Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which hereafter shall be known as Sekiro because that’s what it was intended to be called until Activision shoved its nose into the–I’ll get to that in a bit–is coming out tomorrow (or today by the time you read this). Or rather, tonight since it’s coming out at midnight EDT (are we DT or ST now?) which means 11 p.m. here. I had to uninstall Dark Souls: Remastered (the current DS game I’m replaying) to make room for Sekiro, which I bought last night. Pre-ordered it. At full AAA price.
If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I’m cheap as hell. I don’t mind waiting for a game to go on steep sale before buying it, which means I’m usually playing a game a year or two after it’s released. I bought the original Dark Souls a year and a half after it was released, the Prepare to Try edition, for ten bucks, I think. Maybe twenty. I did play Dark Souls III in real time, but that was because Ian bought it for me along with the season’s pass. After DSIII, I said that any future game by FromSoft was an auto pre-order for me, and this is also amazing because I am very against pre-orders for a few reasons.
One, before Steam instituted its return policy, you were SOL if you bought a game and didn’t want it for whatever reason. Now, if you buy a game after it’s released, then you can look at reviews and whatnots of it in order to get a better feel if it’s for you or not. With the sheer volume of games being released these days, it can be overwhelming if you’re not the type only to play, say, Collar Duty games. If you are the type to only play COD BlOP or whatever, then I can absolutely see pre-ordering the next iteration. I can also see paying full price because console games don’t go on sale nearly as often or as steeply as do PC games.
Two, I don’t like this move to making games a service thing rather than a one-time product buy. I hate that a game can be released broken with the idea that it’ll get patched in time. Honestly, I would rather wait until a game is fully functional before it’s released, even if it means the game is delayed months. I will say that waiting for Eitr to come out has tested that theory, though. I first heard about it…I want to say three years ago, but it might have been six months more or less. Anyhow, they are the exception, and I would rather the game come out later fully intact than to be released a broken mess.
In other words, I don’t want to reward companies for bad behavior. Continually pre-ordering games that turn out to be broken, incomplete, or just downright bad gives said companies no incentive to do better. If they’re going to make the same amount of money either way, why not just released a broken game? I’m not even blaming them because it makes business sense. I also know I can’t make other people wait to buy games, but I don’t want to play into that system.
FromSoft is one of the very few companies that are on my pre-order list. They have earned my trust in that any game they’re putting out, I want to play–especially with Miyazaki at the helm. You could tell me it’s a dating sim and I’ll buy it without thinking twice about it. Actually, I would love to see Miyazaki’s take on a Japanese dating sim. Or maybe not. Japanese video game auteurs (all who are male, sadly) are NOT who I would turn to for an enlightened vision on women. Miyazaki is probably the best in this regard, but he does have a thing for big boobs. That’s ok, so do I. But, in general, his characterization of women is positive. Love Eileen the Crow in Bloodborne.
I’ve had to studiously ignore all the Dark Souls-related channels I normally watch/read/pay attention to because they’re all steeped in Sekiro, naturally. I know the reviews have been glowing, and I know who the first boss is, and I know the general gameplay, and I know there are prosthetics for the protagonist’s missing left arm. I know it’s set in feudal Japan and that the protagonist was guarding his lord? Kid emperor? Some kid of import when he (the protag) gets knocked out and his arm cut off, and his lord gets kidnapped.
That’s pretty much what I know other than you have to parry to do a finisher in certain instances. I’ve seen snippets of reviews and comments here and there because to avoid them all is impossible. On the plus side, there will be a plethora of shit for me to watch/read once I’ve finished Sekiro! Oh, by the way, I’ve never liked the full title of the game, and when I found out that it was only meant to be used as a placeholder (Shadows Die Twice, I mean), it made sense. Apparently, it wasn’t meant to be the title, but Activision saw it and insisted it be part of the name. That makes sense and it’s why I call the game Sekiro.
Anyway, I’m excited, nervous, and hopeful. I want this game to be good so bad, I can taste it. I have no doubt it’s going to be good, but more to the point, I want it to be something I really dig playing. I’m worried it’s more Bloodborne than Souls, or that it’ll be too much like Nioh. From the little I’ve read by accident, it’s more than just a Soulsborne game. I know that FromSoft is really focused on vertical movement (you start with the grappling hook as a prosthetic), and I’m chary that platforming will be excessive. In addition, no shield–you can block with the sword. You can play the game as a stealth game which is NOT my strong suit. Add to that the parrying system and all the consumables, and, well, I’m worried.
Still. I know it’ll be an amazing game, and I know I will try to push my way through it no matter what. I’m glad the RKG lads are waiting before they do a series on it, even though many in the community are pushing for them to do it right after DSII. I would hate to have to skip their content or leave it until later, but I want to go into this as unspoiled as possible.
Eight hours and counting. I’m ready to get my Sekiro on.