5. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. The best games of 2019 according to Gamepressure
Table of Contents
Release date: marzec 2019
Genre: soulslike
Available on: PC, PS4, XOne
Ever since From Software "invented" the soulslike formula, it has accustomed its fans to a certain standard and several distinctive solutions. In Sekiro, however, the team itself broke some of its own unwritten rules, for example by completely modifying the combat system or limiting the hero's progression. The operation was successful and the patient not only survived, but also gained vigor, Shadows Die Twice is a perfect antidote for people who liked Souls, but were becoming progressively bored with the unchanging formula after the third installment.
Shadows Die Twice puts us in the shoes of the eponymous Sekiro, the "one-armed wolf", a warrior left for dead and stripped of his hand, who seeks revenge and a way to save his master. Equipped with a special mechanical prosthetic arm giving him a variety of special skills, Sekiro travels through an alternative version of 15th-century Japan, filled with wicked men and mythical beasts.
As per From Software’s custom, the game has no mercy and requires as much skill as patience from the players – the player dies on regular basis, and the goal itself is to learn from subsequent failures. This time the combat system is based mainly on pairing attacks and dodging, rewarding dexterity and good reflexes; a knack for sneaking is also useful. Each subsequent boss battle, and there are many of them, can lead us to a mental breakdown, but stubbornness is rewarded with great satisfaction from each victory. Satisfaction, which can’t find in any of competing games, which tend to lead us everywhere by the hand.