Thankfully, You Can Actually Pause Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

In June 2018, From Software announced that its upcoming Souls-like action RPG, titled Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, would not have online multiplayer. The developer has now further clarified that, because Sekiro lacks this feature, it will allow you to pause your game.

With the exception of Dark Souls Remastered on Switch, no From Software Soulsborne game has allowed players to pause wherever they want since Demon Souls. For anyone who might think this will make Sekiro somehow easier in comparison to Dark Souls III or Bloodborne, don't worry. Sekiro is just as hard, if not much harder, than its predecessors. In an interview with Game Informer, From Software revealed that, without the option for online play, every environment and boss has been specifically catered to providing a challenging experience for a single person.

"When creating these playspaces, we don't have to take into consideration how players will operate with one another in these maps, or how they may exploit the playspace by cooperating or something like this," From Software marketing and communications manager Yasuhiro Kitao said. "So it allows us, again, to hone in on the player experience, and really capitalize on that lack of restriction that comes with creating a multiplayer-based game, and let our imagination run wild in these places."

Just because Sekiro is abandoning the online features of previous Soulsborne games--such as leaving notes, teaming up with other players, and invading--doesn't mean From Software is done with them entirely. "Of course, we at From, we love those online elements," Kitao said. "We love to create our own characters just as much as everyone else. We hope players are looking forward to something in the future where we might go back to that, but for now, Sekiro is very much its own thing." From Software hasn't yet announced what the future after Sekiro might be, but the company has revealed that it is already working on two unannounced games. There's a chance that one might be an Armored Core sequel.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice releases for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on March 22. The standard version of the game releases alongside a Collector's Edition, both of which are available for pre-order.