Fully revealed at Microsoft’s E3 2018 conference, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the latest from Dark Souls developer FromSoftware and – crucially – it will be directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki. Miyazaki was conspicuous by his absence on Dark Souls II, widely regarded as the weakest of FromSoftware’s recent releases, in comparison to the brilliance of Dark Souls I, III, and Bloodborne.
Sekiro is set in Japan in the late 1500s Sengoku period – a time of social upheaval and near-constant military conflict as the power of the central shogunate waned, and regional daimyos rose up to fill the vacuum. But don’t let the fact that it actually happened put you off – we are still promised a “dark and twisted gameplay experience” in FromSoft tradition, as the reveal trailer makes clear.
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Looks like the protagonist has been dismembered in his past and has had his limb replaced with a prosthetic, hence the name ‘Sekiro’, meaning ‘one-armed wolf’. The trailer description explains this limb and some “powerful ninja abilities” will comprise your arsenal as you “carve your own clever path to vengeance.” Then, of course, there is a creepy centipede, a giant snake, and a big fat man who vomits on his sword.
The game will be published by Activision – a new partnership for FromSoft – but release on PC via Steam, rather than Battle.net. It’s slated for “early 2019,” with a suggested retail price of $59.99.
“Collaborating with Activision on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has been a very exciting experience for us,” Miyazaki says. “With Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice many FromSoftware team members, including myself, are thrilled to be exploring themes of Sengoku Japan and ninja for the first time. We can’t wait for everyone to discover what’s in store for the game.”
Pre-orders for Sekiro are now live, as is the website, though there’s no sign of the Steam page just yet. Keep an eye on PCGamesN for more news coming out of E3, some of which may just include further Sekiro knowledge.