WINNER:
SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE
You expect nothing short of excellence from FromSoftware, so in that sense, it really isn’t surprising that Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is one of the most outstanding games we’ve played all year. What is surprising is how, at the same time, it manages to capture the core strengths of the Souls games, and yet still feels like a completely different beast. It is a gruelling, exhausting journey from beginning to end, but it never feels unbearably so, because the swelling sense of victory and satisfaction you get after overcoming each obstacle is so unbelievably satisfying. Backed by some of the greatest combat we’ve ever seen and typically strong level design, Sekiro is among From’s greatest accomplishments to date.
