From Software made dying a gameplay mechanic in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. When the player dies once, they have the opportunity to return from the dead and seek retribution against the ones who took them down. If they time this correctly, they can gain the upper hand and progress in the game. However, there are not unlimited revives. Players have access to two revives when the game starts, but they work in different ways. Additionally, players can gain access to a third as they progress through the story.
Regaining Revives
The First Revive
The first revive is pretty easy to recover. After dying, the player must return to a Sculptor’s Idol to rest, and they should get their first revive back. After resting at the idol, players should see the first pink circle reappear over their health bar. It’s important to remember after resting at an idol, all of the enemies, save for the named bosses, returning throughout the world.
Choosing to regain the revive at the idol usually means having to fight many of the enemies the player has already fought already. It’s a great way to earn gold but makes it difficult to progress. Some players may find it beneficial to revive and then continue forward to hold out for finding an idol further along their path.
The Second Revive
Unlike the first revive, gaining the second one is a little more challenging. Players may have noticed there’s a semi-filled out pink circle right next to their full one. This semi-filled out one gets more prominent as the player performs Death Blows on enemies. To make this meter full, the player must successfully land several death blows against multiple enemies before gaining this revive circle.
A Death Blow is the killing animation Sekiro preforms when the red dot on an enemy appears. During this animation, the player is immune to outside damage while they’re doing this.
The Third Revive
You gain the third revive further along in the game. To do so, you must defeat the boss known as Lady Butterfly. Killing this boss gives players the item called the Sakura Droplet. You need to bring the droplet to another character in the game called Lord Kuro, but only after you’ve defeated Genichiro Ashina. Speak to Kuro, and you should see an option where you tell them him about the droplet.
The third revive should give you an added cushion of comfort as you continue deeper into Sekiro and face harsher challenges.
