Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, that is, “Shadows die twice,” is not just an impressive set of words: he refers to one of the game mechanics. Having died, the main character can rise at the place of death. The skill must be used wisely – for example, before a revival it is better to wait for the enemy to forget about the protagonist and get out of combat mode. Only one free “respawn” is assigned to life – then resources will have to be spent on resurrection.
Shadows Die Twice events unfold in the Sengoku period in Japan. The scene is a cold country (then Japan was fragmented), located on a hill. Of course, there is no historical authenticity of the speech.
The main character, Wolf, is not the chosen savior of mankind, but just an ordinary mortal with a difficult fate. Being an orphan who had lost all his relatives in the war, he fell under the wing of the great shinobi nicknamed Filin, who adopted Malts right in the middle of the battlefield littered with corpses. Having matured and having learned the art of shadows, the Wolf became the personal bodyguard of Lord Kuro, the last descendant of the ancient clan, in whose veins the blood of an immortal dragon flows. But it so happened that immortality is an extraordinarily valuable help in the struggle for power.
The gameplay is built around sword fights. But the main character uses not only classic weapons, but also a prosthesis, which is installed in his place of his left hand. The prosthesis can be customized and thus change the gameplay. In addition to open combat in Sekiro stealth and hook-cat are also available. The mechanics of melee with evasion and parry remained the same. But now the main character is able to attack horizontally during a jump, does something like a sweep, in order to avoid a sharp jerk instead of a traditional roll, and uses the same sweep to parry. Moreover, with its help it is possible to reject the attack, and not, for example, a slashing attack.
The main character can use the ability to block enemy attacks. If you set the block at the wrong time, the hero will lose not his health, but his endurance. And it already leaks pretty quickly – and when the supply is exhausted to zero, the very first enemy attack will stun the character. But the block set at the right moment for a couple of moments before the strike, on the contrary, will lower the stamina to the enemy. Moreover, an exhausted opponent will be open to a particularly powerful attack, which will defeat weak ordinary soldiers completely, and for bosses and mini-bosses it will be equivalent to moving to the next stage of the battle.
The most effective tactic is to combine correctly set blocks, counterattacks and, of course, an aggressive attack, because the squall of strikes also takes away the samurai and other ogres with endurance. But aggression must be thought out: powerful rivals quickly leave the camp and make a sharp counterattack. In the infinite block, too, you do not sit out – the opponents have special attacks, which are either difficult or impossible to repel.
Locations are built in such a way that you can see enemies from afar and plan your actions in advance. Hook another cat to help surprise cat-hook. The hook is built into the prosthesis, replacing the hero’s left hand. The miracle of technology will allow to modify – apparently, with its help we will be able to throw firecrackers and shuriken, as well as wield an ax. In addition, the ninja controlled by us masterfully handles the katana.
In Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice there is a system of pumping weapons and skills. Skills will be divided into three trees: Shinobi, Samurai and Prosthetic. The first will have to covert passage and open more freedom of movement through the levels: for example, the hero will be able to push off from the walls in a jump. The second will be for lovers of head-on collisions, and the third will help improve the prosthesis and all devices tied to it – including the hook-cat.
