The developer From Software is legendary for its Souls series, entirely unforgiving games having very little in the way of exposition and never actually teaching the players how to engage with the mechanics, instead letting them pick it up as they go through trial and error.
But for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, From Software decided to take a vastly different approach. The game is reported to be a major departure from the style of the series with few RPG elements and a more character-driven story.
For that reason From Software decided to work closely with who else but Activision Blizzard to implement a full-scale tutorial in the game. “These things generally aren’t our forte, but we do need some support, and Activision is providing that. One reason we’re working with Activision is they hold our creative vision in the highest regard. From has editorial and directive control over the game and the game’s contents; after you press the start button, it’s all up to the From team”—says Hidetaka Miyazaki, the mastermind behind Souls and literal second coming of Gaming Jesus.
The idea of a From Soft game with a full tutorial instructing the player with full transparency about all the nuances of the game is fascinating. However Miyazaki also stated that all the pieces that make their games what they are are still there and the vague, unhelpful, en media res opening was never a part of that, just something that is a shortcoming of the studio.
The environmental storytelling, minimalist dialogue and excellent level design are still supposed to be here in addition to a tight combat system and something new for a From Soft game- a stealth mechanics.
So yeah, I trust Miyazaki. He gave me Bloodborne and I have a small shrine of the man in my house. Gambatte Miyazaki-sama.