THE MOVE & MYTH REVIEW
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition
A commanding action adventure whose world becomes convincing through the discipline of moving, observing and meeting an opponent's pressure directly.
Game facts
- Developer
- FromSoftware, Inc.
- Publisher
- Activision (Excluding Japan and Asia), FromSoftware, Inc. (Japan), 方块游戏 (Asia)
- Released
- 22 March 2019
- Platforms
- Windows (Steam edition)
- Model
- Paid game
- PEGI
- 18 · Violence — Steam UK listing
- Players
- Single-player
- Length
- Long
- Difficulty
- 5 / 5 · High challenge
- Edition
- GOTY Edition
Edition: GOTY Edition
The score, explained
The interest and responsiveness of the core decisions and actions.
How progression, exploration and goals fit together.
The coherence of the visual, musical and narrative presentation.
How clearly the game explains its rules and offers useful ways to engage.
The depth of optional goals, alternative approaches and reasons to return.
Move like the character
Sekiro gives Wolf a specific physical relationship with his world. A grappling hook makes height useful, stealth changes how an encounter begins, and close combat asks for a degree of commitment that fits the character's role as a shinobi. Those actions make the setting more than a succession of attractive battle arenas. Rooftops, branches and narrow approaches matter because they change what Wolf can do before the swords meet. Move & Myth values that connection between character and movement. The adventure does not invite you to invent any kind of warrior you like. It asks you to inhabit a sharply defined set of abilities and become more fluent in them. The GOTY Edition reviewed here preserves that focused identity, with exploration and combat repeatedly reinforcing the same sense of a capable but vulnerable person moving through dangerous territory.
Let the clash tell the story
The posture system gives an exchange a dramatic shape that ordinary health damage alone would struggle to create. Pressure can accumulate through attacks and deflections, making a defensive response part of the effort to break an opponent's composure. The sound and animation of contact help communicate that struggle. We particularly value the way this turns a successful duel into an expression of understanding rather than simply a demonstration of superior equipment. Prosthetic tools add tactical possibilities, but the underlying relationship remains personal and immediate. The environment supports the same idea by offering routes that can change an encounter's opening without making the encounter irrelevant. A thoughtful approach and a clean response belong to one continuous performance, allowing the game's mythic setting to gain credibility through the practical demands of the player's hands.
The role comes with limits
A defined combat identity means fewer ways to reinvent the character when a challenge becomes frustrating. Sekiro does not offer the broad build variety or cooperative help that some players use to change the terms of a difficult encounter. Repetition can therefore become a condition of seeing the next part of the world. That is rewarding when mastering the physical language is the attraction, but restrictive when you mainly want to continue the story. Camera awareness and positioning can also become awkward in confined spaces. These limits matter alongside the high score. The game succeeds through concentration, and concentration necessarily excludes some forms of freedom. Choose it because Wolf's particular way of moving and fighting appeals, rather than because a demanding adventure is assumed to be more worthwhile when its demands are difficult to avoid.
Give the approach a purpose
Choose Sekiro when a route into a fight is nearly as interesting as the fight itself. Use height and stealth to understand the space, then enter an exchange with a clear idea of which response you are trying to improve. Watching the opponent's rhythm can be more useful than adding another attack simply because an opening appears possible. Sifu offers a related commitment to a defined martial language, but expresses it through crowds and physical environments. Sekiro is the stronger choice when you want that discipline embedded in a larger fantastical journey. It suits a player who enjoys becoming recognisably better at inhabiting one character, with progress visible in the decisions made before a clash and in the composure maintained while the clash is still asking what happens next.
The verdict
A commanding action adventure whose world becomes convincing through the discipline of moving, observing and meeting an opponent's pressure directly.
Reasons to play
- Sword exchanges give the protagonist a distinctive physical identity
- Grappling and stealth make approaches meaningful
- Major encounters connect mechanics to dramatic stakes
Reasons to think twice
- A difficult duel can hold the story in place
- Character-building options provide limited alternatives to execution
See the game
Assist & accessibility
Explore the available settings and control options on the official game page before choosing your setup.
Parents’ guide
Players: Single-player. No in-game purchase marker in the checked Steam listing. Separate downloadable content may be sold.
Age classification: 18. Violence Steam UK listing
Official sources
Reviewed: November 2026
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