Hidetaka Miyazaki is undoubtedly one of the most unique game directors the gaming world has ever witnessed. His gaming universe is versatile, with each game finding its own perfect world to begin the journey. Though these games are a lot different from each other, they still share several common elements, and these are what connect these games. However, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a little different. 

Released in 2019, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has created a separate fanbase, and undoubtedly, this is among the most renowned works by FromSoftware aside from Elden Ring. The rhythmic and fluid fighting style of the game has won the hearts of the players. Despite no official announcement, a recent update has brought a piece of good news for Sekiro fans.

Hidetaka Miyazaki Hints at His Love and Attachment For Sekiro, and He’s Still Obsessed With the Fighting Mechanism of the Game

Recently, the FromSoftware fans are all excited to play the DLC of Elden Ring, named Shadow of the Erdtree. The trailers and the demo of the game have already proved the worth of this expansion, and reportedly, this one is the biggest expansion FromSoftware has ever worked on. However, despite the massive success of the Dark Souls Series games, the game director seems unhappy with the fighting mechanisms of these games.

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If you have played Elden Ring or other Souls-like games by FromSoftware, you must have noticed these games share a similar kind of fighting style, which is significantly different than Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. However, a recent interview report shows that Miyazaki prefers the combat style of Sekiro and is probably thinking of introducing it in his upcoming Dark Soul games. 

In this latest interview with Game Informer, the game director talked about the offense and defense styles of combat introduced in the Souls series and how they have changed with Sekiro’s much more fluid and active combat style. He mentioned,

“Perhaps in Sekiro, it appears most obviously or its the clearest form that I think that philosophy can embody. And personally, I think there’s one more level we can crank it up to and sharpen that and hone in on that mechanic even more, but I think Sekiro was a big turning point.”

This statement points to the posture meter which was introduced in the Sekiro game where the meter fills up whenever players block enemy attacks. If players do this without a break, the meter will fill up and make the player vulnerable to the next enemy attack.

Well, the renowned game director has to some extent proved his combat style preference in Shadow of the Erdtree, as a weapon in the DLC resembles Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Shadow of the Erdtree Not Only Shares Characteristics with Dark Souls Games But Also Includes Sekiro Weapon

Sekiro marked its difference from other games by FromSoftware for not introducing the ability to switch weapons. Though Wolf’s Prosthetic Arm allows him to access different tools during combat, players can wield only one sword. Anyway, enemies don’t have these restrictions. However, this lack of weapon-switching ability can be covered by the sword arts and skills they have. 

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After Sekiro’s release, when Elden Ring was initially released in 2022, Tarnished didn’t share any similarities with Wolf. The situation received a twist when the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion displayed the Great Katana as one of the newly introduced weapons at the Red Bull Levels event. At this event, content creators were invited to try out different newly introduced weapons in the DLC, and the Great Katana shockingly resembles the Great Shinobi Owl’s sword in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

This has surprised players and provided them with a clear hint that Miyazaki prefers the combat mechanism of the 2019 game. Owl used to be one of the bosses of the game, as well as the mentor and surrogate father of Wolf. His sword had a unique Ninja Art, called Ichimonji Ashina Art, just like the Great Katana has Ash of War to deal with powerful bosses.

These things solidify the connection between these two games, though they are poles apart from each other in every other aspect. There must be a few other references like this to be explored, but for that, players need to wait a few more days until the DLC officially launches on June 21, 2204.

In the meantime, you can check out Shadow of the Erdtree’s best new weapons and how you should start playing with them. For any other updates regarding the latest game, go through our pieces and get all the required information.