Why I Love: Guardian Ape [Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice]
‘Why I Love’ is a series of lessons I’ve learned from my favorite game mechanics.
Guardian Ape has to be my favorite boss in Sekiro. Not so much because it poops into its own hand and throws it at you, but because of how it uses the main theme of the game to break you.
Death is an inevitable outcome in FromSoftware’s Soulsborne titles. Whether it’s the death of the player or the boss’s, you can be sure you’ll see one of the two death UIs: “DEATH” or “SHINOBI EXECUTION”. Traditionally, Soulbourne games have always given a “killed the boss” UI. It’s the perfect release valve for the player to finally relax and give them the “you did it!” moment of satisfaction. With Guardian Ape, FromSoftware contorts this valve in such a demented, yet totally appropriate way that I’m stuck with the memory for the rest of my life.
After cutting its head off and getting that sweet kill UI, I turn the camera away, happy and a little tired from a tough fight. Then, when I walk away, I hear a noise behind me. So, naturally, I turn back to see what it is. This ape has not only started standing back up, but it picks up its own head from the ground. Its health bar comes back. Welcome to phase two.
I had gotten to this point in the game with no spoilers, so, when it happened, I was stunned. It felt like the game lied to me. And it was awesome. Turned out that shadows weren’t the only things to die twice. There were so many times that I had used the Dragon’s Blood, which was part of the main story thread that granted its host the ability to resurrect from the dead. It gave the player a second chance, and, hilariously, let the enemies start walking away from my corpse just like I did with the ape. That connection I felt with the AI is one that I never thought I would have.
The design decision to put that kill UI in there is what made that whole experience work for me. Without it, I will not have turned away nor will I have barely relaxed my shoulders. It could have been easy to argue that, since the Guardian Ape isn’t really dead, the game shouldn’t have put up that UI. After all, that UI is extradiegetic and is there to inform the player that the boss fight is over. But it isn’t over when you chop its head off, so why put the UI up at that moment?
Lesson: Delivery matters.
A designer’s job at the end of the day is to design an experience. It’s easy to get caught up with technicalities and lose the forest for the trees. Understand what the experience is, and then use that to decide how to best deliver it. You may need to break a few rules in your game to sell the moment, but breaking the rules when the moment calls for it will elevate the player’s experience in the end.
