Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has From Software doing everything they can to say the game isn’t just Samurai Dark Souls. To further it from Souls comparisons, From Software have given the protagonist a voice. The Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice protagonist will speak throughout the game, although he won’t speak much.
Sekiro, the name given to the game’s protagonist, is an immutable character unlike recent From Software games. Dark Souls and Bloodborne let players create their character, choosing starting gear, gender, and appearance. The Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice protagonist is a shinobi, and that is all he will be. From Software revealed that the player character will have a voice in a recent interview with Game Informer. Yasuhiro Kitao, From’s manager of marketing and communications noted the change as necessary for Sekiro’s storytelling.
“This time we have a fixed protagonist and we have a cast of characters who we are trying to build that story around. We’re trying to tell more of a drama, if you will, of these characters.”
Sekiro director Hidetaka Miyazaki further elaborated on the storytelling style of the game.
“Having this key protagonist allows us to build a cast of characters around him, and his personality, and his history. We feel like, you know, not the typical NPCs that you run into during the game, but these kinds of central—these core characters that are central to his presence in the world, and his story—are going to be playing a lot of that role of the story in the gameplay. So, we feel like you’ll be able to experience both his past, in that sense, and the here-and-now of where the game takes place.”
Kitao continued, “it’s actually a very ‘From’ way of doing a protagonist, and the way he conducts himself and the way this character kind of evolves is very kind of ‘From’-esque. He’ll say a few things here and there, but yeah, he won’t bore you to tears with constant monologues.”
Sekiro, which translates as “the one-armed wolf” must hunt down and find his lord’s kidnappers over the course of the game. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is pushing From Software’s acclaimed combat system in new directions, with a focus on “clashing blades” and character skills. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is out March 22 on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.
