It’s been a while since we’ve talked about Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. After winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2019, not much else has been said about FromSoftware’s mystical (and sometimes downright terrifying) take on Feudal Japan. Until now, at least.
Recently, a blog post on the Activision website revealed that the first-ever content update is coming to the game on October 29. This update, which is totally free of cost, by the way, introduces a slew of new elements that seek to give players who beat the game a year ago a reason to return as the One-Armed Wolf.
The first of these is the Reflections of Strength, which lets players replay any previously-defeated boss via any Sculptor’s Idol. The update then goes on to mention that this particular gameplay mode will help steel players to take on the Gauntlets of Strength, which are “single-life challenges”.
Though not much is known about the Gauntlets of Strength, it is implied that players have only one try to defeat whatever is in their way. As the name suggests, we imagine it to be a boss rush instance of some sort, where the bosses come at the player one at a time in quick succession.
Additionally, players will finally get to enjoy alternate Wolf’s outfits for the One-Armed Wolf. Two of three such outfits have been named, including “Tengu” and “Old Ashina Shinobi”. Two of these outfits can be earned by slogging it out successfully in the Gauntlets of Strength, while the third can be unlocked simply by beating the game once. This also means players who already beat Sekiro will retroactively receive it.
Finally, players will also get to see Remnants of other players in-game. First available after the tutorial, these Remnants are essentially 30-second recordings of a player performing an action, and can be uploaded online for other players to see and replay. They serve as Sekiro‘s answer to Specters in Bloodborne or player ghosts in Dark Souls, which has long been a sought-for feature for players who struggled with the game initially.
Interestingly, the above updates (sans Remnants) were all previously achievable in a sense via modding in the PC version of Sekiro. Including these officially in the game suggests FromSoftware isn’t exactly done with the game. More importantly, this could also mean that the devs could be working on more DLC content for Sekiro, which makes sense given how the game is rife with lore that can be plundered for more DLC.
In any case, it’s better late than never for diehard fans of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice looking to add an extra layer of challenge to arguably the most challenging title by FromSoftware. Maybe even with bongo drums once more.
Marion has a serious RPG addiction. Sometimes it bleeds into real life; he forgets to sleep because he thinks he has a Witcher’s body clock. Forgive him in advance if he suddenly blurts out terms such as “Mind Flayer” and “Magic Missile”, because never once does he stop thinking about his next Dungeons & Dragons game.
Edwin Teo
Si Jia
Yonk
