Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice; One Year Later
One year later today, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has maintained its hallmark status in the Soulsborne series of From Software. To familiarize those who don’t know, From Software is best known for making games like Dark Souls, King's Field, and Armored Core with Dark Souls being the breakthrough title that pushed them into the echelons of gaming reverence within the gaming community. Their games have also coined and popularized terms such as "prepare to die" and, a community favorite, "git gud."
Across the board, From Software's games have been both praised and admonished for their difficulty over the years. As their games become increasingly popular due to their deliverance on consistent story telling, gameplay, in-game atmosphere, and just general high quality polish in most cases, these games also find themselves in the spotlight for a myriad of reasons. The passion that goes into these games and the passion that can be seen by players comes through in droves even to this day for their older entries.
With a little bit of searching, you can still find thriving communities built around a particular game, a series, or even anything FromSoft related to this day. Now that Sekiro has had its first birthday, we wanted to dive in and look at what may be some reasons why this game has had such staying power 1 year later.
With little to no information coming down the pipeline for their next game, Elden Ring, in collaboration with the fantasy novelist, George R.R. Martin (Game of Thrones author), FromSoft fans have been waiting in a sort of limbo with how tight lipped details are being kept surrounding it. In wake of that, we have noticed a true thirst for information among many related gaming communities. However, this drought of information has another benefit; creatively. Creativity comes in many forms. Keeping busy and coming up with new and interesting ways to do so is more important now more than ever given recent global events as everyone starts to practice become accustomed to a more isolated lifestyle.
What is there to do when you are stuck at home and nothing of interest is entering your radar? Well people come up with all kinds of ways to keep them entertained. From that, many players have found a renewed interest and passion in the games they've since moved on from for one reason or another. This can come in many forms for those who are always chasing the next experience. Not only that, it's not like this way of thinking is unique to 'gamers' either. In sports, learning new techniques, new strategies, new ways to approach the game, or even pushing up the competitive ladder are all ways you can take the same sport and find more meaning in it. Think of how many people dedicate their life to a sport whether they are players, players who eventually go pro, players who become coaches, or coaches who continue year after year teaching and develop those who look to them for guidance. In so many ways people find purpose and passion within a shared interest and gaming is no different.
Arguably, when you break it down to those basic ideas, gaming and sports are hardly different. For example, take basketball. It's got it's own rules, structure, format, and goals. From that, people can take those aspects and twist and turn them on their heads. Playing H.O.R.S.E., 3v3 or 1 on 1, and whatever else under the sun. That is just a handful of ways to reimagine basketball. Gaming, on the other hand, has genres upon genres. Games within the same genre have their own unique differences that can push them into a particular niche where it will appeal to some people more than others. To that end, it is no different than those that are passionate about music. Justin Timberlake and Ariana Grande may both fall into the "Pop" category, but we don't think anyone could seriously argue that they sound the same. Well, there's probably some people out there that think all "Pop" is the same but, in our experience, those kind of opinions are usually born from lack of exposure rather than true objective examination. Likewise, two platforming games can also vary wildly. Mario isn't the same as Sonic but both have a few shared ideas behind them depending on the actual game.
When it comes to games like Sekiro that have a very deliberate identity, and being that it is a single player game, meaning no native competition within its boundaries, once you beat it, what's left? Many games like to implore different endings based on the players actions that can offer different story telling and experiences. Beyond that, there's not a lot you can do with a single player experience… Or is there?
Essentially, when people initially get thinking about how to make something interesting for them, it usually manifests itself in the form of an increase in challenge. Across the many gaming groups and communities we both lurk and participate in, there are always people coming up with new and interesting ways to enhance their experience. Sometimes that is trying to beat a boss or level without dying. Sometimes it's without using any items. Going even further, we've seen some truly impressive clips of 'no hit' runs of various bosses, levels, and even the entire game where they avoid taking damage during that time! All it takes is a little bit of ingenuity to find something deeper within a game you thought you were 'finished with.' Of course, difficulty isn't the only way Sekiro can be experienced.
Taking it a step further, modders have done some amazing things in gaming. At this point, you are getting into some truly wacky territory. Some easy ideas are like making yourself invincible, super fast, or killing enemies in one hit. But what about playing a game in a way that the developers never intended? Despite your feelings on whether or not people should mess with the core of a game's experience, it's here that we find the most interesting and most viral ways to play a game. Ever heard of that person who beat Dark Souls with a dance pad or even with a bunch of bananas?! This wouldn't be possible without those who are willing to push the boundaries of what gaming can be.
When people really apply themselves, they can truly accomplish amazing things. Personally, we think even if that thing is just 'playing a game,' isn't the joy of those who share in the experience worth something? Don't be afraid to try something new and if you ever find yourself bored, doing something creative can lead to the most endearing of experiences. To us, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has been just as amazing as it's been since day 1.
If you want to check out our original thoughts from when we first completed the game a year ago, you can watch our video below! Our animation style has definitely improved since, but our feelings towards things game have only gotten stronger!
