FromSoftware, the creator of brutally difficult games like Bloodborne and the Dark Souls series, brought out a new trailer for their latest project at E3 in Los Angeles this week. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice takes place during an especially violent period of Japan’s history and will cast players as a mercenary on a mission of vengeance.
We don’t have the full details on what’s going on just yet. The preview did, however, give us some insight into our hero and his main weapon on his journey. FromSoft is calling it “The Shinobi Prosthetic,” which is a cool name for a bizarre and mysterious artifact.
We now know a few more details about how combat and lore will work, which you can read about here. The game launches for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One next year, but here are some basic facts about the arm.
1. It’s a customisable replacement
The opening scenes of the trailer show our mysterious protagonist losing a duel with his equally cryptic rival. The defeat costs our guy his arm and almost his life. But a mysterious benefactor replaces the severed limb with the biomechanical Shinobi Prosthetic.
It’s not a full replacement, of course. Look at it; it’s half made of bones with no skin to hide them. But it will allow the player to equip different kinds of tools to take on enemies in tricky, ninja ways. We only know about some of these tools so far, and they’re listed below.
2. It has a grappling hook
Sekiro departs from FromSoft’s usual fare of narrow, dark corridors with some verticality. Your shinobi character will be able to use the Prosthetic to get around and take higher positions in the environment. This will help him get the jump on his enemies with strategic positioning. Or it could even help avoid fights entirely, which is usually the only way to stay alive in this developer’s games.
3. It contains secondary weapons
Obviously, your primary weapon in Sekiro is going to be the hero’s katana. But the Shinobi Prosthetic will hold a variety of secondary tools to mix up the combat. Players will likely be able to pick ones that fit their play style. But one of the hidden arms in the, er, arm that the company showed off during demos was an axe for heavy attacks that could break an enemy’s guard.
4. You can equip ninja tricks
Screenshots show the Shinobi Prothetic igniting a firecracker. It looks like players will be able to use these to blind or stagger enemies and give themselves an advantage. In the trailer we also see this firecracker halting a charging horse, throwing the knight on top off balance. Some enemies are guaranteed to give us a much harder time in straightforward swordplay, so trickery such as this could be the key to beating them.
5. There’s a temporary shield
From has been moving away from overly defensive, shield-based gameplay since Bloodborne. With that in mind, it’s unlikely this shield will be something you can hold up forever. The trailer shows our hero whipping out a huge shield from the arm to defend himself. But it only blocks one attack, and we don’t know if that costs any resources.
It’s nice to know that the Prosthetic isn’t just about putting the hurt on other guys. It’s also there to help keep you safe in non-stabby ways.
6. Shurikens provide range
Dark Souls creator Hidetaka Miyazaki has talked about ranged enemies in Sekiro, and while you can use the grappling hook to get to them quicker than usual, you might want to use these shurikens to keep them occupied at range.
In addition to possible stuns or ranged damage, they could be used to simply get their attention, or even create noise. You never know when separating enemies could allow you to “kill wisely.”
Pre-order Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice now at GameStop.
