FromSoftware’s past entries in theSoulsfranchise have always been difficult for a variety of reasons but one added stressor in each game that made things even more complicated at times was that you were never allowed to pause. While the pause (or I guess “Options”) button itself in each game would still take you to a menu, the game world in the background will still continue functioning as normal. If you weren’t paying attention, you could easily die if you jumped into this menu while being too close to enemies.
Well, it seems like this feature will now be a thing of the past, at least in FromSoftware’s upcoming action titleSekiro: Shadows Die Twice. According to Game Informer,Sekirowill now actually allow players to freeze when they hit the pause button due to the way in which the game has been constructed.
Since there isno multiplayer element toSekiro: Shadows Die Twice, you aren’t constantly in danger of being invaded by another real player and being killed. This is one of the primary reasons why games likeDark SoulsandBloodbornenever allowed players to freeze time around them when hitting pause because there was a constant multiplayer element at play.Sekiro, however, is built from the ground up with single-player in mind and because of this, pausing now actually allows you to, well, pause.
Of course, I’m sure there will be some FromSoft purists out there who think this goes against the spirit of the studio’s games. Fear not though, as I’m sure if you opt to play the PC version ofSekiro, someone from the community will eventually mod in a pausing feature that keeps the game active in the background.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twiceis slated to launch later this spring on March 22 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. To hold you over until that time, be sure toread my preview of the game from last year.
