We have known for quite some time that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the next title from famed developer From Software, would be a single-player focused game. After its full reveal at 2018’s Microsoft E3 press conference, we spoke to From and learned that Sekiro would eschew the kind of asynchronous multiplayer longtime fans may have come to expect from the series.
That certainly seems like a radical departure for a team that has made their own unique take on online play a central component in every game released since Demon’s Souls. Players have been free to help or hinder each other to their twisted heart’s content, either for tangible rewards via the various iterations of the Covenant’s systems or just for the hell of it.
From’s take on multiplayer gaming felt fresh in that it wasn’t just a clear case of co-op and PvP, it was more often something in between. The lack of voice chat between players and the anonymity of the Souls’ series summoning system meant that your erstwhile savior might just as easily be leading you into a trap.
When speaking to Game Informer in a recent interview Yasuhiro Kitao, marketing and communications manager at From Software, elaborated on the subject. “Of course, we at From, we love those online elements,” Kitao said. “We love to create our own characters just as much as everyone else. We hope players are looking forward to something in the future where we might go back to that, but for now, Sekiro is very much its own thing.”
Just how different Sekiro ends up will be fascinating, as designing the game without multiplayer will allow From to explore aspects that might not have been possible in a more traditional Souls title. He continues by saying, “When creating these playspaces, we don’t have to take into consideration how players will operate with one another in these maps, or how they may exploit the playspace by cooperating or something like this,” Kitao says. “So it allows us, again, to hone in on the player experience, and really capitalize on that lack of restriction that comes with creating a multiplayer-based game, and let our imagination run wild in these places.”
We won’t have to wait too much longer to find out how much of a departure Sekiro will be from a traditional Souls experience. The game is scheduled to be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows on March 22 2019.
Be sure to check out our other Sekiro coverage in the meantime. Read up on how Sekiro Will Be Different From Dark Souls, or watch this awesome trailer featuring some of the hideous foes you are likely to encounter.
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