It is clear that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice tries to draw inspiration from Dark Souls as much as possible. However, that does not mean that the game is an exact replica of the former. Many things separate both of the games and give Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice enough of a charm for us to give it a go.
Today, we take a look at all of the ways through which Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is its own game and does not mimic the Dark Souls series.
Carve your own clever path to vengeance in Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice, an all-new adventure from developer @fromsoftware_pr.
Take Revenge. Restore your honor. Kill Ingeniously.See the full trailer: https://t.co/b9qhTqPePS pic.twitter.com/YqaPaOpmZd
— Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice (@sekirothegame) June 10, 2018
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice vs. Dark Souls
After a brief look at the gameplay, it is quite easy to understand why one might think that the game is a spirit animal of the Dark Souls franchise. There is only one difficulty level and there are more than enough obstacles in your way to make you want to throw away your computer in disgust.
However, the game is also a lot cleaner and minimalistic that makes it stand out from the Dark Souls series. In all honesty, the changes that have been made to the game make this a very interesting package and we might want to see if this approach to the game makes it better than the Souls games.
How is Sekiro Different from Dark Souls
The creator and director of the game claimed himself that the producers did not want to displease the existing fan base- from the previous series, they wanted to keep the ’core experience’ intact to stay in league with those players and keep the ‘challenge’ persistent to entertain the upcoming new player pool as well.
However, he also argued to the fact that the audience perceives the game as a continuation to the previous series by saying that Sekiro is not an evolution of the Souls series. He said that the game was designed from the grounds up and has nothing to do with the preceding From Software enterprise.
The next thing that you need to know about Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is that the game takes a much less linear approach to the story than Dark Souls. The game is a lot more open-world that gives players a lot more freedom to play.
The setting differs greatly from the soul series as the storyline lies in the 1500 Japan. The time when of immense military activities and political feuds. The game has a classic touch to it with a gentle modern touch- the Shinobi prosthetic that makes an evolutionary difference from the preceding series.
This also means that all of the surprises that you expect in a Dark Souls games would play out differently here. Many Dark Souls was about memorization of the obstacles but Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice would have a lot more method to the madness.
One of the other ways in which Sekiro is different from the Dark Souls games is the fact that it does not have any stat leveling. Although this may seem like it makes the gameplay a little less versatile and does not allow you to specialize, I think it is necessary to have that in an open-world game because you do not know what level of enemies you might end up facing at a particular time.
Also, there is no aid for you to predict and contemplate upcoming attacks, but a slight from above the head of the enemy that is contemporary to its range of moves and attacks. Therefore, although it will take time to acclimatize to this odyssey like it does in any other game until you learn the meanings of those markings and begin to efficiently make the best use of them, they are something you would not find the soul series.
Another new feature lies in the sparring mechanics. The game spectacularly displays a posture stat. that is derived from samurai training. The posture is the most essential component of the battle and unlike other single player games, you do not go about smashing and crashing enemies- here, you have to un-guard the opponent and attack when you get an opening. You essentially hit the enemy, they then block the slash and this forces them to breaker their stance. After sufficiently moving the opponent, you strike a deadly blow.
In Dark Souls (especially the first game), most of the bosses that you faced in the mid to late game would be impossible to beat without having the upgrades that come along with playing the story. However, that would not be a problem in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and this will intertwine with the extended amount of freedom that you would have in the game.
The game also has a no health bar gameplay. The enemies and even your character do not have a health bar. Only a fight determines your fate and how strong the enemy is. There even exists an unblockable attack that slashes the enemy on the lower legs to drop them down leaving them completely vulnerable.
The philosophy of the game is to allow the players to explore the world as much as possible without being inhibited by their levels. Your progression will not be defined by how much is your level but by how far out into the world you have gone and what have you done so far in the game.
There will also be no weapons/armor for you to use. This is also a good addition since for the first time in a game akin to Dark Souls; there is a definition of what you are. You are a Katana wielding Shinobi. This means that you do not have as much freedom as you would in a Souls game, but you have a set identity and the story can be based around that.
However, you can equip a few weapons on your prosthetic arm that give you an evolutionary tactical advantage in battle. The axe breaks through shields allowing you to hit them directly. The firearm can put enemies on fire. You can even set your Katana ablaze to fighting in a dashing manner. In addition to that, you can also wield a shield with the prosthetic arm
We hope to see a story that is much more complex than a Souls game now that we have lost the weapons mechanic.
There is also no character customization. This once again ties into the premise that we are a set class and the entire story of the game will be based around that. Personally, I do not care much for how many customizations we have for our character but I can see how that might make a difference for some other players.
Lastly, we do not have any multiplayer in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. This is definitely not a good addition as it does take away from the replayability of the game. However, this might also work out as in the end as this will allow the developers to fully focus on delivering a rich singleplayer experience.
It has been a long time since we have had games that were completely focused on single-player without the addition of multi/co-op. Hopefully, the campaign is worth the buy!
That is all we have for how Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice differs from Dark Souls Games. Let us know your thoughts on the topic using the comments section below!
