A Toku Tuesday Look at Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is not a nice game. It challenges you at every turn and any mistake you make will be met with brutality. Set in the Sengoku period (known as the Warring States period of Japan), Sekiro is a fantasy action game that takes inspiration from a lot of Tokusatsu and anime. It was made by FromSoftware whose previous efforts have involved the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games.

Upon release, many critics and players complained about the game’s difficulty level. This was met by a very vocal contingent of online personalities declaring hackneyed phrases like “git gud”, which is sadly an epidemic in terms of game criticism. There is nothing wrong with a difficult game like Sekiro, it is rewarding to finally learn the controls, and get acquainted with the fighting styles. However one must realize that they are not the only ones playing video games. Sekiro has a pretty robust and interesting story that if PS4 trophies are to be believed only 25% of players get to experience to its fruition. Putting in a lower difficulty would allow for a larger audience to enjoy the game and accessibility in video games is already a steep hill to climb for normal games. At the end of the day, we play video games for an escape and to have fun. There are particular bosses in Sekiro that will break you down and leave you frustrated beyond belief. A version of this article nearly existed where I completely walked away from the game entirely.

The largest critique of the game itself is the camera. If you have a game that relies so heavily on mastering an enemy’s moveset then it best have the greatest camera in existence. In particular, the Lady Butterfly and Demon of Hatred bosses can be very hard to see when you’re in certain spots. Losing to game mechanics is okay but when you’re one hit away from killing a boss, only to have a bizarre camera angle screw you over it will be the end of you. The other criticism of the game is the fact that you have such a small tutorial segment, you are taught the basics, but the most advanced techniques are very difficult to learn without watching videos online. Again for a game so moored in combat you’d think the late game abilities would have some sort of tutorial.

The game features Yōkai and Yūrei. Yūrei is covered under the word Yōkai, however, when most discuss Yōkai they are referring to creatures like Gappa, while Yūrei specifies a very specific type of Japanese ghost. If you’ve played Sekiro the mini-boss O’Rin of the Water is a very traditional representation of a Japanese ghost. The game features some Kaiju as well, which is a welcome sight and what inspired me to cover the game for Toku Tuesday. There are giant snakes, giant koi fish, gigantic demons, an ancient dragon and a few Son of Kong-sized giant apes. The wealth of monster goodness really helped to push me through the storyline. The idea of seeing and fighting a gigantic dragon made getting through some of the stressful one on one fights worth it. The game’s visual design makes the game feel rewarding as every boss battle is entrenched with beautiful vistas. These vistas best be beautiful because you’ll be seeing A LOT of them.

The Tokusatsu by Takashi Miike, Blade of the Immortal (2017), seemed to be a huge influence. The film is based upon the manga of the same name and involves an undying Samurai warrior who keeps coming back after he is killed. Now it is worth noting that Blade of the Immortal takes place in the Edo period and not the Sengoku period of which Sekiro is set. Wolf, the protagonist of Sekiro, is a shinobi instead of a samurai’ still, the parallels are evident. An immortal shinobi appears within the 2005 film aptly titled Shinobi and this film is adapted from a classic novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls by Futaro Yamada. This tale is akin to Romeo and Juliet but with ninjas and is actually set during the end of the Sengoku period. If you’re unclear what sets the Sengoku period apart from other eras of Japan it was the time in which Japan was segmented amongst a variety of tribes and not a singular leadership. It was rife with different factions vying for power and while all of the characters in Sekiro are fictional this unrest plays a big part in the story being told. Other things like The Blazing Bull may have been influenced by classic Japanese media like Orgies of Edo (1969 and a favorite of our perverse editor, Zack Long) which features fiery bulls that murder a variety of women in an enclosed space. That film is not for the faint of heart. The historical elements are mostly represented accurately if Japanese historian and YouTuber ‘Metatron’ is to be believed. His video detailing the elements and armor is essential viewing if you’re interested in looking into this further.

Sekiro is a beautiful tale about honor and triumph in the Sengoku era of Japan. If you’re a fan of any prior FromSoftware game then you are liable to really enjoy their latest outing. However, if you are a more casual player I’d recommend doing some research and watching a few YouTube videos of people playing the game first to gauge if you’re up to it. There is no shame in watching a YouTube walkthrough and soaking in the ambiance of the game, you’ll save a lot of time and frustration this way. Games should be for everyone and no one should feel shame about how they experience it.