History VideoGame / SekiroShadowsDieTwice

** As a shinobi, Wolf can sneak up on enemies and backstab them with his katana, automatically killing them (although the noise may attract nearby enemies). It works exceptionally well against mini-bosses, who can be sneaked upon and backstabbed to instantly eliminate an entire health bar.

* AchillesHeel: Some bosses and enemies, while extremely tough in a regular matchup, can become absolutely trivial if certain moves or prosthetic tools are used against them. For some examples, red-eyed enemies like the Chained Ogre are stronger, but afraid of fire and can be countered with the Flame Vent. Shield-bearing enemies typically lose their posture to one strike from the Loaded Axe. Loaded Shuriken can shoot jumping enemies like Lady Butterfly out of the air.

** Sen being used as currency in-game which takes place in the tail-end of the Sengoku Period. Historically, Sen was first minted in the Meiji period some 300 years after this game takes place.

** The Bandits designs are pretty much ripped wholesale from [[Creator/AkiraKurosawa]] ''[[Film/SevenSamurai]]''.

** There are two [[spoiler: Great Serpents. Each of their hearts are imperative to the creation of the Frozen Tears (through the Divine Child's consumption of them) in order to unlock the games GoldenEnding, ''Return'']].

** Emotional stability is another major motif. The Sculptor is consumed by hatred, just ''barely'' able to keep it reigned in [[spoiler:and ultimately fails once the Interior Ministry invades at the end of the game, becoming the Demon of Hatred]]. Wolf himself ruthlessly cuts down anyone and everyone in his path to get Kuro back, the brutality and viciousness of his rampage noted to give him "the shadow of Shura", as Isshin puts it, with Shura being a creature [[AxCrazy so consumed by hate and bloodshed]] that it can no longer remember why it kills. The Demon of Hatred is a clear metaphor of what Wolf himself could have become if his overwhelming violence got out of hand. Only by showing kindness to others and having a clear goal that involves trying to save the life of someone he cares for does Wolf even stand a chance of attaining a happier ending[[note]]it should be noted that Wolf won't ever get the chance to see the Demon of Hatred if he becomes a Shura, as the game will end prior to [[spoiler:the Interior Ministry's invasion]][[/note]].

* HistoryRepeats: Heavily implied, since many hints point toward [[spoiler:the Sculptor being a former shinobi]], with Wolf taking up his mantle as if [[spoiler:he completes the ''Immortal Severance'' route, waiting for a future shinobi to rescue another lord blessed with the Dragon's Heritage]].

* GargleBlaster: Monkey Booze, made by chance out of fermented fruits that were hidden in tree trunks by monkeys. Its flavour is described as being exceptionally strong, enough to knock experienced boozehounds like the Sculptor and Isshin on their ass. It also goes by another nickname more indiciative of its strength: Shura's Wine, implying it's strong enough to get even a demon drunk.