Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | PlayStation 4 | PS4

About the Game

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a single-player, action hack-and-slash game with role-playing elements. Set in a reimagined late 1500s Sengoku-era Japan, the story follows a shinobi known as Wolf who serves a young lord with divine heritage. After a brutal battle with the Ashina clan, Wolf loses both his master and his left arm. Rescued by a mysterious sculptor, he awakens with a prosthetic arm known as the Shinobi Prosthetic.

Story & Setting

Death introduces a unique mechanic: players can revive on the spot at the cost of limited revival nodes, but repeated deaths spread Dragonrot, a disease that afflicts NPCs and restricts side quests until cured. Instead, it focuses on a fixed protagonist and handcrafted narrative. Multiple endings exist, determined by key player choices during story events, offering different conclusions to Wolf’s journey.

Gameplay & Core Systems

Progression requires defeating powerful enemies and bosses that guard pathways, uncovering shortcuts, and acquiring new prosthetic attachments and combat skills. Combat centers on posture and deflection rather than draining health through conventional attacks. Every character has a posture meter that breaks when pressured by repeated strikes or perfectly timed parries, allowing for a deathblow. The system emphasizes aggression, timing, and precision over defensive play. Boss encounters test mastery of these mechanics, with many requiring recognition of attack patterns and adaptation to multiple phases.

Standout Features

• Traversal is more vertical than in other games of its type, using Wolf’s grappling hook to scale rooftops, leap across cliffs, and access hidden areas.
• Progression requires defeating powerful enemies and bosses that guard pathways, uncovering shortcuts, and acquiring new prosthetic attachments and combat skills.
• Every character has a posture meter that breaks when pressured by repeated strikes or perfectly timed parries, allowing for a deathblow.
• The system emphasizes aggression, timing, and precision over defensive play.
• These tools consume spirit emblems, which are collected from defeated enemies or purchased, and can be upgraded through crafting.
• Healing is tied to the Healing Gourd, which can be refilled and upgraded as the game progresses.
• Progression uses experience points and skill trees rather than traditional loot or equipment systems.
• Wolf earns skill points by defeating enemies, which can be invested into combat arts, stealth techniques, and prosthetic improvements.

Modes & Ways to Play

The game does not feature traditional character customization or multiplayer.

Presentation & Atmosphere

Display support includes Progressive Scan (480p), HDTV 720p, HDTV 1080i, and HDTV 1080p.