Sekiro had such an impact that even the next BioWare RPGs and Obsidian games are adding parry and stagger meters

I don't think we'll see another Sekiro, but the 2019 ninja game from FromSoftware lives on through everyone who has ripped off its notes. We've seen Wo Long and Lies of P use its signature moves. Resident Evil 4 Remake also used a Sekiro style parry system. It's a new frontier to see RPG veterans BioWare and Obsidian add some of Sekiro’s signature moves to their upcoming titles.

Sekiro's biggest innovations over Dark Souls, in my opinion, were its emphasis on parrying rather than dodging, as well as its stagger meter that runs parallel to both player and enemy health. The first gave the combat a crisp, satisfying rhythm (and was more forgiving than Dark Souls parries). The second rewarded aggression and precision timing with a stagger breaking that allowed you to wipe out an enemy's health bar.

We'll start with Veilguard. The 11-minute combat showcase was shown at Gamescom. Veilguard has had a parrying system since its first gameplay reveal, but this extended version from later in the title gives us a better understanding of how it actually works. The warrior in the video also chose to upgrade her build to grant a powerful fire damage boost to her attacks following each successful parry.

According to a preview from WccfTech, Warriors will have a less forgiving parry window in exchange for the ability to block attacks with a shield. Rogues will get the opposite: No shield but a more generous parry window. According to a WccfTech preview, Warriors will receive a less generous parrying window in exchange for being able to block attacks using a shield. Rogues, on the other hand, will receive the opposite: no shield but a more generous Parrying window.

Both games use a stagger system, even though Avowed's 31-minute Gamescom demo doesn't appear to have timed blocks. Your attacks will fill a meter that will send enemies into a weaker state, where they are more vulnerable to damage. This is similar to Armored Core 6’s take on this mechanic. The Veilguard also allows you to perform takedown moves against staggered opponents, which reminds of Dragon Age: Origins’ cinematic finishes.

It makes me more than anything else excited to see BioWare slather the secret sauce from one of the best action RPGs around on their action RPGs. It wasn't long ago that these studios' action RPGs were clumsy, sluggish games. They were the awkward middle children, like Jade Empire and Alpha Protocol, made by people who were used to tactical, real-time with pause, or turn-based games.

BioWare isn't a tactical RPG developer anymore, and Obsidian seems hesitant after the initial disappointing sales of Pillars of Eternity 2. I want both studios to make the best action-RPGs they can and that means borrowing from the best pure-action games.

Many action games are diluted by bad RPG mechanics. Ubisoft, and Sony's first party studios with your +15% damage when airborne nonsense is a prime example. But I think that coming from the other direction, RPG studios injecting action into their games has borne fruit, and will continue to bear fruit.