Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a stylish, focused stealth-action take on the FromSoftware formula that evolves in a different and refreshing direction. It may be a bit easier than a Souls game, but it's something amazing all its own.

From Software takes its unique brand of challenging gameplay to the stealth-action genre, and delivers something unforgettable.

Heart-stopping swordfights and deft, panoramic stealth waged across another vast, gorgeously rancid From Software landscape.

A brutal, uncompromising action game with sensational sword combat. From Software has done it again.

Sekiro meets me with just as much effort and enthusiasm as I’ve put into it. It lets me know I’m capable and skilled, and that I can figure it out.

Sekiro has the best swordfights in any video game. It leans too heavily on its mediocre stealth, but its satisfying combat will keep you going through hundreds of brutal deaths.

Sekiro is a wild ride through narrative twists and shocking boss battles, and an amazing triumph or crushing defeat is only ever seconds away

This often breathtaking game of serial assassination in 16th-century Japan is a treasure chest for players able to commit to learning its secrets

It’s vexing that a game that requires such skill on the part of players has technical issues. As with FromSoftware’s other games, you don’t have to look hard to spot enemies whose attacks pierce through walls, or notice fluctuations in framerate. To be sure, neither of these issues have sharply dampened my appreciation for “Sekiro,” but I very much hope that a patch will be released to improve the waffling framerate on consoles.

Sekiro is the fabulous culmination of From Software’s modus operandi, honed relentlessly since 2009. While it plays like its predecessors, it also feels different and fresh.