Like any proper From Software game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be chock-full of epic boss encounters. However, given Sekiro’s unique deviations from the typical From formula, the game’s boss fights also had to be adjusted accordingly. Bosses will still be challenging to be sure, and attaining victory will require a high degree of forethought and cunning.
Sekiro’s Unique Approach to Boss Fights
Speaking with Game Informer, From Software marketing and community manager Yasuhiro Kitao happily tackled the subject of boss battles. According to Kitao, the lack of playable character archetypes in Sekiro actually works in From’s favor. Since Sekiro has a fixed protagonist with a more uniform toolkit, From can more finely hone the game’s boss encounters:
“Sekiro, with a fixed protagonist, allows us to hone in on that single-player experience, and tweak the boss battles and the encounters to accommodate for all of these tools at the shinobi’s disposal. So we want players to eventually use every aspect of their arsenal and really use their cunning, and use every aspect of their skill-set, to take on these really challenging foes.”
This methodology is similar to From’s reasoning behind the lack of multiplayer in Sekiro. The lack of variables such as multiple players or wide-ranging character builds means From can create a much tighter experience.
Kitao also mentioned how From is trying to make Sekiro’s boss fights as diverse as possible. Naturally there will be larger foes to contend with, but not every battle will be David vs. Goliath. The Game Informer article points to one boss, Lady Butterfly, who trades size for deadly precision. Lady Butterfly utilizes many of the same ninja tricks as Sekiro’s protagonist, forcing the player to stay on their toes.
We saw some boss footage in Sekiro’s TGS 2018 demo, but Kitao says that was just a very small taste. The full game will have a whole heap of boss battles, including optional encounters for the truly brave (or foolish). We’ll find out just how tough Sekiro’s boss battles are when the game launches on March 22.