“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” is like a dance – reflecting on the work of FromSoftware

Sekiro is like a dance – full of emotion, determination and patience; honed to the accompaniment of the clash of steel and the pitiful groans of dying enemies. Initially, our steps are clunky, and the lack of sense of rhythm is severely punished. With time, however, the movements become remarkably dignified and harmonious, full of equilibrium maneuvers, and the spectacular finale of complex dances each time deserves thunderous applause. And it is only up to us what kind of dancer we will be.

Since I started exploring the nooks and crannies of Boletaria right after the European premiere of Demon’s Souls , I knew that Hidetaka Miyazaki is a genius, and his productions will leave a huge mark on me. I have played each subsequent FromSoftware title many times – always with a flushed face. Naturally, I had an unconditional love for soulslike – a sub-genre of action RPG games, which owes its assumptions and the name of the Dark Souls series . Surprisingly, with Sekiro it was just the opposite – I painfully rebounded from said production after about an hour of “fun”. Why?

Dirty Dancing

Well, Miyazaki’s latest work is a hard nut to crack for a die-hard fan of his previous creations and a paradox. Namely, it seems to be a soulslik, and at the same time it is not. As if that were not enough, it is also the hardest and easiest game of this type. The basics are almost the same, but the devil is in the details – mostly in the context of the combat system and character development. Everything has been thought out so that there is no escape from the next, exhausting clashes that test our skills.

If we want to learn more and more confident movements in order to master them over time to perfection, but also periodically improve the character, we will not avoid crossing weapons with powerful bosses and numerous mini-bosses. The duels are extremely dynamic (even Bloodborne can hide) and fierce, and most importantly – without learning to parry blows, it is practically impossible to complete the game. Forget about dodging or playing with a hero dressed in heavy armor, able to block even a speeding train.

You should quickly put aside your habits from Dark Souls and switch your brain to an aggressive style of play, risk and constantly balance on the thin line of life and death. Honestly, I found it extremely difficult to adjust. I fell like a fly, trying to keep up with even my rank and file opponents. If there was any dance in it, it was extremely clumsy, even dirty, marked with mud and blood. Unfortunately mine. I thought then: no, I don’t think it’s for me.

Dancing with Wolves

Fortunately, about two years after the premiere, I woke up and decided to re-impersonate the Wolf’s skin to help him fight the inevitable destiny. FromSoftware games have always been about overcoming bigger and bigger obstacles, learning from mistakes and, most of all, developing an angelic patience. So why not treat this as another, even more difficult challenge? After all, the greater the challenge, the greater the satisfaction, and this is the crème de la crème of Souls , so fully focused and motivated, I started a new game.

After dealing with the first opponents, I noticed exactly what I mentioned at the very beginning – Sekiro is like dancing. Even the initial steps, performed correctly, seem unusual, causing an involuntary smile. However, every now and then it turns out that this is just a drop in the ocean of possibilities, and the learned patterns do not work with the masters of deadly dance, requiring more and more dexterity and instant decision-making.

After the bloody finish of the first miniboss, giving way to me in a country dance, I felt a blissful rush of adrenaline. On the other hand, after dealing with the first full-fledged boss with a dance step, I involuntarily bowed my foreheads to Miyazaki’s genius, spitting on my chin that I put the title aside for so long. The posture, that is specific endurance – both ours and our enemies, has a significant impact on the level of difficulty and the overall combat system.

Simply put – in order to win, one has to exhaust the opponent’s posture with attacks, because then we are able to deal a fatal blow. The problem is, some bosses have more than one life. Fortunately, our protagonist also has the opportunity to free himself from the embrace of death. All this encourages and even forces to fight offensive – at times the exchange of arguments is so entertaining that you can only see sparks. Bloodborne was already introducing more dynamic clashes, but what is happening here is driving without a grip.

Dance of Death

While playing Sekiro , I spent hours learning advanced techniques and movements, getting better and better to the rhythm. I made my way from a precarious toddler to a battle-hardened killer whose specialty was the dance of death. Of course, some bosses kept me awake at night, but each of them honed me as a dancer with great aspirations. As a result, at some point I found that the fight became relatively easy and hardly surprises me anymore.

It is in this respect that Miyazaki’s easiest and most difficult production is at the same time; at first it is hellishly difficult to adapt and learn different techniques, but the farther into the forest, the easier it is. A limited selection of deadly tools allows you to better familiarize yourself with the range of moves available, and the aggression of opponents forces us to use them as efficiently as possible. With time, we attack and parry even automatically, relying on automatisms carved in the cerebral cortex and extremely helpful sounds.

However, even all of this did not prepare me sufficiently for the final adversary of Isshin, the Holy Sword. This one is just cursed Fred Astaire on steroids and specific psychoactive substances. I’m telling you – although many have probably found out the hard way – this gentleman is a true dance virtuoso. I had to rise to the heights of my sweat honed skills, and even surpass them several times. Eventually – after many hours of gruesome skits – I stripped him of the title of the dancer of all time.

Then I put it down and I did the comic victory dance (you wouldn’t want to watch it). Unfortunately, unlike the virtual world in real life – at least sober – I’m a weak choreographer. Well, as I said, Sekiro is like dancing.