We’ve all heard it before or said it ourselves, “Make a good first impression”. When meeting another person we are capable of making an impression of them in under a second. These first impressions truly matter and generally shape the way people think about us for the foreseeable future.
If humans can be so judgmental that within a second we can determine how intelligent or attractive someone is than we should also be able to determine if we like a certain movie or video game just as quickly. This is where the introduction comes into play. In movies an introduction give time to learn who the characters are and to display to the audience the visual and narrative aesthetic. Video games use their introductions for a very similar purpose but with one major addition, they need to teach the mechanics of the game to players rather than viewers.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the most recent release from acclaimed studio From Software, came out on the 22nd of March 2019. Within the first 10 to 15 minutes the game masterfully displays its core mechanics, but also does something much more important, it shows off what differentiates it from its big brothers Bloodborne and the Demon/Dark Souls franchise.
In the introduction to Dark Souls 1 we find the chosen undead in a hollowed state sitting within a prison cell when suddenly, an unknown knight drops a corpse into the cell containing a key to the cell’s door. Once stepping out you are presented with a long hallway, several soapstone messages, and a duo of non-aggressive NPCs. Before leaving this area you will know 5 mechanics; how to pick up items, open doors, move the camera, light & heavy attack, and running.
These are the essentials to the gameplay of Dark Souls, important enough that you learn all of them before even leaving the first hallway. Later on in the level you learn about the estus flask, kindling the fire, locking on to enemies, etc… but for now I want to focus on what Dark Souls teaches the player first, the mechanics that Hidetaka Miyazaki (the director of the souls series and Sekiro) thought were so important they needed to be shown to the player first. Lets now look at what Sekiro presents to players first.
After leaving this hallway we have learned that this game will primarily require the player to attack enemies (those light and heavy attacks), finding items (generally loot from enemies, collections of souls, and crafting components found around the world), and running from, or into, danger. Lets now look at what the first few mechanics Sekiro presents to players.
You can see a nod to Dark Souls 1’s starting cell
In the beginning of Sekiro a mysterious women drops a letter into the well that Sekiro is resting in. He is damaged and looks disheveled but stands up nevertheless to inspect the note. Instantly there is a striking parallel to the first game. The weakened protagonist, getting back up even after already being defeated, and the game teaching the first gameplay mechanics; moving and picking up objects. However, while in Dark Souls there is only one path forward down the hall, Sekiro has two directions the player can go. If the player moves forward they progress through the level but if they turn around they will be presented with a flooded passage way. Here the player will discover that Sekiro has the ability to swim, the first noticeable difference from the Souls-Borne series; at this point most players should be picking up already how different this game is going to be. Moving forward down the correct path players will learn how to jump, grab ledges, shimmy across cliff faces, enter stealth mode, and eavesdrop on conversations.
Now that we have identified the first gameplay mechanics presented to players in Dark Souls 1 and Sekiro lets look at them side by side:
Dark Souls
Basic movement and camera controls
Item gathering
Combat: Light & Heavy attacks
Running
Sekiro
Basic movement and camera controls
Item gathering or Swimming
Aerobics: Jumping, Wall hopping, &c
Stealth
Unsurprisingly the first two gameplay mechanics are identical since item gathering is very quick and easy to teach players, and the basic movement of your character and camera are fundamental to progressing from the starting position. However, looking at items three and four there is already a stark contrast in what the player is being taught. In fact, Sekiro waits to teach players its combat mechanics (mechanic #3 in Dark Souls) until the player has stealthily navigated past several enemies and bottomless pits without even having a weapon in their possession.
While combat is extremely important to progressing through Sekiro, arguably more important than the aerobics, From Software decided that they couldn’t show it off from the start. The increased freedom granted to plays by allowing stealth, jumping, &c. fundamentally changes how players will approach the combat within Sekiro. This is why it is presented upfront to players in an area reminiscent to something familiar but quickly moving on from the past to something wholly new.