Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

FromSoftware has only continued to grow in popularity with every new release, and Elden Ring elevated the studio to unprecedented heights. While Armored Core and Demon's/Dark Souls put FromSoft on the map, Elden Ring finally thrust the developer into the mainstream spotlight. By December 2024, Elden Ring had sold 28.6 million copies, which is almost triple the number Dark Souls 3 sold and in half the time, and almost triple Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's lifetime sales.

Based on those stats, FromSoftware has gained a lot of new fans since Elden Ring's release, and while Shadow of the Erdtree was an incredible stopgap on the way to a fully-fledged new FromSoft game, those new fans might be looking for a new experience now. The Dark Souls trilogy, Demon's Souls, and Bloodborne are the closest fans will get to Elden Ring's gameplay, but Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice shouldn't be skipped over.

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By Liam Ferguson

New FromSoftware Fans Shouldn't Miss Out on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro - A Faster and Even More Challenging Soulslike Experience

Elden Ring followed in Dark Souls' footsteps closely. Though it added plenty of new features like a jump mechanic, a mount, and a sprawling open-world, Elden Ring borrowed much of Dark Souls' third-person action-RPG formula, and thus fans of Elden Ring will feel fairly comfortable returning to those past FromSoft titles.

Sekiro, on the other hand, offers something slightly more unique. It still features a lock-on system and some RPG elements like leveling up, but Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a much more linear, story-driven experience, and its combat is a tad more involved.

Unlike its Soulslike siblings, Sekiro gives players just one primary weapon, and its moment-to-moment gameplay revolves around using it to master the art of deflection and ripostes. Sekiro's combat sees players blocking oncoming attacks to build their enemy's Posture meter. Once that Posture meter is full, the enemy is caught off-balance, and players can deliver a deathblow. To dispatch a target efficiently, players need to time their blocks perfectly, dodge unblockable blows, and strike whenever an opportunity presents itself.

It's this core balance that distinguishes Sekiro from FromSoft's other works, and though this system can make even Sekiro's weakest enemies feel more challenging than some of Dark Souls' bosses, it feels all the more rewarding because of that.

Sekiro Offers a Refreshing Take on the Feudal Japan Setting

Feudal Japan has been a popular setting for video games since the industry's infancy, but more games than ever are embracing the era. Assassin's Creed Shadows has just come out, and Ghost of Yotei is slated for release later this year, both of which seem to offer fairly grounded adventures set towards the end of the Sengoku period.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is technically set within the same era, but it offers a setting that isn't afraid to lean a bit more into fantasy and myth. Sekiro sees players fighting plenty of armored samurai, but it also sees them facing off against invisible monks, giant snakes, and hulking apes who hold their own severed heads in their hands while they rain down blows from above.

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