The game also features stealth elements, allowing players to immediately eliminate some enemies if they can get in range undetected. In addition, the player character has the ability to use various tools to assist with combat and exploration, such as a grappling hook. If the player character dies, they have the option of being revived on the spot if they have resurrection power, which is restored by defeating enemies, instead of respawning at earlier checkpoints.
Plot
In a re-imagined late 16th century Sengoku period Japan, warlord Isshin Ashina staged a bloody coup and seized control of the land of Ashina from the Interior Ministry. During this time, a nameless orphan is adopted by the wandering shinobi named Ukonzaemon Usui, known to many as Owl, who named the boy Wolf and trained him in the ways of the shinobi. Two decades later, the Ashina clan is on the brink of collapse due to a combination of the now elderly Isshin having fallen ill and the clan's enemies steadily closing in from all sides. Desperate to save his clan, Isshin's grandson Genichiro sought the Divine Heir Kuro so he could use the boy's "Dragon Heritage" to create an immortal army. Wolf, now a full fledged shinobi and Kuro's personal bodyguard, loses his left arm while failing to stop Genichiro. As he received the dragon's blood from Kuro three years prior, Wolf survives his wounds and awakes in an abandoned temple. In the temple, he meets the Sculptor, a former shinobi named Sekijo who now carves Buddha statues, and Wolf finds that his missing arm has been replaced with the Shinobi Prosthetic, a sophisticated artificial arm that can wield a variety of gadgets and weaponry.
With the Shinobi Prosthetic, Wolf assaults Ashina Castle and confronts Genichiro again, defeating him, although the latter is able to survive as he had drunk from the Rejuvenating Waters, a man-made replication of the dragon's blood. Despite having an opportunity to flee Ashina forever, Kuro instead decides to stay and perform the "Immortal Severance" ritual, which would remove his Dragon Heritage and prevent anybody else from fighting over him to obtain immortality. Wolf reluctantly agrees to help Kuro and sets out to the areas surrounding the castle to collect all of the necessary components of the ritual, learning of a special sword that can injure or even kill immortals known as the Mortal Blade from Isshin Ashina, who befriends Wolf and names him Sekiro, meaning "one-armed wolf" after seeing his prosthetic arm. When Sekiro returns, he encounters Owl, who was previously thought to have been killed three years ago. Owl reveals that he also seeks the Dragon Heritage from Kuro, and orders Sekiro to renounce his loyalty to Kuro.
Sekiro is then presented with the option to follow Owl and betray Kuro, or to remain loyal to Kuro. If Sekiro sides with Owl, he is forced to fight Emma, a doctor in service to Isshin, and Isshin himself. Upon defeating them, Sekiro then proceeds to impale Owl through the back of his chest while Kuro, in horror, realizes he has been corrupted by bloodlust and fallen down the path of Shura. It is then stated that a demon roamed the lands for many years slaughtering many people. If Kuro is chosen, Sekiro fights and kills Owl. He then uses the items he has gathered to enter Fountainhead Palace. Sekiro then enters the Divine Realm, where he fights the Divine Dragon to obtain its tears for Immortal Severance. Upon returning to Ashina Castle, Sekiro discovers that it has been attacked by the Interior Ministry. Sekiro is informed by Emma that Isshin has succumbed to his illness and Kuro has fled through a secret escape passage. Sekiro finds an injured Kuro and Genichiro, wielding a second black Mortal Blade. Genichiro then challenges Sekiro a final time. Upon his defeat, he sacrifices himself to bring Isshin back to life at the height of his power in order to bring glory back to the Ashina clan. Although Isshin is on Sekiro and Kuro's side and disagrees with Genichiro, he is bound by Genichiro's wish and fights Sekiro. A warrior at heart, the newly resurrected Isshin shows respect while fighting Sekiro as he sees him as a skilled and worthy opponent, and has been wanting to duel him for a while.
After defeating Isshin, the player can obtain three endings depending on what is given to Kuro. The standard ending is "Immortal Severance". Sekiro gives Kuro the dragon tears and severs his ties to the Divine Dragon. This process ends up killing Kuro, while Sekiro becomes the next sculptor and ends his life as a shinobi, as the previous Sculptor had been felled by Sekiro after becoming a Demon of Hatred. In the "Purification" ending Sekiro manages to save Kuro at the cost of his own life, allowing Kuro to live a normal mortal life. After decapitating himself with the Mortal Blade, he is buried with his sword, whereas the final scene shows Kuro and Emma visiting his grave. The final ending, "Dragon's Homecoming", is obtained by helping the Divine Child of the Rejuvenating Waters complete a ritual to return the power of the Divine Dragon to its birthplace in the West. Kuro's body dies but his spirit lives on inside the Divine Child. Wolf remains a shinobi and chooses to travel with the Divine Child on their westward journey.
Reception
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice received "universal acclaim" according to review aggregator Metacritic. Many critics praised the game's combat for departing from the typical style of FromSoftware's other similar games. In a review for Destructoid, Chris Carter described open combat as "akin to a waltz" and praised the variety of ways the combat could be approached, writing that players had more choices than in Dark Souls or Bloodborne. Brandin Tyrell from IGN praised the game's focus on "split-second swordsmanship", and despite the fact that "to any Souls veteran, Sekiro's timing-based lock-on combat of strikes and slashes is familiar", the game's "sense of safety" caused the combat to feel "refreshing and new". PC Gamer journalist Tom Senior called the combat "beautiful" and praised the posture system, writing that "instead of chipping down health bars until the enemy keels over, you overwhelm their posture bar with strikes and perfect parries until an opening appears, and then finish with a deathblow". He stated that the system takes "the catharsis" of beating a great boss and "focuses all that emotion into one split second". In a review for website GameSpot, Tamoor Hussain wrote that the game "rewrites the rules of engagement", stating that, while previous FromSoftware games demanded quick decision-making, Sekiro "pushes these demands further" than ever before. Reviewers also praised the resurrection mechanic, with Carter calling it "genius", and the stealth options, which gave the player freedom without descending into frustration.
