With the new reveal of the first big massive Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice update in a year, it seems like FromSoftware is hopefully gearing up for a DLC release or maybe even a tease for a sequel? Elden Ring has been radio silent for quite a while and it's likely the game will need a lot more time in development, so what better moment to make a Sekiro sequel to bridge the game for impatient FromSoft fanboys?
Well, with that being the topic for discussion, let's look at some of the things fans have vocalized they'd like to see with the return of the immortal Wolf.
10 Exploring Immortality Legends From Different Areas
One of the most interesting aspects of Sekiro is its exploration of the legend of the Immortal Dragon, its tears, and its humble beginning as a brave Carp that leaped over the waterfall into the Dragons Gate (something many players probably didn't know).
This legend is a very well-known piece of Chinese mythology, and we'd love to see FromSoft explore similar immortal legends from other regions of the world in a sequel. Imagine FromSoft tackling topics like Sir Galahad and the Holy Grail, The Immortal brew of Soma/Amrita from Hindu mythos, or the tale of St. Germain and the Philosophers Stone.
9 More Weapon Options, Or At Least More Than One
One of the biggest complaints about Sekiro from longtime fans has to due with the lack of build variety. Surprisingly, this lack of weapons explains why many new players die so often in the early game. Yes, players can upgrade different Shinobi Tools to go completely different routes for their sub-weapons, but this doesn't make as much of an impact on replayability as one would believe.
Especially not when compared to the hundreds of weapon choices from the Souls games or the innumerable customization options in Armored Core (another FromSoft Franchise). Just 2 to 3 other choices for a primary weapon would be nice, especially if they had a level of complexity on par with Bloodborne.
8 Some Actual Stealth Systems
Wolf is a Shinobi, this is made clear right away, and the guy has trained his entire life following the code of the Shinobi. He fights dirty and does whatever he needs to in order to secure victory, as players can see while fighting against Owl and all his tricks. But, for all the talk about stealth in the game or in the leadup to release, there's staggeringly little of it in-game.
There's so much to learn, but so little of it has to do with sneaking around and a sequel would be move improved by expanding upon this. Imagine a boss players have to sneak up on multiple times to clip away their healthcare, one who actively hunts Wolf as much as he hunts them. Something on the level of "The End" boss fight from Metal Gear Solid 3 would be incredible in this day and age.
7 More Diverse Prosthetics That Could Even Help In Boss Fights
As already stated, the different prosthetics and shinobi tools in Sekiro are helpful, some more than others (looking at you Firecrackers), but there are only a few rare instances where they help in boss fights. Suzaku's Lotus Umbrella is a huge help in the insanely difficult Demon of Hatred fight, the Shiruken makes quick work of Lady Butterfly, and the Firecrackers are helpful against bestial bosses, but fans would love to see this implemented further.
A Shinobi needs all their tools, but in Sekiro players would usually favor only a couple. In a sequel, it'd be amazing if FromSoft managed to create instances where Wolf needed all of his tools at some point and time.
6 Being Able To Assign Multiple Sword Arts At Once
Sekiro absolutely needed a way for players to use multiple sword arts in succession with ease. Think of the ability wheel in Assassin's Creed Odyssey where players use up to four or even eight different abilities with a simple button combination.
Fans loved a lot of the weapon and sub-weapon skills in Sekiro but having to equip and unequip different ones before encounters was just unintuitive. Let players use 4+ Skills at any time in the sequel, all it would require is a slight UI and balance change.
5 More Vertical Traversal/Combat
The grappling hook and vertical traversal in Sekiro was a welcome change in the FromSoft formula and felt so satisfying to use. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop to quickly traverse an already cleared area or even using it as a quick escape during dangerous moments like the Guardian Ape fight was truly impactful.
And, in a Sekiro 2, fans would be ecstatic if they developed on this system a bit further and implemented it in more boss fights or even aerial combat. They're not asking for Spider-Man PS4 levels of swinging around, but just a level or two of complexity further than the original game.
4 More Environmental Design On The Level Of Fountainhead Palace
Visually, Sekiro is astoundingly beautiful, but there are a lot of areas in this game that could be described as stereotypical Edo-period Japan architectural design, damp caves, or just open fields. But, then, at the end of the game, players reach the Fountainhead Palace and suddenly things change.
The color palette becomes fantastical, water exploration is now suddenly a real mechanic, and supernatural humans and creatures wander around casually. A Sekiro sequel could be open to so many possibilities, but fans would especially love FromSoft's take on more supernatural regions. Just off the cuff, imagine their version of Olympus, Valhalla, or the Field of Reeds from Ancient Egyptian mythology.
3 Preparing Traps And Poisons For Difficult Fights & Bosses
While both the FromSoft games and Monster Hunter games are focused around fights with creatures/human much larger than the player, their differ greatly in their mechanics. Monster Hunter, redundantly enough, is focused around the Hunt and requires preparation, tracking, and chasing the monster around. Dark Souls or Sekiro is more about a mechanically rich battle in an area with visible health bars.
But, what if Sekiro 2 had some focus on preparing for battle? What if players could place traps in the arena beforehand, gather intel or boss weak points, and use prepared consumables mid-fight to debuff the boss? There are of course ways to make the bosses easier already, but this way would feel a lot more thematically appropriate for a Shinobi.
2 More Mechanics That Encouraged Replayability
When compared to the Dark Souls games, Bloodborne, and even Demon's Souls, Sekiro doesn't at all stack up when it comes to replayability. The newly revealed update seems to work on fixing that, but even then the sheer lack of primary weapons and overall builds for Wolf makes replaying Sekiro a lot less appealing.
Sure, mechanics like the Bell Demon and the branching paths towards the ending do help, but fans would sure love to see this issue tackled in a potential Sekiro 2: Shadows Die Even Harder. It doesn't have to be a complete rehaul, but an early diverging path would confirm at least two playthroughs for each player.
1 A Completely New Narrative
This might just be us, but man wouldn't it be boring if Sekiro 2 was just more of the same. Wolf finds a new immortal child and spends the length of a game traveling through some new region on the brink of collapse, tearing it apart to find a way to break their immortal chains.
Yes, obviously, this would work decently as a storyline for a sequel, but putting the same characters in brand new situations is much more interesting to most. What if this time around Wolf works to build up a new country from the beginning? Or, perhaps, he simply travels through the back alleys of a region on midway through a rebirth, fighting against those who control said country behind the scenes. The possibilities are endless, just don't let it be the exact same.