Summary
It’s common knowledge that FromSoftwaredoesn’t shy away from crafting difficult experiences, andSekiro: Shadows Die Twiceis a strong contender for the most difficult of the bunch. WithFromSoftware reviving and refining featuresfrom older games for use in newer releases, it should take a look back at one post-launchSekiroinclusion.
Many FromSoftware fans were sad to learn thatSekiro: Shadows Die Twicewould not be receiving any DLC, something that players had come to expect following post-launch content forBloodborneand theDark Soulstrilogy. Players would wind up receiving a sort of concession for this disappointment, however, in the form of the Game of the Year Edition ofSekiro, a free update that brought some generally well-received new content to the game, including cosmetics and Remnants, a version of the iconic notes system fromBloodborneand theSoulsgames. These were welcome additions, but one major feature was the main event: boss rush gauntlets.
Bringing Sekiro’s Boss Rush Modes to Future FromSoftware Games
Sekirofeatures some truly iconic boss fights, and the Reflections of Strength and Gauntlet of Strength boss rush challenges celebrate some of these battles. Through these modes, players are tasked with facing major bosses back-to-back. If they lose, they have to start the gauntlet over from the first encounter. Completing the Reflections and Gauntlet of Strength challenges leads to valuable rewards, including new outfits, combat arts, and fights with unique, buffed versions of base-game bosses.
Iterating On Sekiro’s Boss Rush Modes
The boss rush modes ofSekiroare a perfect match for players who revel in the inherent, brutal challenge of FromSoftware’s games, so a similar feature would work well in a future game by the studio. While changes would have to be made to ensure that such challenges would work outside ofSekiro’s singular combat system, there’s reason to believe that the feature would translate nicely. In fact, FromSoftware could probably even improve upon the central premise of a boss rush challenge in a future game.
WhileSekirois all about speed, intensity, and split-second reaction times, FromSoftware’s other leading franchises place a greater emphasis on deliberate and thoughtful gameplay. EvenBloodborne, which took basic Soulslike combat and cranked up the velocity by quite a bit, is still a game that rewards defensive and cautious play, as players have more long-range tools and evasive moves at their disposal. Even withFromSoftware evolving its formulaover the last few years, this sort of methodical, flexible gameplay has value, and it could be explored through a boss rush mode similar toSekiro’s.
Soulslike games, for all their focus on action, feature elements of the survival genre, with players having to carefully manage various resources like healing supplies, items, and FP or mana. One could even argue that stamina itself is a resource that needs to be tracked. By including a boss rush mode in this type of game, this aspect of resource management could be placed in a different context, as players would be forced to master core combat mechanics in their journey to beat multiple beefed-up bosses without dying. FromSoftware excels at recontextualizing the combat systems of Soulslike games, with modes likeBloodborne’s Chalice Dungeonsbeing notable examples of this, so some sort of boss rush modes feel like a no-brainer.
Boss rush modes like those found inSekiro: Shadows Die Twicewould offer a way for players to test their mettle in future FromSoftware games, forcing mastery of central gameplay mechanics by stripping away any moments of reprieve that may be in the base game. Of course, this sort of mode could work outside the Soulslike framework as well, and there’s an argument to be made that other FromSoftware franchises, likeArmored Core, could be an equally good fit for this sort of challenge.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
WHERE TO PLAY
Carve your own clever path to vengeance in the critically acclaimed adventure from developer FromSoftware, creators of the Dark Souls series.In Sekiro™: Shadows Die Twice you are the ‘one-armed wolf’, a disgraced and disfigured warrior rescued from the brink of death. Bound to protect a young lord who is the descendant of an ancient bloodline, you become the target of many vicious enemies, including the dangerous Ashina clan. When the young lord is captured, nothing will stop you on a perilous quest to regain your honor, not even death itself.Explore late 1500s Sengoku Japan, a brutal period of constant life and death conflict, as you come face to face with larger than life foes in a dark and twisted world. Unleash an arsenal of deadly prosthetic tools and powerful ninja abilities while you blend stealth, vertical traversal, and visceral head to head combat in a bloody confrontation. Take Revenge. Restore Your Honor. Kill Ingeniously.
