After several teases on online, Paradox Interactive and Hardsuit Labs have finally revealed Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, the sequel to the original 2004 RPG. With Bloodlines 2, releasing in 2020 for PC and consoles, several key members from the former studio Troika Games, along with some new blood at Hardsuit Labs, are looking to pick up where the bleak yet off-the-wall original left off. Just before its reveal, we had the chance to get an early look at GDC 2019, while also speaking with Bloodlines 2 lead narrative designer Brian Mitsoda and senior writer Cara Ellison about the making of the sequel.
As an adaptation of the table-top game series from White Wolf Publishing, the first Bloodlines focused on the shadowy underworld of Vampire society in modern-day Los Angeles. Starting out as a newly converted vampire, you were drawn into centuries-long quarrels amongst elite vampires, all the while coming to grips with your new and unusual circumstances. While much of the first game hasn't aged too well, its in-depth role-playing and social gameplay are enduring achievements. Showing shades of immersive-sims like Deus Ex and System Shock, it possessed an impressive amount of complexity with how you could use your vampiric abilities to navigate the complex web of conspiracies within the secret society.
The game's original developers, Troika Games, drafted up concepts for a follow-up, however, low sales and a lack of projects after Bloodlines' launch forced the closure of the studio. In the years since its release, a dedicated online community has kept the game active, slowly turning the obscure PC RPG into an underground hit.
Echoing the beginning of the original game, the new protagonist of Bloodlines 2 is suddenly thrust into their new life as a vampire. Taking place in the city of Seattle, the new fledgling faces a tribunal held by the Camarilla--the union of different vampire factions. Recalling their final moments alive, and subsequent rebirth at the hands of another vampire, the meeting comes under attack, forcing you to make a quick exit. From here, you'll slowly work your way up the Vampire hierarchy, dealing with returning factions like the Tremere, and embrace your newfound life as a creature of the night.
For the sequel, the developers expressed that they wanted to maintain the same level of agency and detail from the previous game, while also focusing more on the strange and lesser-known aspects of living a new life as a vampire. This on-boarding process, as seen in the opening of the game, also highlights the new abilities that come with being a Vampire. In addition to taking on different disciplines, you'll also have a suite of vampire skills to use, such as levitation, telekinesis, and even a mist-form--allowing you to pass through objects. Eventually, you'll be able to unlock access to higher-end abilities, like conjuring up sharp objects made of blood and slowing down time to easily evade enemies.
During the demo, Mitsoda--who served as the lead writer on the original game--talked about bringing the series back after 15 years, and how they wanted to make it accessible for fans and newcomers.
"There's something exciting about the player discovering this world that is right under our noses," said Mitsoda as he elaborated on the world building of the game. "A big part of what we wanted to do with Bloodlines 2 is to make sure that people who are fans of the first one will immediately feel like, "This is Bloodlines. This feels like Bloodlines." Then the people who are coming into it fresh are going to going to have the same feelings of what is this all about? I'm a vampire. What do I do now? So, we want people to go out there with the expectations of they don't know anything now, but they're going to be discovering everything that's going on in Seattle."
Just like in Bloodlines 1, you'll be able to freely explore various open hubs and far away locations while tackling missions with other key-characters. In addition to exploring locations like Pioneer Square, Pier 55, and other areas of downtown Seattle, you'll follow leads into the city's underground ruins. These sections are said to be inspired by the real-life locations that were paved over after intense fires during 1889, and the ruins house a number secrets pertaining to the lost history of Seattle, and how vampires played a part in it.
According to the developers, Bloodlines 2 will shed light on the various vampire cultures and their power structures. Just like in the original game, the sequel also leans heavy on socializing. You're often pushed into high-pressure situations with humans and vampires alike, where you'll need to make a choice that could compromise relationships. Siding with one faction can put you at odds with another. However, you're totally free to break away from a side at any time. These social situations can also highlight the mundanity of living life as a Vampire. Shortly after making it back to your apartment, you encounter a fellow vampire named Dale, who volunteers to be your information broker and to help with your transition. It was an oddly relaxed conversation--especially considering this came after surviving several attacks from humans and other undead.
While explaining their approach to balancing the absurdity of vampirism with the more grotesque aspects of being undead, senior writer Cara Ellison spoke about what it was like working on the game's tone, and how humor is a bit of a coping mechanism for the vampires in Bloodlines.
"I'm kind of in charge of looking at the game as almost like vampire puberty, like where it's a transition from leaving humanity behind," Ellison said. "I think you might be surprised at how funny it is to be a vampire, in a weird way. It's quite a dark game, but we manage to show it as an absurd existence, and you might encounter some people who were weathering their situation in an interesting or maybe in a slightly dark and humorous way. That really connects to me, because I'm British. Everything bad is funny to us, like Brexit is weirdly funny. [...]There's a lot of complexity in there to explore. It's pretty fun to write."
Since you're a vampire, handling your business and exploring the city--even in the evening--can be a challenge. This is where the series' signature Masquerade gameplay comes in. According to series lore, The Masquerade is a code of conduct that vampires must follow in order to prevent exposing their existence to humanity. Though you are a vampire, you still look normal enough to pass as human while in public. However, when you use your supernatural powers in front of unsuspecting humans, you'll break the Masquerade and draw attention to yourself and to the larger vampire society. Police and common criminals can still pose a threat, however, and causing too much havoc will alert elite vampires that will hunt you down.
Bloodlines 2 carries over the complexity of the original game, allowing you to overcome obstacles and events in different ways by using your vampiric skills or social charms--like seduction, for instance. However, there will come a time where you'll need to defend yourself, which includes several conventional weapons and supernatural abilities. In one section taking place in a back ally in Pioneer Square, there's an opportunity to break up an attempted mugging. While watching this bit of gameplay, we saw the main character use several of these skills one after another. First, they used their heightened senses to highlight the key targets, and took advantage of their heightened physicality to make high-jumps across the roofs to get into position and perform a series of takedowns on the unsuspecting muggers.
Though you'll have plenty of tools to use, melee combat will have a larger focus, which the developers stated is something they wanted to improve from the original. During combat, you'll be able to launch pre-emptive strikes against human enemies, and even counter their attack with instant-kills that will drain their blood. Blood is a resource that you'll constantly need to keep track of, powering your various abilities. While it's not possible to do a no-kill run through the game--you still have to feed after all--the developers stated that you can play as a "humane" vampire to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
How you advance your character can set the tone for what's to come. This even comes into play by the type of human blood you feed on. If targets are angry, especially during a combat encounter, then you'll feed on blood filled with anger resonance. If they're frightened, then they'll be highlighted with the fear resonance. Feeding on a specific type of blood for too long will have you favor a particular type, opening up access to certain skills. But if you choose to forego your humanity, and kill indiscriminately for too long, your character will dip further into the vampiric-side. According to the developers, if this happens, your character's social skills will be affected, making certain situations--like socializing or going out in public--more difficult, but inversely, you can acquire more vampiric abilities as a result.
Some of my favorite moments from the previous game where seeing just how far you could push social or combat situations in your favor. Though often times they didn't work out in ways that I intended, I ended appreciating the events that occurred, most of which was very odd. From this early look, Bloodlines 2 looks to be a faithful restart for the series, keeping up the adaptive, and incredibly bizarre storytelling. It'll be interesting to see what passes for strange in the eyes of the developers, fifteen years after the original game's release.
By Anonymous on Mar 23, 2019 08:30 pm Sekiro: Shadow's Die Twice is such a departure from From Software's previous games, that even veteran Soul's players will have to adjust to Sekiro's new mechanics. That's why we put together this list of tips to help you out.
By Anonymous on Mar 23, 2019 06:30 pm GAME: Apex Legends. SUBJECT: Octane. Captured from our intense research livestream, here are our tests and findings from our experiments with the Apex Adrenaline Junkie.
Following the special episode of Persona 5: The Animation titled "Stars and Ours," developer Atlus revealed just a tiny bit more of the mysterious game Persona 5R. A trailer, which you can watch below, confirmed that the PS4 game is actually called Persona 5 The Royal.
While further details on what the game is weren't provided, Atlus has teased that more will be revealed on April 24 during the live concert event Persona Super Live 2019. Based on previous Persona releases, and the trailer, we suspect Persona 5 The Royal will be a kind of Game of the Year edition that features some additional content.
The trailer for Persona 5 The Royale is focused on a new female character who is a student at Shujin Academy, the school where most of the main cast are also enrolled. At the start of the trailer she's asked by what she thinks about the Phantom Thieves, the vigilante group the player controls in the game. She indicates that she doesn't entirely approve of them.
It is likely that this new character will be the focus of the new content. Atlus likes to throw in something new for its re-releases and, as previously seen with Persona 3 FES and Persona 4 Golden, it's usually quite substantial. We've got our fingers crossed for a new Palace as well the character and accompanying storyline.
In GameSpot's Persona 5 review, Lucy James awarded it a 9/10. "Within Persona 5 is a complex set of interconnected gameplay mechanics, and in almost every aspect Atlus has executed on its vision exceptionally, barring the pacing issues towards the end," she said.
"At every turn, it presents something to marvel at, whether it's the fluid combat, vibrant world, or the many memorable characters. It's a game I could talk about for hours; I haven't mentioned the ability to connect to the Thieves Guild, which lets you see how other players spent their day or ask them for help answering questions at school. Or the thumping acid-jazz-infused soundtrack that I've not been able to get out of my head. Or even just the joy of seeing how it stylishly transitions between menus.
But that encapsulates why Persona 5 is a game that shouldn't be missed. It's stuffed to bursting point with gameplay ideas and presentation flourishes--there's an overwhelming level of artistry in every part of Persona 5, making it a truly standout entry in the series. It's a refined, effortlessly stylish RPG that will be talked about for years to come."
The 2019 Final Fantasy Fan Fest in Tokyo began today with a keynote address from game director Naoki Yoshida, and the 90-minute briefing was packed with news and insight on the new Shadowbringers expansion for Final Fantasy XIV coming out later this year. Perhaps the biggest news was the announcement of a new Job. The new Job is Dancer.
As the name suggests, Dancer uses dance moves, in a way, to combat their enemies. Performing dances executes certain abilities, while some specific dances buff nearby party members.
Dancer is a ranged DPS Job, and its main arm is used for throwing weapons. It has no associated class, according to Square Enix, and you'll be able to start using Dancer at level 60.
Another huge announcement was the next playable race for Final Fantasy XIV--the Hrothgar. Cat-like humanoids, the Hrothgar will be available in male and female variants, and each will have unique heads and customisable features. They also each have two clans.
Also during the presentation, Square Enix showed off two new cities, the Crystarium and Eulmore. The Crystarium is a beautiful, expansive place with blue-hued environments. Eulore is also a sight to behold, as it sits atop a massive, ornate, and steampunk-looking structure.
Square Enix also used the news-packed keynote to reveal Final Fantasy XIV's latest Beast Tribe--the Dwarves. Not a whole lot of information was shared, but the company confirmed these dwarves always have beards and they always wear helmets--even at the dinner table. They're experts in mining and metallurgy.
The new Dancer
Another big piece of news was the announcement of the game's next eight-player raid series. It's called Eden, and while little is known about the specifics, Square Enix confirmed that none other than legendary designer Tetsuya Nomura is working as a character and boss designer for it.
Shadowbringers launches on July 2, but an Early Access period will start on June 28, Square Enix announced. However, that was only a tentative date, so it is subject to change.
An epic new, six-minute trailer for Shadowbringers was shown during the keynote. You can see this trailer above, while a number of brand-new screenshots can be seen embedded in this post.
The Hrothgar
While fans have to wait a while longer for Shadowbringers, the next big update for Final Fantasy XIV, update 4.56, launches on March 26. Everything announced today is on top of all the previous Shadowbringers announcements, which include a level cap jump from 70 to 80, as well as the introduction of a new system called the Trust System. There is also more end-game content and more.
Here are some further facts and details about today's Shadowbringers news that Square Enix shared after the panel wrapped up (text written by Square Enix):
New Job – Dancer: Dancer joins gunbreaker as one of the new jobs in Shadowbringers. This ranged attacker not only unleashes powerful attacks using throwing weapons, but also performs dances to execute abilities and provide beneficial effects to their party
New Player Race – Hrothgar: The Hrothgar player race compliments the recently announced Viera as the second new playable race in Shadowbringers. The Hrothgar and Viera will both have unique, customizable features specific to their races.
New Player Cities – The Crystarium and Eulmore: Located in Norvrandt, the former will serve as a player hub, while the latter—an affluent city ruled by the elite will play a key role in the Shadowbringers main storyline.
New Raid – Eden: This new high-end raid content will feature multiple challenging bosses, as well as a new character--both designed specifically for this raid series by Kingdom Hearts Director and Final Fantasy series veteran, Tetsuya Nomura.
New Beast Tribe and Primal: The bearded dwarves and the "sin eater," Innocence.
New Field Area – Lakeland
Good luck sleeping tonight
As for the Final Fantasy Fan Fest, it runs all weekend long, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more. Disclosure: Square Enix paid for GameSpot's flight to Tokyo and accomodations.
By Anonymous on Mar 23, 2019 08:41 am Check out the instant finishing moves for the four upcoming characters in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle from GDC 2019
By Anonymous on Mar 23, 2019 08:05 am We got hands on the next round of characters coming to BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, and Heart Aino from Arcana Heart makes her crossover debut!
By Anonymous on Mar 23, 2019 06:26 am Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will throw tough boss fights at you, but there are also heart pounding moments that occur outside those battles when stealth comes into play. Here's gameplay of us desperately running away from a massive snake that wants nothing more than to eat us alive.
In our review, we called out Us's horror pedigree. "If Get Out was a victim of the 'is it really horror?' question, Jordan Peele made sure Us wouldn't fall for the same trick. This is a horror movie through and through, full of references to everything from Friday the 13th and Night of the Living Dead to more recent fare like Black Swan."
But for all that Jordan Peele's latest movie straddles horror genre lines, it's also arguably a pretty intense mystery. It's full of puzzling questions and riddles drenched in symbolism laid out for audiences to work through. It's definitely the sort of movie you'll need to process a little once you've seen it--and we think that's a great thing
So naturally, that means we also we left the theater with some burning questions--everything from just what the movie is really about, to who the villains actually are. We did our best to find all the answers we could--though some required a little more thinking than others.
Obviously, major Us spoilers from here on out, so please, watch yourself.
Why the rabbits?
Us is a movie full of symbolism and its cute, fluffy set dressing is no exception. The rabbits that populate the Tethered's subterranean world have a two-fold meaning that can be tricky to pick up on. First, there's the obvious "rabbit hole" theme, evoking a sort of sinister Alice in Wonderland. The Tethered live in a hidden world that Adelaide uncovers by literally following a white rabbit underground, just like Alice. Plus, rabbits--like other elements in the movie--symbolize duality in their signature ears.
The second is a bit more esoteric, and a lot more historical. There's an island off the coast of Japan nicknamed "Usagi Jima" or "Rabbit Island" that is famous for being, well, overrun with rabbits. It's all pretty cute, until you look at how and why they all got there. The island used to be a chemical weapons manufacturing plant back in World War II, which kept rabbits as test subjects for deadly toxins like mustard gas. When the Americans took the island, they thought they killed the remaining rabbits, but some survived the cull and went on to breed and overtake the island with an otherwise completely unchecked population. An experimental group, left abandoned and forgotten, growing in numbers in an isolated area is a pretty clear thematic link to the story of the Tethered.
Why the red jumpsuits?
There are a few possibilities when it comes to the Tethered and their jumpsuits--aside from just looking spooky. In the real world, we use both uniform and color to differentiate ourselves into groups both positively and negatively, from schools to prisons. The fact that the Tethered are all beholden to a specific uniform gives them a clear differentiation, and alienation, from the people on the topside.
Of course, we do know that Red picked the jumpsuits as part of her coup, so depending on your reading of just who the Tethered are supposed to symbolize, the uniform could either be a mark of pride or shame.
Why the scissors?
In a movie that's all about duality, what better weapon than one that's basically two identical knives bolted together?
Sometimes it really is just that easy.
What are the Tethered, really?
Red explains this pretty ambiguously during a monologue, so here's our best theory as to just what she meant. The Tethered were an abandoned cloning project that, apparently, first figured out how to clone animals before moving on to humans. The project was successful in re-creating a human body, but it couldn't duplicate a human "soul," meaning the Tethered were, essentially, bound to the people they were copied from.
Of course, this is where we have to accept that Us is not only a horror thriller, it's also a sci-fi story. The first real life clone of a mammal was Dolly the sheep back in 1996, but we know that whatever project birthed the Tethered had to have been both established and completely abandoned before 1986--meaning it probably went back as far as a conflict like Vietnam, to give us some idea of just how many generations of Tethered have been living underground, and for how long.
Interestingly, there seems to be some amount of variation between just how linked the Tethered are to their doubles. Pluto seems to copy all of Jason's movements, even when those movements are potentially fatal to him, but other Tethered seem considerably more independent. This could be because Pluto and Jason are the youngest set of doubles in the bunch--maybe the link lessens over time. Or maybe Pluto and Jason are just special.
Did Adelaide and Red remember their childhoods?
The simple answer is yes. Adelaide's shock and confusion at the Tethered's arrival has nothing to do with the fact she didn't know they were there--she remembers switching places with Red, the same way Red remembers being kidnapped. Adelaide isn't the victim in a home invasion movie, she's the villain of Red's revenge story--and she knows it. That's why we see so much of Adelaide's mounting anxiety and willingness to kill, as well as what could be seen as remorse when she kills the Tethered children. This is a secret she's been keeping from her family for a long, long time.
Red, similarly, knows exactly what was taken from her. That's why she was the one to organize the Tethered in the first place.
Why can Red talk when the other Tethered can't?
When Red and Adelaide switched places, each of them acclimated to their new environments. We know the Tethered don't naturally speak English--Adelaide couldn't speak when she first arrived on the surface--but communicate in a series of grunts and growls. Overtime, Red retained the English she knew but learned to speak the language of the Tethered (albeit with difficulty, since the choking during the switch apparently did permanent damage), the same way Adelaide learned English but retained some of her more feral instincts. Remember when she murders the remaining twin? Did you catch the sounds she was making? Jason sure did--and they were strange enough to scare him.
Why Hands Across America?
In the narrative itself, the Hands Across America commercial is one of the last things Red experiences in the surface world before she's taken by Adelaide, so it makes sense that it remains something of a fixation for her.
Historically, Hands Across America was a demonstration meant to bring attention to poverty and homelessness in the country that eventually netted about $15 million dollars worth of charitable donations in 1986. It obviously didn't end poverty or homelessness, but it certainly did make a statement--which, really, is exactly what the Tethered are trying to do. Their goal is simply to be noticed in a way that no one can ignore.
What did Red mean by "you could have taken me with you"?
There was some confusion here at GameSpot when it came to just how Red and Adelaide's switch worked--Red tells Adelaide that she "could have taken her" when Adelaide left, which at first seems to imply that Red doesn't remember ever living on the surface. But upon further reflection, we've realized that this line is actually a bit more complex than that.
Red resents Adelaide for leaving her behind with the Tethered when, in her mind, they both could have easily left the fun house together as children. There was no real reason that Adelaide and Red had to switch places, other than fear and a knee-jerk reaction. In fact, the entire conflict of the movie could have been circumvented if Adelaide and Red would have just teamed up as children, rather than fought one another--which is a major part of the message.
What is Jeremiah 11:11?
There's a man with a sign saying "Jeremiah 11:11" on the boardwalk during Adelaide's childhood--a motif we later see repeated a few times, eventually culminating in the drifter's Tethered doppleganger with "11:11" carved into his forehead.
The actual Bible verse doesn't need much explanation. It goes like this: "Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them."
Basically, it's the Biblical version of Rorschach's "and I'll whisper 'no'" monologue from Watchmen, which could really double as Red's Tethered manifesto. Symbolism!
Like previous FromSoftware games, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's difficulty can be demoralizing at times. To help you become more competent with the game's difficult systems, we've compiled several tips to help you be the best shinobi you can be.
GameSpot gave Sekiro a 9/10 with Editor Tamoor Hussain saying in his review in progress: "Sekiro marries From Software's unique brand of gameplay with stealth action to deliver an experience that is as challenging as it is gratifying. At the time of publish I haven't completed Sekiro. While I have invested upwards of 30 hours into it, there are still a few more locations I need to explore and bosses I need to beat before the credits roll, and I'm excited to do it."
Got any essential tips you don't see? Let us know in the comments below.
Return to the Dilapidated Temple
The Dilapidated Temple serves as Sekiro's main hub area, in which you can craft new prosthetics, upgrade your healing gourd, or just relax. Throughout your journey, you'll pick up several key items that unlock new mechanics and tools. However, you won't be able to utilize them unless you go back to the temple, so make it a priority to halt progress and return as soon as possible.
Practice Makes Perfect Deflection
Sekiro's combat is all about breaking an enemy's posture, which is the gauge below their health bar. You're trying to max it out in order to dismantle their defense and inflict a death blow. While sword attacks help with the general effort, it's ultimately your ability to deflect their attacks that does the most damage to posture.
A deflection is performed by timing a guard right at the moment an enemy's attack makes contact. As you can imagine, this takes a bit of practice to master. Luckily, there's a fella named Hanebi--an undead samurai who hangs out at the Dilapidated Temple--who you can practice deflection against without having to worry about dying. This is a nice way to practice the game's combat mechanics, as well as get a feel for any new attacks or techniques you unlock from the many skill trees, such as the Whirlwind Slash or the Mikiri Counter.
However, the best way to train is to find an area near a Sculptor's Idol filled with varying enemy types and just work from there. Hanebi is a decent foe to test your deflection skills against, but it's in practical situations where you can gather the most valuable knowledge and insight about your strengths and weaknesses in not only deflection, but in a general fight. In addition, practicing deflection against varying groups of enemies and larger, more intimidating foes is essential as you're often thrown into dire situations with them during the game's more challenging areas.
Watch Out For Perilous Attacks
An incredibly important enemy thing to watch out for in a fight are what the game calls Perilous Attacks, which are devastating maneuvers sign posted by a red kanji symbol. There are three types that you'll encounter: Thrust, Sweep, and Grab.
Thrust can be deflected, but the timing required to do so is incredibly precise. You're able to acquire a skill in the Shinobi Arts tree called Mikiri Counter that enables you to stomp down on a thrusting enemy's weapon, dealing great damage to their posture. However, Sweep and Grab cannot be deflected and must be jumped over or step dodged away from respectively to achieve the most optimal results.
Recognizing the Perilous Attack type an enemy is about to perform is essential to survival. If you're ever unsure what's coming your way, try hanging back to better study the enemy's Perilous Attack repertoire and speed. Incorporate this into your practice of timing deflections and you'll learn to quickly deal with any challenge an enemy throws at you.
Replenish Your Posture
In your attempts to perfectly deflect and counter enemy attacks, your posture is likely going to break numerous times. If you're a Souls player, your main instinct is probably to let your guard down to recover. However, doing so actually decreases your Posture's recovery time. If your Posture is high, instead remain in guard stance to replenish it faster. In addition, healing yourself makes your Posture clear quicker, so the higher your health, the quicker the recovery.
Breaking Boss Posture
The rules of Posture apply to enemies as well, and becomes crucial to pay attention to during boss fights. Enemies can be killed more traditionally by emptying their health gauge, but it's far more efficient to max their posture meter and deal a death blow. If you want to keep that meter filled up you have to keep dealing damage and deflecting attacks.
Backing off to heal or get a breather is useful, but if you wait too long their Posture will replenish and all that work will be wasted. If you ever run into an enemy that's simply replenishing posture far too quickly, try damaging their health first. You'll notice their Posture gauge begins to change color from a light orange to a deep red. The darker the color, the easier it is to deal posture damage and the longer it takes for them to replenish.
Seriously, Use Your Shinobi Prosthetics!
As the One-Armed Wolf, you're equipped with an arsenal of useful tools you can attach to your shinobi prosthetic arm. Your head may get wrapped up in trying to deflect and countering attacks, but do NOT forget about these. Some have pretty obvious functionality, such as the Loaded Axe, which can break enemy shields. However, the usefulness of others like the Loaded Shuriken and the Flame Vent may fade into obscurity for you.
Every tool has a very specific use during combat. Make sure to read each one's description to get attuned to its purpose. For example, Loaded Shuriken are incredibly useful against enemies who jump into the air, as it can instantly drop them to the ground, providing you ample opportunity for attack. Be adaptive and resourceful with your shinobi prosthetic's tools, as they can literally save your life in most combat situations.
Pause The Game!
This is an obvious tip, but nonetheless an important one--especially for all you SoulsBorne players out there! Yes, you can pause the game in Sekiro, so there's no more of that panicked item equipping and unequipping from previous FromSoftware games. Use this to your advantage when squaring up against enemies or bosses who exhibit characteristics that call for the use of other special tools or items in your inventory. That, or to take a break, because let's be real, you're gonna need it with how unapologetically tense this game's combat encounters get.
Use That Maneuverability
Compared to other FromSoftware games, one of Sekiro's most standout features is the ability to jump. This adds verticality to encounters, allowing you to jump to either dodge attacks or leapfrog off foes. The latter is performed by jumping towards an enemy and pressing jump again as you get close to kick off them; it's a great way to deal posture damage. Jumping is a big part to the general flow of combat, so make sure you're taking advantage of it.
Another unique quality is the fact that you have unlimited stamina. Sprint, dodge, jump, and attack to your heart's content, while paying particular mind to link these actions together in acrobatic and strategic ways. Though, be mindful of when to show restraint. After all, this is still a FromSoftware game, so swift punishment still comes to those who move and attack carelessly.
Use Stealth To Whittle The Numbers
When direct confrontation isn't the most viable option, you're able to sneak past enemies and murder them from behind, above, or while hanging from a ledge. Look to nearby rooftops and bushes to take cover and plan your attack. Always take note of the kinds of enemies in the area and prioritize your stealth kills accordingly. For example, if you encounter a rifleman and a spearman standing next to one another, you'll want to take down the latter as you can easily take down the other with only a few slashes.
You can also use a stealthy backstab to knock a free health bar off powerful mini-bosses--that is, if you're able to get the jump on them. Don't hesitate to use stealth often, especially if you're not confident enough to take on more fearsome foes, as you can easily inflict an instant death blow on them when they're not looking. However, be mindful that it doesn't work on every single enemy. Regardless, stealth is always a great strategy, whether you're using it to sneak past enemies, ambush them, or break line of sight.
Eavesdrop And Buy Merchant Information For Valuable Intel
Being a proper shinobi isn't just about performing perfect deflections and being super sneaky. It's also about being well informed about your surroundings. As you sneak about, you'll notice that there's often an option to eavesdrop on guards. While some of these conversations are mostly intended as flavor dialogue, they can offer you intel on the locations of valuable tools or incoming threats. This isn't the only way to gain intel, though. You can get information from special merchants just as long as you've got the coin to cover their asking fees.
Make Progress Elsewhere
Despite your best efforts, you're likely to get stuck on a boss early on. Instead of spending hours beating your head against the wall trying to overcome this challenge, know that there's typically another area you can travel to. Sekiro's world is rather open in this regard, often allowing you to make progress elsewhere if you find yourself ill-prepared to take on what lies ahead in the area you're currently in.
Buy Coin Purses
Buying Coin Purses with your money might not make much sense at first, but they're well worth getting to ensure you've got extra coin to spend in emergencies. After all, dying costs a chunk of your money, which can go pretty quickly when you're up against a tough boss.
Make Time For Side Quests
Always be on a lookout for NPCs. While they typically share important information, a few also have special side quests attached to them. Completing these tasks earn you some pretty substantial rewards, such as upgrade materials and access to a completely new skill tree.
Carp-e Diem
You know what's absolutely mindblowing about Sekiro? You can swim! That's right, you can actually wade through water to explore out-of-reach locations--this stands in stark contrast to other From Software games where water meant death. Anyway, there are some useful items to be found by swimming about. One of the most important items you can find are Treasure Carp Scales, which you can get by killing the occasional Carp.
A seemingly inconsequential collectible, these scales are used as a currency for a special potted merchant you can find at the Hirata Estate. You'll see this little fella tucked away at the rightmost side of the lake early in the area. He's literally a pot with a hand sticking out of it; you can't miss him. You can purchase some useful items from him, such as the Withered Red Gourd, a refillable potion that increases your burn resistance. Definitely seek him out!
Next week is shaping up to be a busy one for Pokemon Go players. In addition to Giratina's return to Raid Battles, Niantic has announced a new Limited Research event, which will give players their first opportunity to catch two new Shiny Pokemon.
The event takes place on Saturday, March 30, and runs from 11 AM to 8 PM local time. During those hours, Pokemon that are affected by weather conditions, such as Castform, will appear more frequently in the wild. You'll also receive special Field Research tasks from Poke Stops, which will culminate in encounters with Lotad.
On top of that, the Shiny forms of Lotad and Castform will appear during the event, marking the first time either has been available in Pokemon Go. Niantic is also adding the move Weather Ball for Castform permanently to the game. You can read more details about the new Limited Research event on the official Pokemon Go website.
In the meantime, a few more days still remain in Pokemon Go's ongoing spring equinox celebration. Until March 26, Grass Pokemon will appear more frequently in the wild. On top of that, the rare Rock/Psychic Pokemon Lunatone and Solrock have swapped regions, and their Shiny forms have likewise started appearing for the first time.
Pokemon Go's next Community Day takes place on March 23. Not long after that, the Legendary Pokemon Giratina will make an encore appearance in Raid Battles. You'll be able to catch it again in its Altered Forme from March 28 to April 2, after which point it'll assume its Origin Forme--the appearance it takes in Pokemon Platinum--for the first time in Pokemon Go until April 29.
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