The live chat was going wild, but once Joseph entered the game, he didn't dive straight into fighting the boss. Instead, he fiddled with the controller, getting a feel for the controls. After guiding his character around the cliff's edge, he noticed something off.
"Listen up, brothers, this boss looks like the real gatekeeper of this demo," Joseph said, his tone growing serious as he scanned the cliff below, where the Lion Ape waited in an open, empty arena. He explained to the chat, "Know why? There are no small enemies here. In most action games, small fries aren't just filler—they help you get used to the controls and hint at the boss's mechanics, subtly guiding you. But this stage? It's just the boss."
"Scared? Just rush it!"
"Big monsters like that are usually slow. Kite it!"
"There are trees on the map. I bet you should chop them down first, or that ape might use them to swing around!"
"GO GO GO! Stop yapping and fight!"
Joseph rambled on, but the chat wasn't having it. Still, after getting comfortable with the controls, Joseph—self-proclaimed veteran of "twenty years dominating action games"—didn't waste more time. He maneuvered the protagonist to leap off the cliff.
"Alright, brothers, let's teach this stinky monkey a lesson!"
No more chatter. Joseph mashed the parry button while charging at the Lion Ape, the chat erupting with "GO GO GO!"
The excitement was electric, but when the Lion Ape turned and swiped, taking out nearly half the protagonist's health in one hit, the chat went silent.
"What the hell?! One hit takes a third of the health? Are you kidding me?!"
"Did you forget to equip armor? That damage is insane!"
"Is this forced damage?!"
"There's gotta be healing items around! Go look!"
The chat was stunned, and Joseph's expression turned grim. Clearly, the chat had led him astray.
Sekiro was brutally tough, and its soul-like style was a far cry from most action games. That's why Tetsu Fuyukawa had placed Genichiro Ashina as the "blacksmith teacher" in the first stage—a boss designed to drill the game's core "parry" mechanic into players.
Pass Genichiro, and you'd grasped the basics of Sekiro's "clashing" combat. Smaller enemies were mostly in the first two stages, teaching players the ropes. With that foundation, the Lion Ape, while still tough, was manageable for seasoned action game players. But Joseph, egged on by the chat, skipped straight to the Lion Ape.
No surprise, then—ten seconds later, the Lion Ape's slash triggered a blood-red "DEATH" on the screen, and the chat exploded.
"Holy crap! This boss's stats are broken! Three hits and the protagonist's done?!"
"And no healing flasks? This game's gotta be bugged!"
"This is ridiculous. That kind of damage and mobility? This boss was designed to be unbeatable!"
Nobody expected Joseph to get wiped out in ten seconds. The chat went ballistic, not questioning Joseph's skill but slamming Sekiro's difficulty.
Joseph stayed quiet, his face serious as he kept practicing the parry button. As the game restarted, he began to adapt to the Lion Ape's patterns. The sound of clashing blades filled the stream, and the chat's tone started to shift.
As the gameplay clicked, the chat's complaints about Fuyukawa turned into shouts of "Don't get greedy!" and "What the hell, that hit can't be parried?!"
The vibe changed fast!
This was why Fuyukawa chose Sekiro as his first souls-like project. Its combat was punishing but intuitive—parry, parry, parry! Once Joseph nailed a few perfect parries and explained the posture bar, the audience quickly grasped the game's core. With no complex skill trees, even viewers could chime in with "Parry it!" or "Go for the stab!" The stakes of every swing and parry were so high that a single mistake sparked heated debates in the chat.
The engagement was unreal, with plenty to talk about!
Almost visibly, Joseph's stream skyrocketed in popularity.
And it wasn't just his stream!
Sekiro's stellar boss fights were a core selling point, but the smaller enemies, the near-impossible one-versus-many combat, and the varied stealth kill angles all fueled endless player discussion.
Whether it was Joseph tackling the Lion Ape head-on or streamers starting from Genichiro and grinding through small enemies, the buzz in every stream was off the charts. As time ticked by and more viewers understood the mechanics, they started comparing strategies across streams.
The expo hall was no different!
At first, visitors just watched the screens, but soon the hall turned into a packed cyber café. The row of streamers near the entrance had crowds craning their necks to watch. When the streamer known as "Valkyrie" Bingyu played for about twenty minutes, flawlessly parrying to defeat Genichiro, the entire expo erupted!
The hall was on fire!
Part of the souls-like charm was the euphoric relief after a tense boss fight.
But it didn't stop there!
After beating Genichiro, Bingyu was about to pick the next stage when a hidden option appeared on the selection screen: Shiranui Mai Route!
Yes!
Though the Shiranui Mai storyline lagged behind the Wolf route in development, it had a few finished boss fights. Players didn't care about the details—they craved surprises!
Sekiro's unique parry-focused combat, stellar boss battles, and clever small-enemy designs already wowed players. But beyond quality, content volume mattered too.
When Bingyu selected the Shiranui Mai route and a stunningly sultry female character appeared on screen, the crowd and chat went wild again!
Though based on Asuka Tsukitake's body model and facial capture, Fuyukawa had tweaked Shiranui Mai's design to lean into the iconic King of Fighters sexy ninja vibe. Her weapon swapped from a fan to dual blades, but she kept the red-and-white one-shoulder dress—ultra-sensual. What shocked players even more was that her combat style was completely different from Wolf's!
This was huge!
Many games' "new characters" were just reskins with the same old framework, but Sekiro offered two protagonists with entirely distinct playstyles.
Fresh mechanics, visuals elevated by a $70 million budget, thrilling combat, and rich content—no wonder the expo went nuts. Within an hour of the demo, word-of-mouth and Miya Miwano's pre-planned marketing blitz set the gaming world ablaze!
The clearest sign? Area 1 of the expo was packed to the brim, with Sekiro's booth drawing massive crowds while promo screens went ignored. Even staff from rival game companies sneaked over to check it out. Hearing shouts like "This is the action game I dreamed of!" "Damn you, Fuyukawa!" and "This producer's a genius!" while watching the buzzing hall, Fuyukawa's taut nerves finally began to ease.
"This Wolf is basically in the bag!" he thought, clenching his fist.
Sekiro meant far more than Surrounded by Beauties or The Binding of Isaac. The former wasn't even a true game, and the latter's niche audience limited its impact. The sparse crowd at the hall's opening proved that. Those games earned him clout within NTsoft, but Sekiro was different—it was the foundation for recruiting talent when he eventually went independent.
Lost in excited thoughts, he felt a resentful glare hit him.
His peripheral vision caught a familiar figure—Minister Nobi!
Yes, Minister Nobi!
The Demon King Saga booth was practically deserted, its crowd siphoned off by Sekiro. No wonder he was fuming!
But this time, Fuyukawa didn't meet his gaze. He just smirked and slipped into a back room. Nearby, Miya Miwano glanced at the red-faced, trembling Nobi, then at Fuyukawa's towering silhouette, a smile curling her lips.
"A roc about to break free doesn't bother with shrimp."