E3 2018: FromSoftware Unveils Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice at Xbox Briefing

Death won't come easily in FromSoftware's next action title.

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During Microsoft E3 2018 Xbox Briefing, FromSoftware revealed Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the studio's first original IP since Bloodborne in 2015 and the full title of the game teased by the studio at last year's The Game Awards show.

Sekiro will be published by Activision, indicating a multiplatform release even though Microsoft got dibs on the world premiere at its E3 press conference. The newest game from the "Soulsborne" franchise creator seems cut from the same third-person-action cloth as Dark Souls and Bloodborne, set in what appears to be feudal Japan.

Players control a samurai from an important bloodline who has been resurrected to enact revenge. The reveal trailer indicates a fast pace a step or three beyond Bloodborne's frenetic combat, as well as a bevy of weapons such as a whip and—no surprise—swords.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is being developed by Activision and will be released sometime in 2019.

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

From The Chatty
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    June 10, 2018 1:16 PM

    David Craddock posted a new article, E3 2018: FromSoftware Unveils Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice at Xbox Briefing

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      June 10, 2018 1:34 PM

      Not quite what I wanted but it’s FROM, they’ve earned my trust - looking forward to it!

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      June 10, 2018 1:34 PM

      Looks good

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      June 10, 2018 2:06 PM

      Goddamn. Looks great.

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      June 10, 2018 2:33 PM

      That looks amazing.

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      June 10, 2018 3:22 PM

      Thought it was a bit meh but From can do no wrong so we will see

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        June 10, 2018 3:30 PM

        Meh? lol

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          June 10, 2018 3:35 PM

          the setting didn't look as interesting to me as Dark Souls' world and I think I prefer the more methodical pacing to what it looks like this + Bloodborne apparently is but I sadly have not played Bloodborne yet so maybe I'm just wrong.

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            June 10, 2018 3:43 PM

            Bloodborne is one of the best-paced horror games of all time. The mood is incredibly well reeled out to the player through the level design, while still being very minimalist as far as plot/narrative goes. It’s pure mood, but totally designed and controlled from behind the curtain.

            That this one appears to put the plot more front and center is really going to be the test.

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              June 10, 2018 3:53 PM

              yeah that's the other aspect that I think rubbed me a little wrong, I loved how subtle Dark Souls was with story telling and it's not clear to me they can or should lean on something more overt when there's already plenty of that out there

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                June 10, 2018 4:00 PM

                [deleted]

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                  June 10, 2018 4:05 PM

                  sure and by that logic no one should say anything about any part of the game yet but here we are talking about it anyway

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                  June 10, 2018 4:17 PM

                  With From, it’s not automatically a bad thing. Like I was saying below, they’ve done a few plot-based narrative games that are great, and in original Echo Night’s case, very influential to other games that came after, that didn’t give credit where credit was due (especially Eternal Darkness).

                  The only thing is is, those were from before the days of Miyazaki’s control. His own hands-on games are all from the elusive non-narrative angle. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have what it takes to pick and guide a team who does have narrative chops. Hell, he can bring back folks from the Kuon days and get a great story driven game off the ground, along with cool gameplay innovations.

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              June 10, 2018 8:04 PM

              What are you basing this on?

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                June 10, 2018 9:59 PM

                I’m mostly basing it on what Miyazaki had already said, that they wanted to do a new IP that was going to be a bit different than what they’ve done before but still satisfy the Souls fans, plus the way the trailer looked, with more obvious cast of characters interacting with each other.

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            June 11, 2018 6:59 AM

            you haven't played bloodborne? looks like you're calling in sick mate

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        June 10, 2018 3:39 PM

        I don’t think we know the full scope of this game right now. From hasn’t always been smooth on the traditional narrative front, but Echo Night/Echo Night Beyond and Kuon were always some of my favorite horror narrative games. Echo Night is a classic. But Miyazaki wasn’t around for those, so who knows?

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        June 10, 2018 5:08 PM

        i agree, the setting does nothing for me personally.

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        June 10, 2018 5:55 PM

        [deleted]

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      June 10, 2018 3:25 PM

      I don't know if you purposely linked to that person's video, but FROM has an official one that has better quality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGPknmiLxGo

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      June 10, 2018 3:28 PM

      It’ll be interesting to see From’s return to standard storytelling, if that’s what’s actually going on here.

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        June 10, 2018 3:33 PM

        Also, this is the first time a new game has reminded me of Ninja Gaiden Black since it came out, even more than NG2 (which was still a good game). I’m actually most excited to see if that aspect pans out on the same grand scale.

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      June 10, 2018 3:31 PM

      They crushed it again

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      June 10, 2018 4:06 PM

      [deleted]

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      June 10, 2018 4:09 PM

      Looks awesome, glad they went in a different direction this time.

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      June 10, 2018 4:19 PM

      Looks great.

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      June 10, 2018 6:00 PM

      Nioh done right

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        June 10, 2018 8:05 PM

        Nioh was done fine. Really fun, but did get somewhat repetitive.

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          June 10, 2018 8:06 PM

          I played a lot of it but hit the wall at all of the double boss fights in the endgame =\

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      June 10, 2018 8:50 PM

      [deleted]

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      June 11, 2018 12:40 AM

      Awesome! "If Nioh can steal from US, we can take that shit back!"

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      June 11, 2018 1:56 AM

      http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=37572248#item_37572248

      Sounds like the leak from 4chan was correct.

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      June 11, 2018 3:09 AM

      I dig that grappling hook arm and the possibilities of traversal and combat, this game is going to be goooood

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      June 11, 2018 6:06 AM

      Oh my fucking god, yes. Dark Souls/Ninja Gaiden, my two favorite games mashed together. UNF.

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      June 11, 2018 7:07 AM

      At the very end, the PC starts crossing a bridge. I immediately thought "there will be a dragon," because there is always a bridge dragon.

      I was not disappointed, although it was more like a giant snake.

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      June 11, 2018 7:13 AM

      What if From has a second game to show, but it's a console exclusive for Sony, so they couldn't reveal it yet?

      I am perfectly happy with what we saw at the Microsoft press conference, but I am now unreasonably psyching myself up for Bloodborne 2 today.

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