieval style of Dark Souls and Elden Ring, rendering it distinctly Japanese. Nor is Sekiro similar to the white-washed Japan of Nioh (where two Englishmen travel across the world to alter the fate of Nippon). Both Nioh and Sekiro occur in the late Sengoku period, roughly within twenty years of each other. But while Nioh's story is a fictionalized version of history, Sekiro explores a fantastical world with insubstantial historical connections. Nioh attempts to grapple with a nationwide conflict (through the eyes of a white protagonist), while Sekiro is content to focus on a fictionalized version of a unremarkable region just south of Tokyo.

The story of Sekiro is distinctly Japanese in flavor, compared to the English search for the Philosopher's Stone; the focus in Nioh. The default audio, Japanese with English subtitles, combined with the sincere delivery, adds a gravitas to the events of Sekiro. The story follows the unnamed protagonist, an adopted orphan. Nicknamed Wolf by his adoptive father, he later assumes the name Sekiro; the one-armed wolf. Found as a child on a battlefield, raised by Owl, trained by Lady Butterfly, and eventually put into the service of Prince Kuro as a shinobi, Sekiro reflects on the protagonist's past relationships, and their relevance in the current crisis.

Seeking to unify the disparate elements of Japan, the Interior Ministry tries to absorb the Ashina clan. They know the ruler, Isshin Ashina, an unparalleled swordsman, is aging. His adopted grandson Genichiro wants to save the clan by acquiring Kuro's power. Kuro, another adopted member of the Ashina clan is the Divine Heir, a descendant of an ancient bloodline of the Dragon Heritage. Those with the Dragon Heritage do not die. They can gift a measure of their power to whoever they want. Wolf, in the service of Kuro, can not die, returning to life whenever he is defeated. Kuro gives this gift to Wolf, saying, “Loyal Wolf, take my blood, and live again.” His gift is a curse, because various factions vie to capture Kuro and utilize his ability. During the events of Sekiro, Wolf rescues Kuro from repeated abductions.

The power of resurrection functions as both a plot conflict, and as a game mechanic. Sekiro strongly resembles the Dark Souls series, but resurrection diverges significantly. At the start of the game, Wolf has one resurrection charge. If he falls in battle the player can spend it to have Wolf stand up, at half health. Over the course of Sekiro, the player unlocks two more charges. The original charge is automatically refilled by resting at a Sculptor's Idol. The other charges are filled by defeating enemies. When the player has more than one charge, dying and spending charges is more complicated. When Wolf is resurrected with the first charge, they stand up, but a black line blots out additional resurrection charges. If Wolf falls again, he can't expend another charge. The black line goes away (allowing Wolf to spend a second charge) if either; he deals a deathblow to a boss, or kills an unspecified number of normal enemies. If Wolf dies with no charges available, or the player chooses not to spend one, he returns to life at the last Sculptor's Idol he communed at.

Death is not as debilitating as in Dark Souls. Wolf earns experience by defeating enemies. When Wolf earns enough experience he unlocks a point. Points are spent on a fighting style. If the player dies, they lose half of the experience for the current point. They never lose the points they have earned. If I was halfway between three and four points, and I die, I drop down to three and a quarter. Sekiro also loses half the Sen (money) he has. Killing enemies earns experience, Sen, and items. Dying loses half experience and half sen. But while Wolf automatically gains the experience and items when an enemy dies, the player has to hold X (on an Xbox controller), to collect Sen. What a waste of a button. Because the player's losses upon death are insignificant I steadily acquired Fighting Style Points. I never farmed enemies to earn experience.

Other elements of Sekiro that nearly replicate Dark Souls are the Sculptor's Idol and Healing Gourd. A Healing Gourd, like an Estus Flask, has a limited number of charges, and drinking one, restores most of Wolf's health. Meditating at a Sculptor's Idol refills the Gourd. Meditating also heals the player, restores the primary resurrection charge, and respawns most enemies. Wolf can fast travel from one Idol to another, use beads to upgrade his vitality and posture, and confront memories. Memories are earned by defeating bosses. Confronting them sounds dangerous. The in-game description describes confrontation as if the player has to fight the boss again. This is incorrect. The player clicks a button and gains attack damage. A memory is merely a consumable that can only be used at the Idol, like the beads. Why the developer phrased it in such a way is a mystery. One of Wolf's items, the homeward idol, transports him back to the last Sculptor's Idol. It has no penalty (like in Dark Souls where the player teleports to the last Bonfire, but loses all their souls), but Wolf performs a ritual that requires a few seconds. This leaves him open to attack, and if he is hit, the ritual is canceled. The Sculptor's Idols are well spaced from each other, making it just the right amount of challenge to travel from one to the next.

Between the Idols prowl numerous enemies. At first glance the combat closely resembles Dark Souls, with a slight difference. Upon further reflection, Dark Souls players have to unlearn specific behaviors before they can master Sekiro. Like most combat games, Sekiro has health, which it calls Vitality. But the stamina of Dark Souls is different. Wolf has unlimited stamina for running, attacking, and dodging. Posture replaces stamina, and it only matters for blocking and deflecting. Sekiro and enemies both have Vitality and Posture bars. Vitality goes down when someone is hit. When Wolf or the enemy blocks their posture bar starts to fill up. But if the player deflects an attack the attacker suffers significant Posture damage. If Wolf's posture bar fills up he staggers, stumbling back, unable to attack, block, or dodge. When Wolf's attack fills up an enemy posture bar they are open to a Deathblow. Regular enemies die after one deathblow. Early bosses are only defeated by two deathblows. The final bosses require four deathblows to defeat. It is easiest to defeat a boss by Posture Deathblows. But the player can also whittle down their health, bit by bit. If the enemy has no more health, Wolf finishes them off with a Vitality Deathblow. Even if the player intends to defeat the enemy through a Posture Deathblow, they should still inflict vitality damage. One, when a character loses vitality, the posture bar shrinks, so it is easier to fill, and deal a Posture Deathblow.

Combat in Dark Souls revolved around rolling, dodging attacks (especially from bosses), and then attacking from advantage. Sekiro forces the player to deflect enemy attacks. Deflecting is vaguely similar to Dark Souls' parrying. In Dark Souls the player estimates the incoming swing of the enemy, presses the shield or dagger button to connect with the attack. The connection, if timed correctly deflects the attack. This immediately staggers the enemy, opening them up for a critical hit, and massive damage. Deflecting is significantly different. In Dark Souls enemies attack slowly, trying to fake out the player into a premature roll or parry. Enemies in Sekiro attack swiftly. They commonly maintain a flurry of attacks, and Wolf needs to deflect each one. Deflecting requires tapping the block button just as the attack is about to connect, and Wolf responds with his sword. Deflecting a series of attacks inflicts increasing posture damage on the opponent. Combat in Sekiro relies on recognizing the pattern of the enemy's attacks and timing the deflecting perfectly. The variety of enemies, which number over sixty basic types, ensures that the player encounters ever changing fighting styles. If the player wants to empty their posture bar they need to not attack or block. It only goes down when they are not defending themselves.

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