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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (22 March 2019) OT - Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4 . . . (Update: GOTY Edition coming October 28!)


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Dark Souls' world design would have been incredible if being back at Firelink actually meant anything, but it doesn't; the hub is important in the other games because of all the merchants and the leveling waifu, but what's important about Firelink in the original? There's one shop, Frampt, and that's basically it. Outside of going back to place the Lordvessel, you could easily go the entire game without going back for any meaningful reason. Personally, I prefer the hub model, if only because roaming around to merchants is fucking annoying (especially the ones that are out of the way, like the guy in Sen's).

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I only played DeS once on a borrowed PS3 with a broken build. It was Good. Better than Dark Souls 2 that's for sure.

 

53 minutes ago, Chris- said:

Dark Souls' world design would have been incredible if being back at Firelink actually meant anything, but it doesn't; the hub is important in the other games because of all the merchants and the leveling waifu, but what's important about Firelink in the original? There's one shop, Frampt, and that's basically it. Outside of going back to place the Lordvessel, you could easily go the entire game without going back for any meaningful reason. Personally, I prefer the hub model, if only because roaming around to merchants is fucking annoying (especially the ones that are out of the way, like the guy in Sen's).

 

I don't really care about firelink, just the connected world. Put DS3 firelink in DS1 and shit would be perfect. DS2 was kinda close with majula but shit only connected to Majula in one direction. 

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Like DS1 you could get to the Hydra and the Forest in like 3 or 4 different ways, and there were 2 ways to enter Blight Town if you had the master key.  DS2 didn't have that. I like the Hub, but I rather have no hub if it meant having a world as interconnected as DS1. 

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God, I hate hub world design. At least insofar as having to teleport to levels. It makes it feel like an overwrought level select screen rather than a world. It immediately put me off of Demon's Souls and thus I never finished it. Having to go to that shitty Hunter's Dream in Bloodborne on top of the 3,000 year loading screens over and over was somehow even worse. What a goddamn mess.

 

You want an important hub location? That's fine, just don't make it a teleport hub! Or at least, not ONLY teleports. Let me walk everywhere, too! I guess my main complaints just boils down to that: I need to be able to walk to (nearly) every point in the game!

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Yeah exactly. The level of disappointment I felt when I got to the end of one of the “spokes” in DS2 was massive. I was just like “oh I can’t go further? I have to fucking teleport back? Lame”

 

I loved that in DS1 when I got cursed by the frogs in the sewers, I had to physically run all the way back up to the bell tower to break the curse. I mean it sucked at the time but it added so much to that world. You always felt like you were pushing forward in that game. And that feeling when you open a shortcut and realize you’re back to some part of firelink or how you could see other areas you’d been was such a amazing feeling. That fact that they made 3 more games and never duplicated that world design is mind blowing to me. 

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10 hours ago, Chris- said:

Dark Souls' world design would have been incredible if being back at Firelink actually meant anything, but it doesn't; the hub is important in the other games because of all the merchants and the leveling waifu, but what's important about Firelink in the original? There's one shop, Frampt, and that's basically it. Outside of going back to place the Lordvessel, you could easily go the entire game without going back for any meaningful reason. Personally, I prefer the hub model, if only because roaming around to merchants is fucking annoying (especially the ones that are out of the way, like the guy in Sen's).

My take on it was this:

 

As much as I think the word is overused and a bit corny, I've never felt more immersed in a lived-in world than when I played Dark Souls 1. I can see your criticisms but to me the whole Firelink Shrine area with its soundtrack felt really rewarding to return to every time even if simply only because the game imbued it with so much thematic meaning. The main attraction here for me was the bonfires being used for leveling and so on, it just never took me out of the world like having to warp to a disconnected area which I think even kind of blows in Bloodborne despite me being a total fanboy for it. 

 

I liked how much you had to "realistically" commit to exploration and areas prior to the Lordvessel warping. It made the whole game feel like an actual journey to me rather than just warping from level to level. It just felt really special and brought a weird sense of 'realism' to the game I've never felt since. I've started Bloodborne from scratch once and went as long as possible without warping back to the hub and it felt even better.

 

I don't mind an obvious hub at all but I really want it it to be physically connected to the world in some capacity. That, no insta-warping which sucks quite a bit of excitement out of exploration but most of all I really wish they would return to leveling at bonfires/whatever equivalent as to not take you out of the world constantly. That's the main thing for me really writing this now. Having to warp to some repetitive-as-fuck NPC, taking you out of the experience every time, just to level up and fix weapons etc. worked fine in Demon's Souls due to its essentially level structure but it just doesn't work for me after being shown what it could be in an Adventure in DS1. 

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1 hour ago, Bloodporne said:

My take on it was this:

 

As much as I think the word is overused and a bit corny, I've never felt more immersed in a lived-in world than when I played Dark Souls 1. I can see your criticisms but to me the whole Firelink Shrine area with its soundtrack felt really rewarding to return to every time even if simply only because the game imbued it with so much thematic meaning. The main attraction here for me was the bonfires being used for leveling and so on, it just never took me out of the world like having to warp to a disconnected area which I think even kind of blows in Bloodborne despite me being a total fanboy for it. 

 

I liked how much you had to "realistically" commit to exploration and areas prior to the Lordvessel warping. It made the whole game feel like an actual journey to me rather than just warping from level to level. It just felt really special and brought a weird sense of 'realism' to the game I've never felt since. I've started Bloodborne from scratch once and went as long as possible without warping back to the hub and it felt even better.

 

 I don't mind an obvious hub at all but I really want it it to be physically connected to the world in some capacity. That, no insta-warping which sucks quite a bit of excitement out of exploration but most of all I really wish they would return to leveling at bonfires/whatever equivalent as to not take you out of the world constantly. That's the main thing for me really writing this now. Having to warp to some repetitive-as-fuck NPC, taking you out of the experience every time, just to level up and fix weapons etc. worked fine in Demon's Souls due to its essentially level structure but it just doesn't work for me after being shown what it could be in an Adventure in DS1. 

 

See, I feel like the 'exploration' in Souls games is overblown. When I think of exploration, I think of games like Breath of the Wild or The Witcher 3...You can go anywhere you want and do anything you want virtually anytime you want (with some mild restrictions). But even Dark Souls, which is held up as the one with the best exploration, is incredibly restrictive. Within each area, you are still more or less penned in by the layout and geometry of the environment, and absent the Lordvessel there are choke points where you can only go two directions (Anor Londo, Undead Asylum) or even just one (Painted World). 

 

I realize this sentiment isn't shared by everyone, but to me exploration is meaningless outside of an open-world setting; I'm not interested in exploring linear settings, even if they connect in interesting ways.

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4 minutes ago, Chris- said:

 

See, I feel like the 'exploration' in Souls games is overblown. When I think of exploration, I think of games like Breath of the Wild or The Witcher 3...You can go anywhere you want and do anything you want virtually anytime you want (with some mild restrictions). But even Dark Souls, which is held up as the one with the best exploration, is incredibly restrictive. Within each area, you are still more or less penned in by the layout and geometry of the environment, and absent the Lordvessel there are choke points where you can only go two directions (Anor Londo, Undead Asylum) or even just one (Painted World). 

 

I realize this sentiment isn't shared by everyone, but to me exploration is meaningless outside of an open-world setting; I'm not interested in exploring linear settings, even if they connect in interesting ways.

I'm a full 180 from the bolded so we're going to have to agree to disagree and/or fight this out at a designated time and place like real men!

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Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's New Combat Options Means Bosses Are A Little Different

In From Software games, bosses are the main event. From Ornstein and Smough in Dark Souls to The Nameless King in Dark Souls III, the developer has crafted incredibly rewarding  enemy encounters over the last few years. With Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From is changing their approach to combat, which means how they design bosses has to follow suit. Although the boss we faced in our time with the game definitely captured the feel of a From Software boss fight, we did notice – and were able to talk to From about – how Sekiro’s new combat and traversal options could alter the way we approach their bosses.

 

Exclusive Gameplay From Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's Hirata Estates

With Game Informer's new cover story on From Software's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, we're diving in deep and sharing everything we learned about Hidetaka Miyazaki's next game. During our trip to the studio, we played the game for several areas and explored a new area called Hirata Estates. The area is technically a flashback, taking place three years before the events of the main game and helps to explain Sekiro's relationship with a character known as the "young lord"

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Quote

In this exclusive Game Informer video, Ben Hanson interviews Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's lead game designer Masaru Yamamura about designing combat and how it differs from his work on Dark Souls and Bloodborne. The video contains a lot of new gameplay showing off several fights in the Hirata Estates area as well. You can learn even more about how progression works in the game by visiting our hub for a month full of exclusive content at https://www.gameinformer.com/sekiro

 

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More Game Informer coverage:

 

How Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Became An Activision Game

When it was first revealed at last year's E3, one of the biggest surprises about Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was its publisher: Activision. Before, From Software tended to work almost exclusively with Japanese publishers, and hadn’t worked with an American company to release their games since 2009’s Ninja Blade (published by Microsoft), opting instead to work with publishers like Bandai Namco, Sony, and Capcom. But as with Sekiro itself, which aims to distinguish itself among From Software games, the deal between From and Activision breaks new ground for both companies.

 

Our Full Hidetaka Miyazaki Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Interview

As part of our trip to see Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice at From Software’s offices in Tokyo, Japan, we got to chat with the game’s director and company president Hidetaka Miyazaki. While you’ll see quotes from him we’ve used in our past coverage of Sekiro, there are some interesting and fun bits of insight throughout our entire conversation.

 

How Tutorials Work in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

As we explain in our latest cover story on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From Software is hoping to craft a smoother onboarding experience for players in the hope that they won't be frustrated by the game's eventual challenges. While visiting the studio, we spoke with lead game designer Masaru Yamamura about the delicate balance of not turning off From Software's fans but also letting people know how to play the upcoming game. 

 

Hidetaka Miyazaki On Receiving A Lifetime Achievement Award

Last year, From Software president Hidetaka Miyazaki won a Lifetime Achievement award at the Golden Joysticks. With him having recently received the award when we sat down to talk to him about From Software and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, we decided to ask him what he thinks are keys to living a life worthy of such an award. His answer was inspiring. Sort of?

 

From Software On The Possibility Of A Demon’s Souls Remaster

Although most of our interviews and conversations with From Software revolved around the studio’s upcoming game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, when the time came to chat with director and current From president Hidetaka Miyazaki, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to chat about the studio’s past works. With the recent release of Dark Souls: Remastered, it’s clear From isn’t opposed to revisiting its older games, so we decided to raise the question: Is there any chance of a Demon’s Souls remaster happening?

 

Inside The Creation Of Sekiro's Soundtrack

While visiting From Software for our latest cover story on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, we were fortunate enough to sit down and speak with the game's music composer Yuka Kitamura. Fans have celebrated Kitamura's previous work on Dark Souls and Bloodborne (her favorite track is currently Slave Knight Gael from Dark Souls 3) and are eager to hear more of what she has in mind for the completely new world of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

 

Exclusive Video On The Challenges Of Creating Sekiro's Dynamic World

In order to write Game Informer's new cover story on From Software's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, we traveled to Tokyo and spent two days in the studio learning all about and playing the game. While on the development floor, we were able to speak with Sekiro's lead concept designer Tetsu Takahashi and graphics engineer Takasuke Ando about bringing this new game to life. Watch the video above to learn how refreshing it is for this team to take a step away from Dark Souls and Bloodborne and create a new, more varied world both visually and thematically.

 

How Sekiro Plays Differently Than Dark Souls

With Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From Software is making a number of changes to the way it thinks about combat, level design, storytelling, and more. Although fans expect plenty of surprises when they sit down with a From game for the first time, certain aspects of the developer’s formula having been trained into players’ minds, and it might be these players who have the hardest time getting used to Sekiro’s changes.

 

How From Software Is Changing Its Approach To Storytelling For Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Set in the waning years of Sengoku-era Japan, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice features a brighter, more colorful world than we’ve seen out of From Software. This lets them create environments with a different air about them than either Bloodborne or Dark Souls, as the developer tries to both elicit and play with the beauty of Japan during the Warring States period. The change in locale has also prompted From Software to make some key changes to how it tells stories, but it’s not shying away from the key methods fans have come to love.

 

Exclusive Gameplay And Details On Creating Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's Combat

We flew out to visit From Software in Tokyo for our new cover story on Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. While we were there, we interviewed lead game designer Masaru Yamamura and learned all about the process of designing the game's combat. As you'll see in the video above featuring some new gameplay footage, not all of your muscle memory and tricks from Dark Souls and Bloodborne will carry over into Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Watch the interview to learn what Yamamura sees as the biggest changes to From Software's combat formula, the difficulty of designing Sekiro, and how the game was originally inspired by the Tenchu series.

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  • 2 weeks later...
5 hours ago, Firewithin said:

there are still no PC system rec yet correct?

 

@Firewithin

 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/814380/Sekiro_Shadows_Die_Twice/

 

Quote

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS


MINIMUM:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit | Windows 8 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 | AMD FX-6300
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 | AMD Radeon HD 7950
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 25 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 11 Compatible


RECOMMENDED:
OS: Windows 7 64-bit | Windows 8 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K | AMD Ryzen 5 1400
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 | AMD Radeon RX 570
DirectX: Version 11
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 25 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX 11 Compatible

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

so from what i understand, this was originally going to be a Tenchu game? Which would be awesome. I loved me some tenchu back in the day. 

 

Will this game have the tediousness of the Soulsborne games? I dont mind the challenge...I mind having to run through the same area over and over again when I do die just to get back to the spot I died before just to try agian.  

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2 minutes ago, atom631 said:

Will this game have the tediousness of the Soulsborne games? I dont mind the challenge...I mind having to run through the same area over and over again when I do die just to get back to the spot I died before just to try agian.  

 

I want a Nioh-style game but better inventory mgmt and better level progression.  I never beat Nioh cause I hit a grind wall where I wasn't good enough/high level enough and possibly not geared well enough to continue into the story.  Nioh inventory mgmt and getting specific gear was confusing as hell to me.

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7 minutes ago, atom631 said:

so from what i understand, this was originally going to be a Tenchu game? Which would be awesome. I loved me some tenchu back in the day. 

 

Will this game have the tediousness of the Soulsborne games? I dont mind the challenge...I mind having to run through the same area over and over again when I do die just to get back to the spot I died before just to try agian.  

 

Pretty sure that's going to be in this game... I mean it IS a feature of these types of Souls-like games. It trains you get better and is a throwback to old arcade games where death had consequences.

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1 minute ago, skillzdadirecta said:

 

Pretty sure that's going to be in this game... I mean it IS a feature of these types of Souls-like games. It trains you get better and is a throwback to old arcade games where death had consequences.

i figured as much. although ive heard this is a departure from the soulsborne games and very different. im hoping THAT is one difference. i always liked to mood and settings in the soulsborne games, but just couldnt stand the tediousness of doing the same thing over. progress slightly. then doing it again. 

 

If thats an element that carried over, then Im gonna pass..but I really want a good Samurai game. Hopefully Ghosts of Tushashima delivers. 

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1 hour ago, atom631 said:

i figured as much. although ive heard this is a departure from the soulsborne games and very different. im hoping THAT is one difference. i always liked to mood and settings in the soulsborne games, but just couldnt stand the tediousness of doing the same thing over. progress slightly. then doing it again. 

 

If thats an element that carried over, then Im gonna pass..but I really want a good Samurai game. Hopefully Ghosts of Tushashima delivers. 

I just read through the Gamespot article and it has details on how death and resurrection works. There is a revive mechanic that is integral to the game's flow but there is quite the heavy punishment for an actual death, including respawning at your last bonfire equivalent. 

 

You lose half your gained cash and experience points apparently and unlike Souls, it seems to NOT be a recoverable item drop. So you lose, you lose if I'm reading that correctly. 

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