In a recent interview with Game Watch from the Taipei Gameshow, Director Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed new Sekiro Shadows Die Twice details. The interview, translated by u/Zelda_2017 on Reddit, reveals that in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice there will be multiple endings based on player choice and story and that the game gets harder on each successive playthrough.
One detail from the interview that will be sure to excite From Software fans is how difficult Sekiro Shadows Die Twice will be. According to Miyazaki;
This game is an extremely difficult one. In the fights between ninjas as we imagine it, there will always be the risk of death and players will be sitting at the edge of their seat each time and go from one thrilling fight to the next.
The difficulty also played a role in introducing the Kaisei system in the game. The Kaisei system allows players to respawn at the location they died in order to maintain an “appropriate tempo.” Miyazaki says in the interview that because of the game’s difficulty if players die too frequently, ” of the game gets bad.”
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice Details
That’s why the Kaisei system was introduced and will allow players to experience fights with other ninjas and exploration. However, players won’t be able to respawn indefinitely. Players will need Kaisei points in order to respawn, but ” even if you still have Kaisei points left, you won’t be allowed to keep dying at the same place.”
According to Miyazaki;
We’ve been careful not to let the game become meaningless by using Kaisei at will. We actually use that system to our advantage, and it gives us an excuse: we’ve given you the Kaisei system, so we’re allowed to make the game difficult, amirite?
In Sekiro Shadows Die Twice it appears as though players will be able to accrue two Kaisei points at a time, and Miyazaki has stated that the number isn’t likely to increase to greatly; “it’s never going to be like 10 times,” he said.
When asked if the prosthetic arm will eventually become less useful over time, Miyazaki was keen to stress that the arm was a key function and would remain so throughout the game.
The fact that the emphasis is put on skills is due to the way the promotion video was made, but the artificial arm will be used as a special feature throughout the game until the end.
Miyazaki describes the arm as defining the player’s style and that it is the “most important element that expresses the element of surprise” when fighting against enemy ninjas. He speaks of similar design and function for the Fushi-giri sword held in the right hand. He says that fighting with the Fushi-giri is “of course” possible but that it’s a key item from a narrative perspective.
Stealth-ish Assassins
Additionally, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice includes two separate paths for improvement; sword skills and other skills. Players will also be able to choose between ‘show-off’ and ‘surprise’ effects by using the prosthetic arm. Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is also going to be an even more strategic game that previous From Software titles. Sizing up your opponents and using all the elements at your disposal are going to be incredibly important.
The efficiency of strategic options against enemies in each situation has been configured strongly than in previous games. So it will be important to decide how you are going to take an opponent and in which situation you are going to do that.
In this sense and compared to previous games, in SEKIRO, players will have to use all the elements that we have prepared to overcome the challenges.
Finally, even though in Sekiro Shadows Die Twice players step into the shoes of a ninja, stealth is used as a strategy for initiating combat, rather than stealth as a way to avoid enemies. Miyazaki says that these ninjas rely on swords much more than “ninja usually do.”
Our ninjas fight more aggressively than the traditional ninja, so it’s a bit like anything goes, using the environment or different weapons and what we eventually propose is to put yourself in a dangerous situation and make it out of it.
We could have made a game in which stealth is the correct answer and if you get caught it ws the wrong answer. Eventually it will be a brawl, so stealth is more about how you use it to have an advantage.
Based on this new information, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is sounding like an amazing experience and one that is sure to continue Miyazaki and From Software’s legacy.
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice will be available for PC, PS4 and Xbox One on March 22, 2019.
