Elden Ring Nightreign has been taking the world by storm with its popular multiplayer take on the Soulslike formula. Not only does the game introduce some incredible new characters, many of which have already become beloved, instantly-recognizable faces in the FromSoft library, but players also have the very distinct pleasure of reliving some of their favorite boss fights from past Dark Souls games, with Nightreign pulling in characters from across the franchise to return in this newest installment. Some may be surprised to learn that Elden Ring and Dark Souls were not the only games to see tributes in Nightreign, though, as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice not only makes an appearance, but a whole playable class exists to change the game for Sekiro experts giving Nightreign a try.
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Though it somewhat falls into the Soulslike category, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice feels distinct from other games in the genre made by FromSoftware. While many can cite Sekiro’s lack of RPG elements and focus on its protagonist as major ways the game separates itself from other FromSoft titles, the undeniably biggest change the game makes is in its combat system. Where Elden Ring has a comparatively slow and methodical approach to combat, Sekiro instead features fast-paced, parry-focused combat with a posture system. A gross oversimplification would be to say that Sekiro feels more like a samurai movie in its combat design.
For a Sekiro fan deciding to join in on the Nightreign hype, this can be a bit discouraging. In a game genre infamous for its difficulty, ever citing the phrase “get good” as an answer to all of your in-game struggles, having trained yourself on totally different combat mechanics can put you at a disadvantage when stepping from the world of Sekiro to Elden Ring. However, for the experienced Sekiro player, an answer exists within Nightreign’s roster of playable characters.
Enter the Executor, a brass-clad samurai of indistinguishable gender and one of my personal favorite characters in the game.
Executor screams “samurai” in every way possible, making them an immediately attractive option for fans with hundreds of hours on Sekiro. The character even enters the game with two katanas on their hip, promising a playstyle similar to the samurai starting origin in Elden Ring proper.
With their two heaviest scaling abilities being Dexterity and Arcana, Executor is a character that wants to wield (or even dual wield) fast-hitting dex weapons, the best in class often being a series of katanas you can find across the map. Not only is playing a fast striking, katana-wielding warrior something a Sekiro player might enjoy, but the character’s high Arcana scaling means that passives such as bleed stack on-hit incredibly fast and with high potency. A sudden burst of blood loss on a boss can mean a quick and stylish end to a fight, just like you might find in Sekiro.
That’s far from the biggest reason why Executor should be the go-to for Sekiro fans, though. This class actually features a mechanic straight out of Sekiro itself, serving as Nightreign’s homage to the game. I am talking, of course, about Executor’s unique ability to perfect parry.
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Executor’s ability actually equips a special katana called Suncatcher. Unsheathing this cursed blade slows Executor’s movement significantly, but unlocks the ability to parry enemy attacks (even against the hardest bosses) by initiating the block command at exactly the right moment. Doing so completely avoids any damage taken, and also does not drain your stamina bar, something players might notice is very similar to the mechanic as it exists exclusively in Sekiro.
This ability not only allows Executor to tank otherwise punishing damage, but allows them to dish it back out as well. After perfect parrying enough attacks, players can then execute a dash attack that unleashes the stored energy in the blade back out at enemies.
Not only does Executor do a massive amount of damage with Dex-scaling katanas, Arcana-scaling hit effects like fire and bleed, and the hereto forth unmentioned ability to turn into a giant demon dog (yeah, you can do that too,) but players with a lot of experience in Sekiro can also play this flexible character as an unkillable parry god, always deflecting those devastating attacks before they can hurt them directly.
