Why Was "SEKIRO" Voted the Best Game of 2019? A look back at this "Game of the Year" winner

Amidst a crowd of major titles such as "Death Stranding," "Devil May Cry 5," and "Resident Evil RE:2," the 2019 "Game of the Year" was From Software's "SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE," an action adventure set in the Warring States period of Japan. SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE" ("SEKIRO"), which celebrated one year since its release on March 22, and we take a look back at its charms.

A sense of mortal combat created by the body and ninja kills

A difficult game in which even a single blow from an enemy can be fatal is a game in which it is easy to die. This is why they are called "deadly games. In a "deadly game," the player has no choice but to be passive. The player must watch the enemy's actions, take appropriate countermeasures, and inflict damage little by little. It's like playing rock-paper-scissors-scissors. It is a simple game, but you don't want to die, and above all, it is a standard "death game.

In "SEKIRO," the main character and enemies have a "torso gauge. The gauge increases as you hit and receive attacks. When the gauge is full, the hero can deliver a "ninja-kill," a special blow, to an opponent who is out of stance. The opponent who is hit by the ninja-kill will die, no matter how much strength he has left. It is literally a special move. However, since the torso gauge decreases over time, the more passive the player is, the harder it is to make a ninja kill, and the longer the fight drags on. The battle of "SEKIRO" is how to attack and aim for the ninja kill.

Demons and Buddhas" are scattered throughout Asina. When a player dies, he or she returns to the last demon Buddha he or she touched. This is a checkpoint element that facilitates the repetition of challenges and defeats, and is a promised presence in a "deadly game.

The elements of "bullets," "seeing through," and "leaping" are added to the intense battle for the ninja kill. If the enemy attacks with a slash, the player can use "Dash"; if the enemy attacks with a thrust, the player can use "Sensei"; and if the enemy attacks at the bottom, the player can use "Leap" and stomp on the opponent. If successful, the fighter takes no damage and increases the opponent's torso gauge. All of these techniques are combined into a single offensive and defensive move. In SEKIRO, the only effective moves are offense and counterattack. In "SEKIRO," the only effective moves are offensive and counterattacks, and depending on the amount of torso gauge, the player may have to move out of range, adjust his stance, and slash again. In the tension of which of the player or the enemy will be the first to lose his or her stance, all means of attack are used to achieve the goal of ninja killing, and the battle is eventually settled with a single blow. I have played a fair amount of From Software's games, but this was the first time I felt relieved rather than pleased after fighting a boss for the first time. It is a battle that requires such a sense of tension.

Attacks labeled "dangerous" are "dangerous attacks. Although they cannot be defended against, they can be dealt with by "bullets," "seeing through," or stomping from a "leaping" position.

This sense of mortal combat was already present in "Bloodborne" (Sony Interactive Entertainment / released in 2015), which was developed by From Software. This title was based on the very theme of "mortal combat" and implemented a "regain" system in which the player's HP would recover if he or she attacked an opponent immediately after taking damage. It was an attempt to substitute the defense of recovery for attack. Also fresh in the memory is the so-called "gun parry," in which the player uses gunfire rather than shields to break the opponent's stance and aim for a "visceral attack. SEKIRO's torso gauge and bullet system may be an evolution of "Bloodborne's" regain and gun parry.

In "SEKIRO," where fierce and deadly battles are waged, enemies also aim for "bullets. If you try to counterattack and slash blindly, you will find yourself in a tight spot before you know it. This is where the charm of the setting, not the system, but the worldview and characters of the game can be seen. Being played means that the protagonist's attacks will be detected to some extent, and there is even an opening to be taken advantage of. The protagonist and the enemy are on equal footing.

Even in the company's previous masterpieces, such as the "Dark Souls" series and "Bloodborne," the enemy is usually beaten to a pulp when the player takes advantage of an opening in a battle. When I see videos of my personal favorite bosses being killed in the blink of an eye by players who are just as good as they are, I sometimes even feel a twinge of pity for them. In "SEKIRO," however, not only the big bosses, but also the mid-bosses and even some of the zakos, cross swords with the protagonist fiercely and repeatedly. This is not just a performance designed to liven up the game, but rather a system that forms the basis of the game, born of the "torso gauge" and "ninja kills". The player does not reduce his or her physical strength, but instead inflicts fatigue (torso gauge) and strikes a blow at the slightest opening that the opponent shows when he or she has reached the limit. Since the player can create an opening, there are no overt gaps in the first place for "SEKIRO" enemies. They are strong, both in terms of the game and in terms of one reality. Fighting the strong is fun to play with and fun to watch. It is simple and picturesque.

The reasons for losing fights in "SEKIRO" are also simple: mishandling dangerous attacks, mismanaging the torso gauge, and so on. The level design of "SEKIRO" is so complete that you can clear the game without touching the "prayer beads," which increase your strength and torso gauge, or the "offensive power," which increases your attack power and the amount of torso damage you inflict on the enemy. Therefore, all reasons for losing are due to the skill of the player, not the game. If you have played through this game, you will be surprised at the difference between the first and second rounds of the game. Since there is no concept of levels, and the only way to advance is to improve one's skill, it is only natural that the players who challenge the second round of the game are stronger than in the first. It is difficult to describe in words, but it is like being able to do what you could not do before, and having your vague thoughts and senses connected as one. It is a growth of instinct, and once learned, it is imprinted and never forgotten. I pulled up "SEKIRO" for the first time in about six months to write this article, and my skills had not diminished.

I was still able to compete with strong opponents and win. I would impose restrictions such as "hardship," which is limited to the second and subsequent rounds, and "possession," which strengthens the enemy, and before I knew it, I was seeking combat rather than victory. Some may or may not have adjusted their "offensive power" to fight the enemy as long as possible.

The battle against Genichiro Asina, the climax of the early stages of the story. It is a gateway to success for players and a test of how well they have mastered the fundamentals of "SEKIRO" fighting.

Simple operation allows players to concentrate on the battle.

The "SEKIRO" controls are easy to understand. Each of the following controls is assigned a single button: normal attack (+ ninja kill, ninja kill ninjutsu), defense (+ bullet), movement, dash (+ step, dodge), jump (+ evade lower-level attacks), grappling rope, prosthetic ninja gear, and school techniques. There are no more, and since the same button operation can be used to perform the currently selected giidō ninja tool or ryu-technique, there is no need to memorize a dedicated command for each technique. Because one operation does multiple things, the same action is repeated over and over again. You will get used to it naturally.

SEKIRO" has no stamina, so no matter how hard you move, it doesn't matter.

FromSoftware, the company that has been the driving force behind the "death game" genre, must be very familiar with the mindset of players who are challenged by difficult games. The more nervous and agitated they become, the narrower their thinking becomes. This is why From Software has made the controls as simple as in "Dark Souls" and "Bloodborne" so that players can concentrate as much as possible on the battle to the death. The difficulty of a "death game" comes from fighting enemies, and if the controls, environment settings, and user interface (UI) are too cumbersome, players will soon give up on the game.

Even if you fall from a high place, you will hardly suffer any damage. You can fly around without hesitation.

A world that shines with "cutting aesthetics

Rice, rice cakes, water from Kyoto, and the secret ingredient Ryusen (......). If you have played "SEKIRO," which texts have left a lasting impression on you? All of the flavor texts found in From Software's games are of high quality, and that is still the case in this title. As a writer, I can't help but pay attention to good text. In "Dark Souls" and "Bloodborne," the text was handled by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the company's president and director, but in "SEKIRO," it is handled by a different staff under Mr. Miyazaki's direction.

Let us take as an example the flavor text of "ohagi" (rice cakes), which is a simple description of this work.

With rice given by Hengwaka no Mikoko,
　Kuro made these o-hagi with rice given to him by the son of Hengwaka.
　The rice is a rice cake that slowly and moderately recovers HP for a certain period of time, and in addition, the body's trunk is constantly recovering,
　In addition, the body's core will be constantly regenerated.

　to hungry wolves,
　In silence, my father-in-law gave me the o-hagi.
　That o-hagi was so good!

　I'm sure these onhagi will be very good, too."

The father-in-law's love for the protagonist can be glimpsed in the fact that he gave him onhagi, which obviously takes more time to make than onigiri. Since it is sweet and high in calories, it is possible that the father-in-law just had it as portable food for the ninja, but if he gave him that portable food, it must be love as well. The fact that he thinks that the o-hagi given to him by Kuro, his master, would be tasty too, based on the o-hagi given to him by his father-in-law, shows the strong trust that the protagonist has in his father-in-law. Note also that the word "o-hagi" appears three times in the latter half of the sentence. By inserting the word "ohagi" three times in a row at short intervals, we can sense that the protagonist has extraordinary feelings toward ohagi. The "ta" is added twice at the end of the sentence to give it strength. The tempo of the sentence itself is also good. The use of hiragana in the middle of the sentences gives the sentences a soft and childlike feel. The main character usually has a pouty face, but when he sees Guro's o-hagi, he may have returned to his childish mind.

The original text of "Ohagi" (rice cakes).

Dense. in 8 lines of 114 characters of flavor text, I found 10 lines of 386 characters of information. I am sure there are more. I won't write about things that are obvious or that don't need to be said. The text of "SEKIRO" is often of such a concise and martial type that you can feel its clear power. The flavor text of "Dark Souls" and "Bloodborne" is also basically concise, but perhaps not as concise as that of "Ohagi. This is not a difference in superiority, but in direction. Mr. Miyazaki's text makes one feel as if one is peering into an abyss and reading the literature of philosophers and thinkers, while the text of "SEKIRO" makes one feel as if one is reading a book of military techniques written by a martial arts master while sitting in zazen meditation.

The text of "SEKIRO" makes you want to read it out loud. It makes you want to read it out loud.

As typified by the text of "Ohagi," the text written in "SEKIRO" is compressed and trimmed down to the utmost limit. The same is true for the story. In this work, the main character, Wolf, is a revenge story to get back his master, Kuro, who was stolen from him. Centered on the master-servant relationship between Wolf and Kuro, information about characters such as Isshin Reena, Genichiro Reena, the Buddhist priest, and Emma is subtly interspersed in the flavor text of items, field scenes, and movies played during events. Knowing the limitations of words and images, the artist does not add too much, but rather leaves it to the player to decide what to do with it. By leaving only the truly necessary elements, the worldview and characters gain depth. The tempo of the story is good and there are few movies, allowing the player to play the majority of the game. In a sense, this work, which does not rely on movies, can be said to be a game that is just like a game.

Although the overall work is not flashy, "SEKIRO" is elaborately and simply designed so that even though each clue is only a dot, the world view and story emerge by connecting these clues. Even those who want to purely enjoy the gameplay can understand the protagonist and Kuro's main character by just playing the game normally, and that is enough. Those who like to ponder will find and complement the information hidden in the Warring States period depicted in "SEKIRO" and in the country of Ashinaga. It all depends on the player.

The style of the game that leaves a lot to the player is not limited to "SEKIRO. It is also common in "Dark Souls," "Bloodborne," and "Armored Core. However, I don't think there is any other work in which FromSoftware's "cutting down aesthetics" applies as well as in "SEKIRO. Is it simply because it is set in Japan, where I was born and raised, or because I am familiar with the Japanese culture that appreciates blank spaces, or perhaps because as a male, I admire a style that is as sharp as a Japanese sword?

(Text by Yoshi Natsunouchi)

■SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE
Genre: Action/Adventure
Compatibility: PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Steam
Players: 1 player
Release date: Available now
Price; 7,600 yen (excluding tax)
CERO : D (for ages 17 and older)

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