“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” is “a different kind of game” for From Software, director Hidetaka Miyazaki said during a recent interview posted on the PlayStation Blog, where he also dropped clues about the game’s setting and lore.
“Sekiro” takes place during the late 1500’s in Sengoku-era Japan. From Software chose that time period because it was “dirtier,” Miyazaki said. “It had more of a feel of the type of world we’d want to create.” It’s also early enough to still feel medieval, he added, which makes the presence of gods and other mystical oddities in the game more believable.
“Another thing is that it’s set at the end of the Sengoku period,” he said. “The reason for that is, in my opinion, there’s a nuance — a beauty — in the finality of something coming to an end. That fits our artistic sense, and we wanted to express that.”
“Sekiro” is a departure from From Software’s previous work in a number of ways, Miyazaki said. Where the Soulsborne games were action-RPGs, “Sekiro” is an action adventure. Its story is centered around the main character, where in the “Dark Souls” franchise and “Bloodborne” the settings were the real stars.
“Thanks to making the main character part of the story, the beginning of the game is probably easier to understand than our previous games,” Miyazaki said.
“There are lots of cool new things that I’m looking forward to fans enjoying,” he added. “Particularly the new story format, or at least the fact that the main character is a big deal in the story. The new ways to explore the world, and the new way that you’re going to become more and more powerful.”
“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” is expected to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in early 2019.
