Pre-Release
Lord Genichiro will have a Tiger motif.
- Guess what else besides an armed human is a natural predator to wolves, the Animal Motif of Sekiro?
- Jossed; nothing confirms he has anything relating to animals in his design. He does have Lightning to contrast Sekiro's Fire though.
There will be Multiple Endings.
Given the presence of the "Dragonrot" affliction and how it affects Non Player Characters, if too many of them die from Dragonrot, it will determine whether a particular ending has been triggered or not, as NPCs from prior FromSoftware video games surviving or not until the end of a play-through influenced such endings (such as Dark Souls III).- Confirmed: there are four possible endings in the game, contingent on certain choices Sekiro makes, as well as if he manages to gather certain items.
One of the endings will force Sekiro to kill his master.
To keep preventing the Ashina Clan and other rival families from obtaining The Young Lord's "Dragon Blood", Sekiro will be forced to kill his liege - a Downer Ending; it may also be affected as a result of Dragonrot infecting NPCs, including The Young Lord. With his master dead, Sekiro will commit Seppuku.- Confirmed: Sekiro does kill Kuro in one of the four endings, not because of Dragonrot, but so no one else can abuse the Dragon Heritage. Furthermore, Sekiro does not commit Seppuku.
- As a new katana for Sekiro to use.
- One of Sekiro's techniques on the skill tree allows him to unleash a "moonlight wave".
- An enemy wields a BFS reminiscent of the Moonlight Greatsword from Dark Souls, particular a boss.
- No explicit weapon exists, but is mentioned by NPCs and/or enemy Mooks from eavesdropping conversations.
Other tools present for Sekiro's "Shinobi Prosthetic" in the game, aside from the ones seen in previews.
- A "Hidden Blade" for quieter stealth kills that don't alert enemies in the vicinity
- Jossed, though he can pull out a secondary blade with the Sabimaru.
- An Arm Cannon or Automatic Crossbow, so the references to Guts becomes more apt
- Jossed, but his arm can fire shurikens.
- A Power Fist that can shatter enemy defenses or environmental blockades
- Jossed, but the Loaded Axe can shatter shields just fine.
- A smoke bomb or some other form of Trick Bomb
- Do firecrackers count? If so, Confirmed.
- A Fantastic Light Source akin to a lantern or torch to light up areas such as a Blackout Basement
- Jossed.
There will be an Expy of Patches.
He'll still remain as a merchant like his Dark Souls and Bloodborne counterparts, after attempting to trick Sekiro into a trap (his own or the enemy's) and confronting him.- Jossed: no NPC in the game has the modus operandi as Patches does.
- Well, mostly Jossed. Anayama is implied to be Patches' Expy, right down to the patchwork coat he wears. He just lacks the Chronic Backstabbing Disorder that is also core to Patches' character.
Levels where Sekiro returns to events from his memories, such as the Hirata Estate, isn't simply a Flashback, but literally Time Travel.
The narrative may frame locations like the Hirata Estate as Sekiro re-living a past event/memory, yet what's actually happening is he's physically returned to that point in time. It's possible players may be able to change the past during these levels, such as ensuring an NPC survives into the present.- Confirmed: If you kill Anayama at the Estate, he'll disappear from the present. Also, there's that whole thing about being able to turn a Pot Noble into a carp.
One of the bosses in the game will be Sekiro's master.
- Confirmed: Sekiro is forced to fight Owl in 3 of the game's 4 routes.
Post-Release
Dragon Heritage is an Alternate Universe take on the Darksign.
The Bad Ending where Sekiro kills as many people as he can by becoming a Shura as a result of the Dragon Heritage corrupting him is the result of him losing his mind thanks to coming Back from the Dead repeatedly. Those branded by the Darksign are reborn after death, but slowly lose their minds as well, becoming Hollow. The parallels between the two are enough to suggest the Dragon Heritage is not some divine gift, but a curse like the Darksign. The game is about Sekiro regaining his humanity.
A story already told indeed, but one FromSoft is good at telling. However, the story isn't about the dead trying to come to life, but a story of demon trying to be human.- At the beginning of the story, it is clear that Sekiro isn't your average human note he doesn't instinctively shy away from pain, he has almost no emotion, and he is really good at making things not alive. Then in late game, after a fetch quest and a ritual, he actually goes on to kill beings both divine and unholy. Including the Divine Heir in two and half note of the four endings.
- in the best ending, Sekiro becomes human, when goes out to walk the world as the Human Heir's father
In the DLC, we will find the Moonlight Greatsword, in the hands of the Armored Warrior
Given its absence in the base game, the Moonlight Greatsword is likely being saved for the DLC. In it, we will face the Armored Warrior (perhaps as a dream, a memory, or a Shura), whose blade has been upgraded into the ever-present blue sword. Robert's father being the only one to wield a sword similar to the typical appearance of the Moonlight blade is what really makes me think this, unless its returning with a new, Eastern style. Isshin's pistol was made by Dogen
How else do you explain a matchlock pistol being able to fire like a revolver or shotgun? After all, Dogen's the same man who was able to create a fully-controllable prosthetic arm in Sengoku Japan. The mini-dragons are the previous Oathsworn of the Dragon's Heritage.
They're the weakened parts of the Dragon where its power was leeched out into many times died shadows, which have to be purified from it so its power can flow free from its stagnation within them. I think its less those who died when their Heir did, but those who died so many times they reached an effective limit on their resurrection, much like the monks of the temple we find dead of old age despite their infestation.Inosuke will end up as something a kin to a headless
Given just how awful his life turned out to be after the Hirata estate was attacked, it would be miracle if he didn't end up being reborn as some kind of apparition.Sekiro becomes a Demon of Hatred some time after becoming the new Sculptor
He, too, saw himself being consumed by the Flames of Hatred, even if he doesn't become Shura. And as we see with the Sculptor before him, carving the Buddha only delays the inevitable. The events of the game are Sekiro's Dying Dream
Sekiro died either in prison or in the battle versus Genichiro and any fantastical elements are out of him refusing to accept that he's failed his mission and condemned his young lord to being nothing more than either Ashina's or eventual Sengoku Era victor Ieyasu's political puppet. The various endings reflect Sekiro's mental state as he finally stops fighting the inevitable. The Mikiri Counter was developed specifically to counter Shadowrush
Given that most shinobi arts seem to be reactionary, built to counter something specific, and the fact that every other thrust attack in the game can be avoided pretty well in some capacity, it makes sense that shinobi would create some kind of technique specifically to counter other shinobi. In addition, Owl is the only boss that has a counter to shadowrush, and it is very easily countered by Wolf in return. The Mikiri seems to be intended to counter other shinobi.