While the Dark Souls series is credited with creating the “git gud” genre of action-adventure games, Sekiro Shadows Die Twice is on another level. With its latest installment, FromSoftware replaced the speed of Dark Souls III and Bloodborne with an intricate parry system. Fans and critics praised Sekiro to the extent that it won many awards to include the coveted “Game of the Year” nod from the 2019 Game Awards. On Friday, Sekiro added another trophy to its collection but from an unexpected place.

Japan Media Arts Festival

The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual celebration of art, animation, and manga. Entering its 23rd year, the festival is beloved by fans of multiple industries and genres. In addition to the more traditional expression of art, the festival also allows for video games to win certain awards. Categories include art, manga, entertainment and animation; however, video games are typically not at the forefront.

On Friday, the festival announced winners for its various divisions, and Sekiro Shadows Die Twice won the Excellence Award in the Entertainment division. The official website revealed the reasoning behind this prestigious award:

Ninja is a classic theme in games, attracting support from novels, movies, historical drama, manga, anime, special effects, and so on. Recently, high-end games have been produced in various countries through the sharing of technologies such as middleware, and these days, the theme unique to Japan is culture, and art has been installed anew on the world through the media of games. The ultimate “Shinobi game” (Ninja game) has brought the true value of Japanese games to the world. 

Japan Media Arts Festival

While Sekiro’s previous awards focused on gameplay and lore, the Japan Media Arts Festival instead emphasized the game’s representation of Japanese culture. The “Ninja” is symbolic of the country’s unique approach to embracing unconventional methods of problem-solving. As Sekiro continues to win awards around the globe, FromSoftware must be thrilled with this particular achievement. The award represents that From can create not only challenging games but also works that represent and inspire a beloved cultural phenomenon.

Conclusion

While Sekiro Shadows Die Twice might never reach the sales height of other more popular series, FromSoftware has a strong future in industry. While fans wait for more news on Elden Ring, FromSoftware titles continue to be popular among fans of action-adventure games.

But we want to know what you think. Have you played Sekiro Shadows Die Twice? If not, do you plan on buying the game this year? Let us know what you think in the comments below or the social media links on the right. Be sure to check out our other news items on Smash, Pokemon, Modern Warfare, and more. Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter to stay on top of all the latest GamingROI content.

Finally, we are starting to stream every night and are looking to add to our community. Be one of the first 100 followers on Twitch and Mixer for a chance to win a free GamingROI tee-shirt. All you have to do is click the links above and select “follow”. We will announce the winners at the end of March. Until next time, enjoy!