FromSoftware’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will always be remembered as one of the studio’s most pleasant surprises. It was a welcome change of pace from its wildly successful “Soulsborne” games, stripping back many traditional RPG elements and focusing purely on action, combat, and a more straightforward narrative, and while it looks like it will follow Bloodborne into the abyss of sequelless FromSoftware darlings, it’s not a game that should be forgotten by anyone, least of all FromSoftware itself.
The relentlessly satisfying parry mechanic, remixing of real-world Japanese history, and emphasis on speed and aggression are certainly worth revisiting in future games, but there’s one less-discussed aspect of Sekiro that should be adapted in future titles as well: traditional storytelling. While the game definitely maintains FromSoftware’s signature aloofness and ambiguity, it is ultimately far more digestible and straightforward than a game like Elden Ring or Dark Souls, owing mostly to the inclusion of a predetermined player-character and plot. While this perhaps shouldn’t be the norm for future games from the developer, it’s easy to imagine how the concept could be played with in some future releases.
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FromSoftware Should Revisit Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice’s Approach to Storytelling
How Sekiro’s Narrative Is Distinct From Other FromSoftware Games
FromSoftware’s portfolio isn’t lacking in great stories, but their method of delivery and presentation often keeps them from being engaging or even accessible to large portions of their audience. For instance, Bloodborne is about the folly of man, the horrors of attempting to transcend humanity, and powers beyond human comprehension. It’s a terrifying, sophisticated, clever, and complex story that rivals those of countless fantasy novels and films, but a lot of players won’t even clock it.
That’s because, in order to understand the stories of games like Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and Elden Ring (without lore videos and the like), players must sift through countless item descriptions, seek out obscure dialogue, and analyze even the most minute environmental details. This is a novel method of storytelling, one that is only possible in the gaming medium, but it’s also obtuse and unwelcoming.
Sekiro bucks many of these traditions in favor of a more easily digestible and emotional story, with a plot that keeps players engaged. Rather than exploring a world that has already gone sideways, players are placed in a kingdom during an ongoing conflict. The main character of the story, Wolf, has real emotional ties to the happenings of the plot, something that is conveyed through dialog and a predetermined background—two key narrative devices that are missing in other FromSoftware games. FromSoftware may have reverted to its old style of storytelling with Elden Ring, but an infusion of Sekiro narrative magic could work wonders in a future project.
FromSoftware Could Double-Down On Sekiro-Like Storytelling In the Future
As FromSoftware applies lessons it learned through Sekiro, a more traditional approach to narrative-building shouldn’t be left behind. In fact, one could argue that an even more straightforward story could work wonders in a typical FromSoftware game: high-fantasy and cosmic horror premises, which the studio has an affinity for, could hit home much harder in a game with an emotional core and eventful plot like Sekiro‘s. One issue with FromSoftware’s hands-off narrative style is that, for as intriguing as its game worlds can be, they often lack an element of humanity. Narrative devices like a voiced protagonist, real-time stakes, and detailed character interactions could help with this.
The sky could be the limit, given this approach. Maybe FromSoftware could finally make a proper Berserk adaptation, or a more psychologically-poignant science-fiction story, using the aforementioned narrative devices to sharpen certain plot elements. Whatever the application, it’s clear that Sekiro‘s story struck a chord with players, and FromSoftware would be wise to keep that in mind moving forward.
Carve your own clever path to vengeance in the critically acclaimed adventure from developer FromSoftware, creators of the Dark Souls series.
In Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice you are the ‘one-armed wolf’, a disgraced and disfigured warrior rescued from the brink of death. Bound to protect a young lord who is the descendant of an ancient bloodline, you become the target of many vicious enemies, including the dangerous Ashina clan. When the young lord is captured, nothing will stop you on a perilous quest to regain your honor, not even death itself.
Explore late 1500s Sengoku Japan, a brutal period of constant life and death conflict, as you come face to face with larger than life foes in a dark and twisted world. Unleash an arsenal of deadly prosthetic tools and powerful ninja abilities while you blend stealth, vertical traversal, and visceral head to head combat in a bloody confrontation. Take Revenge. Restore Your Honor. Kill Ingeniously.
- Released
- March 22, 2019
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty