Activision Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Game of the year

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by FromSoftware. It was released in Japan by FromSoftware and internationally by Activision for the PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One in March 2019 and for Stadia in October 2020.

Players control Wolf, a shinobi which embarks on a quest to rescue his lord, and becomes embroiled into a conflict for Ashina's fate. The gameplay is focused on stealth, exploration, and combat, with a particular emphasis on boss battles. It takes place in a fictionalized Japan during the Sengoku period and makes strong references to Buddhist mythology and philosophy. Lead director Hidetaka Miyazaki wanted to create a new intellectual property (IP) that marked a departure from their Dark Souls series, looking at games such as Tenchu for inspiration.

Sekiro received acclaim from critics, who praised its gameplay and setting and compared it favorably to FromSoftware's past work, although opinions on its difficulty were mixed. It won several year-end awards, including the Game Award for Game of the Year, and has sold over ten million units as of September 2023.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action-adventure game played from a third-person view. Compared to FromSoftware's Dark Souls series, the game features fewer role-playing elements, lacks character creation and the ability to level up a variety of stats, and has no multiplayer elements. It does, however, include gear upgrading, special abilities with a prosthetic arm, a skill tree, and limited ability customization. Rather than attacking to whittle an enemy's health points, combat in Sekiro revolves around using a katana to attack their posture and balance instead, as well as deflecting incoming enemy attacks, eventually leading to an opening that allows for a single killing blow.

The game also features stealth elements, allowing players to instantly eliminate or severely damage most enemies if they can get in range undetected. In addition, the player character can use various tools to assist with combat and exploration, such as a grappling hook. If the player character dies, they can be revived on the spot if they have resurrection power, which is restored by defeating enemies, instead of respawning at earlier checkpoints