Sekiro

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by FromSoftware. It was released in Japan by FromSoftware and internationally by Activision for the PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One in March 2019 and for Stadia in October 2020.

Players control Wolf, a shinobi who embarks on a quest to rescue his lord, and becomes embroiled into a conflict for Ashina's fate. The gameplay is focused on stealth, exploration, and combat, with a particular emphasis on boss battles. It takes place in a fictionalized Japan during the Sengoku period and makes strong references to Buddhist mythology and philosophy. Lead director Hidetaka Miyazaki wanted to create a new intellectual property (IP) that marked a departure from their Dark Souls series, wanting to make a Japanese-themed game around shinobi and ninja. Tenchu, as an IP tied to FromSoftware and with that history theme, ended up being the impetus for the project.

Sekiro received acclaim from critics, who praised its gameplay and setting and compared it favorably to FromSoftware's past work, although opinions on its heavy difficulty were mixed. It won several year-end awards, including the Game Award for Game of the Year, and has sold over ten million units as of September 2023.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action-adventure game played from a third-person view. Compared to FromSoftware's Dark Souls series, the game features fewer role-playing elements, lacks character creation and the ability to level up a variety of stats, and has no real-time multiplayer elements. It does, however, include gear upgrading, special abilities with a prosthetic arm, a skill tree, and limited ability customization. Rather than attacking to whittle an enemy's health points, combat in Sekiro revolves around using a katana to attack their posture and balance instead, as well as deflecting incoming enemy attacks, eventually leading to an opening that allows for a single killing blow.

The game also features stealth elements, allowing players to instantly eliminate or severely damage most enemies if they can get in range undetected. In addition, the player character can use various tools to assist with combat and exploration, such as a grappling hook. If the player character dies, they can be revived on the spot if they have resurrection power, which is restored by defeating enemies, instead of respawning at earlier checkpoints.

During the late Sengoku period, the Ashina clan, led by Kensei Isshin Ashina, seizes a land rich in divine favor, including a foreign deity dubbed the Divine Dragon which can grant immortality through a bloodline dubbed the "Dragon's Heritage" and through the Rejuvenating waters and its mukade-infested Sediment. During this time, a nameless orphan is adopted by the wandering shinobi Owl, who names the boy "Wolf" and trains him in his ways. As Wolf grows up, Owl entrusts him with safeguarding the young lord Kuro, the last of the Dragon's Heritage line.

Two decades later, the now-elderly Isshin is on his deathbed and the weakened Ashina is besieged by the forces of the Interior Ministry to finish the unification of Japan. Desperate to save his clan, Isshin's adoptive grandson, Genichiro, seeks Kuro to use his blood to create an immortal army. Disagreeing with his grandson's methods, Isshin has his private physician, Emma, warn Wolf so the two can flee. However, Genichiro confronts them and defeats Wolf in a duel, severing his left arm and capturing Kuro. Wolf is saved by a man called the Sculptor, who gifts him a prosthetic arm. To rescue Kuro, Wolf assaults Ashina Castle, where he meets Isshin and is given a new name: "Sekiro". Optionally, Sekiro can revisit his past through meditation using various items he finds; three years ago, Kuro's home was raided by bandits led by the shinobi Lady Butterfly, leading to Owl's apparent death. While Sekiro defeated her, he was fatally stabbed by an unknown assailant and only survived after Kuro shared his blood with him.

Sekiro again duels Genichiro and defeats him this time. However, he survives, having used the Sediment to gain corrupted immortality, and escapes. Afterward, Kuro refuses to flee and instead wants Sekiro to perform the Immortal Severance ritual on him, which would result in his death and eliminate the Dragon's Heritage. Sekiro reluctantly agrees and sets out to collect the necessary materials for the ritual, including a weapon that can kill immortals known as the Mortal Blade from the Divine Child – the sole survivor of experiments with the Rejuvenating Waters. After collecting most of the ritual elements, Sekiro is confronted by Owl, who faked his death in pursuit of the Dragon's Heritage and revealed to be the one who stabbed him three years ago. If Sekiro renounces his loyalty to Kuro on Owl's orders, he fights and kills Emma and Isshin while Owl kills Genichiro. However, Sekiro then becomes corrupted by bloodlust and kills Owl as well while Kuro watches in horror, leading to the Shura ending.

If Sekiro refuses, he kills Owl in combat and enters the divine realm to recover the final ingredient for the ritual from the Divine Dragon itself. Upon returning to the mortal realm, Sekiro discovers that Isshin has passed away and the Ministry is attacking Ashina. Fighting through the chaos, Sekiro eventually finds Kuro under attack by Genichiro, who has retrieved another Mortal Blade. Upon defeat, Genichiro sacrifices himself using the second Mortal Blade to revive Isshin in his prime so he might restore Ashina, a wish that his grandfather attempts to honor despite disagreeing with it. After killing Isshin, depending on the items gathered, three endings are available:

• In the Immortal Severance ending, Sekiro performs the ritual as instructed, killing Kuro and making himself mortal again. Afterward, like the Sculptor before him, Sekiro spends his remaining days carving Buddha statues while keeping his prosthetic to pass on to someone else one day.

• In the Purification ending, Sekiro performs an alternate ritual worked out with Emma's aid which has Sekiro sacrificing himself while freeing Kuro of the Dragon's Heritage. Afterward, Kuro prays at Sekiro's grave with Emma before departing Ashina.

• In the Return ending, Sekiro collaborates with the Divine Child to make her a vessel for the Divine Dragon's power. After defeating Isshin, Sekiro takes the dying Kuro to the Divine Child, who absorbs him into herself. The Divine Child and Sekiro then leave on a journey to return the Dragon's Heritage to its home in the West.