It's directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. Coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC.

About

Your death won’t come easily. Introducing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a fantastical, dark and twisted new gameplay experience from developer From Software, creators of Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series.

Directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, and published by Activision, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a third-person, action-adventure game with RPG elements. The single-player game puts players in the protagonist role of a hard-hearted warrior whose mission is to rescue his master, a young lord who is the descendant of an ancient bloodline, and exact revenge on his arch nemesis. Set in the re-imagined world of late 1500s Sengoku Japan; a brutal, bloody period of constant life-and-death conflict, in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice you are the “one-armed wolf,” a disgraced and disfigured warrior rescued from the brink of death.

In the game, players come face-to-face with larger than life foes; unleash an arsenal of deadly prosthetic tools and powerful ninja abilities to blend stealth, vertical traversal, and visceral head-to-head combat in a bloody confrontation.

Take revenge. Restore your honor. Kill Ingeniously.

Key Features

Kill Ingeniously – From Software delivers their best in class combat in this fast-paced, action-adventure game featuring all new mechanics.

Exploration is key – Players will experience the thrill of exploration and discovery in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice like never before. Through exploration, players can uncover new items, meet new characters, and encounter hidden enemies.

Armed – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice gameplay is centered around sword combat, enhanced by a variety of prosthetic arm attachments that supplement or change the way a player fights. Achieving strategic mastery of “Sekiro” or the “one-armed wolf’s” techniques and abilities, from prosthetic tools, swordplay to stealth and the grappling hook is no easy feat. To overcome difficulties and bring each situation under control, gamers must discover, integrate and use a variety of new tools when heading into combat.

One-armed wolf – Play as a highly talented shinobi in the service of a young lord raised in isolation. After suffering defeat at the hands of a shadowy Ashina samurai seeking the unique heritage of your master, the two of you are separated. Deep in the mountains, in a dilapidated temple, you reawaken to your fate. You must take back your master and exact revenge on your enemy at all costs.

Hard to the core – Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a hard-core game worthy of the name From Software. Miyazaki designed Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice this way! Fans of From Software will find the gameplay challenging, yet fun and rewarding. The quality of combat, level of challenge, and creative enemies and bosses are something that can only be found in a From Software title.

Reimagined world – This reimagining of Japanese aesthetic blends a withered, yet vivid, world of the late 1500s Sengoku Japan as the age of warring states nears its end. Witness a world brought to its knees by constant bloodshed; a ravaged world on the brink of destruction. Explore these environments, rich with FromSoftware’s intricate design and steeped with secrets to discover.

https://gematsu.com/2018/06/activision-and-from-software-announce-sekiro-shadows-die-twice-for-ps4-xbox-one-and-pc

Seems like they're going for a more story heavy approach this time, which is a welcome change of pace. It is kind of weird to me since visually, it doesn't look as good as Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne. May just be because of the daylight and since it isn't coming until next year.

The story is definitely giving me Blood Will Tell/Dororo vibes!

Adventure game Directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. New IP.
Now this is something From haven't done in a long time. Nice to see them return to the Adventure genre.

So many cyberpunk visuals to digest - Matrix style jacking in, Neuromancer style implants, VR headsets, android models, that bit on the plane, the board room meeting that went wrong. It looks like a really violent world they're setting up here.

I can definitely see some Rockstar influence there. It isn't going for a overtly serious, morose or "dark" tone often seen in cyberpunk. We already have Deus Ex series for that and countless others too (like the recently , so it's good they're doing their own thing with the setting. That trailer was great at showing you what the world will be like. I can see myself diving into this game and spending a lot of time in it.

Speaking of cyberpunk games, am I the only one who played Mankind Divided and Detroit on here? Looking at Orange's avatar, I still need to play Ruiner.

I think AC6 is definitely in the works, just Miyazaki probably wants to direct it. Hence, it's been put on hold until his Adventure game and Shadows Die Twice get done.

As for this game, definitely going to get it now I have a Switch whenever it comes out, looks really fun. Love the fact that it has destructible environments. Talented team working on it.

My issue with 4 is the missions were so short like 5 minutes 10 at the most. 20-30 minutes would be ideal. I completed it but something felt off. Then again what do I know. I enjoy Front Mission Evolved. So maybe my opinion is moot.

AC4 and AC5 may as well be from different series the playstyle is so different in both. Miyazaki said he opted for a different style with AC4 and For Answer from the rest of the series (the movement is so much faster and lighter and more spent flying than any of the other AC games I've played up until now). AC1 is still charming in its own way, despite how "aged" it is (since it's on PSN, it's an easy buy). AC1 feels more "arcadey" I guess.

AC5 is definitely the one in the series where the mechs feel really heavy and bulky (and more powerful). Missions are also much longer too than AC4, which were made to be fast paced and snappy. Less boss battles too (AC4 was full of them).

Miyazaki confirms that neither Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Deracine are not one of the "3 major games" From Software is working on that they talked about a year ago (one being a dark fantasy Action RPG, one a new IP that Miyazaki is going to Direct that he described as being "weird" and the third one being a "mech action game").

So that means they have 5 games in the pipeline (6 if you include the re-release of Metal Wolf Chaos). Director of AC5 and Verdict Day confirmed he is working an unannounced project but not saying what it is (AC6!)

https://gematsu.com/2018/06/from-software-president-hidetaka-miyazaki-hints-at-new-armored-core-in-development

My only concern is that with the old music vs the new music is that unless Iuchi has kept the same synth and MIDI sounds on his computer from the Shenmue 1 and 2 days, the new tracks will sound very different and create a clash. I hope for a consistent musical score that has a great variety as well regardless.

Norio Hanzawa is another underrated composer that I follow; Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes, Dynamite Headdy and Mischief Makers are probably his most known works and most Genesis/Mega Drive fans would recognise his work right away.

He is also the composer of various Konami games (such as The Simpsons Arcade, Castlevania and Contra) before that development team left to form Treasure. Listened to his work various times over the years just felt he's worth highlighting since his musical style is unique and heard in so many games and yet not a name that well known despite being in such highly acclaimed games.

His music evokes such a uniquely 90s style and sometimes get so weird. His synth work veers off into sounding quite strange (Stretch Panic/Freak Out OST, for example; Mischief Makers, Astro Boy GBA, Advance Guardian Heroes and Dynamite Headdy other prime examples). I really like his Sin & Punishment 2 OST as well. Shame his work is so often ignored despite it enhancing the games overall so much.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFM0_HMcsqg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TobbHB20AcM

Really need to get around to playing Doom, heard nothing but great things. When I next have that FPS itch, that will be the next game that I play.

Anyway been replaying Resident Evil 2 and actually got my first A rank as Leon (finished Claire A scenario with a B rank) and in turn unlocked 4th Survivor (where you play as HUNK) which is real fun and a cool extra where Zombie Brad appears outside the Police Station. Just finishing it all reminded me of why it's one of my favourite games of all time and makes me even more excited for the reimagining (which I was initially disappointed about being TPS and not having cinematic cameras like REmake).

Also led me to play RE5 again which I hadn't played since release almost a decade ago. Loved it upon release date and lived up to my hype after RE4 blew me away. So it's nice to return to these games again and find they're still so great. The combat for me is the most refined in the series, yes, including RE6, which tried to take the series into new territory (more towards even more action focus with melee counters, quickdives, dual wielding and beat 'em up elements). Not that RE6 combat was bad or anything, but RE5 just hit that sweet spot between staying true to being the action adventure game whilst refining what made RE4 so great in the first place. I feel that RE5 is greatly underrated by the fanbase despite it being a clear attempt by refining what people loved about RE4's aesthetics and gameplay mixed with trying to stay more true to the "RE mythos", as it were, since RE diehard fans complained about how RE4 "betrayed" the story canon by changing everything up. Also the co-op aspect is fine by me too, Sheva's AI is better than what people were moaning about back then too, her AI was programmed smartly to get you out of hot spots (heal, revive, take out the enemies gathering around you etc) and the boss encounters are great as well. Such a great game, screw the haters.

It also makes me know that the RE2 Remake is in great hands, since the Director is actually Yasuhiro Anpo, who was the director of RE5 and lead programmer of RE2 (and a member of the Onimusha team, working as a Planner and Lead Programmer on those games also). So his credentials check out, out of the remaining members of the Resident Evil team, I think the RE2 Remake is in good hands with him at the helm.

Doing a replay of SH2 for the first time since the PS2 era and being reminded of Akira Yamaoka's OST.
Masterpiece. Probably still his best work yet.

The previous console generations all had a slew of "hidden gems", games that usually have modest sales that are either loved by the critics and hated by the public or vice-versa, that are usually not perfect but bring forward something new and original to the table, later evolving into another trope of the industry: the "cult classic". Shenmue of course is an obvious example.

Ive missed a lot of this generation. Coming in recently though I'm surprised to see a lot of love for these "cult classics". We're seeing re-releases of games like Okami and Rez (& Shenmue), the revival of series like MonsterBoy, Torment and Beyond Good & Evil (& Shenmue) and even Yakuza and Earth Defense Force are in the Playstation Hits line in the West. I think this is great, and probably a case of a critical mass of hardcore gamers that has been building up since the 90s, which now represents big business and can justify the investment.

However... where are the hidden gems of this generation? I see a lot of indie games but these have a tendency to look and feel quite similar between themselves as they adhere strongly to the "retro-inspired" trope. I haven't been able to otherwise identify too many, especially made in Japan games, and my "shopping list" right now has only two: Polybius and Dangerous Golf (none of which are japanese of course). I would definitely add Hollow Knight to that list as well, which I already have. Which others can you recommend? What am I missing?

For me those kind of games are on the Vita and 3DS.

Games like Lost Dimension for fans of hybrid RPGs (mixture of SRPG and Action, with a retro-futuristic art style), Mercenaries Saga Trilogy (also on Switch) if you're into SRPGs like Tactics Ogre/FFT, Soul Hackers if you like cyberpunk JRPGs, Azure Gunvolt if you like side scrolling action, Grand Kingdom (which is also on PS4) if you like board games, SRPGs and tactical action combat.

There's also what Bethesda have been putting out like The Evil Within 1 & 2 (which are different attempts of creating modern survival horror), Prey and Dishonored 2 which all have cult audiences and are fantastic games in their own right.

Then there's the recently released Vampyr which is building up a cult fanbase. Looks really good to me.

Knowing you since you're into Japanese adventure games like me, I can see you maybe liking the upcoming Jake Hunter game for the 3DS, Ghost of the Dusk, which has a gritty Japanese art style and is out at the end of August.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmCiisn0WbA

Plus there was also that game from former members of Cing released not too long ago which I need to play, Chase: Cold Case Investigations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI_h4W7Y_pY