Ever since its announcement in June at Microsoft’s E3 2018 Press Conference, hype for FromSoftware’s new game “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” has been through the roof. Now that it’s finally out, it has proven to be one of From’s most ambitious and challenging game yet.

In Sekiro, you play as a Shinobi nicknamed “Wolf” who’s on a quest to regain his honor. As you play, you have to help the young lord you are sworn to protect. While the story’s decent, it most definitely takes a backseat to the gameplay and is not a very prominent reason to play this game.

Unlike previous Fromsoft games like “Dark Souls” or “Bloodborne,” Sekiro’s gameplay is much faster and requires the player’s attention at all times. Contrary to Fromsoft’s previous work, the goal of fights are not to drain your enemy’s health; it’s to break their posture and go in for a killing blow. However, the enemy can break your posture too, so players have to be careful not to let that happen. The combat is quick and precise, with a new parrying system that allows for some satisfying fights. The introduction of vertical movement like jumping allows for more challenging and involved gameplay, as there’s plenty of moves you can only avoid through vertical movement.

Taking place in ancient Japan with a few fictional elements like illusions and immortality, Sekiro offers a nice variety of environments, characters, and enemies to fight. The game looks good enough graphically but isn’t the best of what modern day games have to offer. However, the design of the environments most definitely makes up for that. The enemies generally change with the environments, and they all offer different challenges to overcome. The bosses, with a few exceptions, are amazing and will test the skills of the player.

Altogether, Sekiro is a fun and difficult game that will appeal to those who are looking for a challenge. It’s available at retail stores like Target and Gamestop and digitally on Steam for $60. Rated M for mature.

Score: 4.5/5