Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice's manga spin-off is getting a complete published edition this February. Sekiro: Side Story of Hanbei the Undying initially began last May as Sekiro Gaiden: Shinazu Hanbei, and followed the story of Hanbei Undying, a friendly, immortal NPC in the game that let you practice combat against him in a risk-free environment. Now it's being released as a complete edition on February 27 in Japan.

As US Gamer points out, the manga hasn't been officially translated into English or released in the West yet. Fortunately, there are fan translations available online, and collectors will likely want to get a printed copy of the manga regardless of its language.

Hanbei and his side story in Sekiro were one of the more popular of FromSoftware's latest title, and the manga goes further into his past to provide some much-needed context for his character. It explores how he came to be involved in the events of Sekiro, while also unveiling more about his past and family in the process.

FromSoftware's games aren't known for being particularly forthcoming with their lore, so manga like this and the Dark Souls comic by Titan Comics are the best ways to explore their universes in more depth. The art looks fantastic, too, with the game's grim tone being realised by Shin Yamamoto, who also penned Monster Hunter: Senkou no Kariudo (Flash Hunter in English) and Naraku no Adu.

Sekiro: Side Story of Hanbei the Undying will be available in Japan on February 27. You can pre-order it through the Kadokawa store for 748 yen ($6.79/£5.22).

Steam has released its official Best of 2019 charts, showing the top sellers, new releases, VR games, and Early Access releases, along with the games sporting the most simultaneous players. Divided into Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze categories, the lists feature some surprises and a few real coups. Warframe, CS:GO and Dota 2, for example, are free games that nonetheless sit at the platinum tier of the Top Sellers category. Destiny 2 is also in the top sellers, despite only being on Steam for a third of the year. 

Strategy titan Total War: Three Kingdoms also makes out like a bandit, sitting at the top tier in top sellers, top new releases, and most played games lists. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, predictably, does the same. Some might be surprised to see Halo: Master Chief Collection in the top tier of most played games, but its availability on Xbox Game Pass has apparently done nothing to dampen Steam players’ enthusiasm to own and play it on their storefront of choice. Several high profile Early Access releases also marked the year, with Oxygen Not Included, Astroneer, Slay the Spire, and Space Engineers making their way to full release. The VR category continues to underwhelm, Beat Saber aside, with few of the games in the lead there garnering much critical praise.

You can check out the Steam Best of 2019 right here. It’ll be interesting to see how these charts compare to the Steam Awards when those are decided.

FromSoftware's samurai adventure wins Best Action of 2019. We'll be updating our GOTY 2019 hub with new awards and personal picks throughout December.

Harry: Like many, I suspect, I considered giving up on Sekiro. I wasn't even very far when the nagging voice at the back of my mind tempted me into quitting. My stumbling block came in the shape of a nondescript general: Tenzen Yamauchi. I never got the impression that this optional mini-boss gave others much trouble: he's certainly no Guardian Ape or Genichiro. 

To jog your memory, this is the foe with a smattering of soldiers around his perimeter, with an aggravating Sentry that loves nothing better than to bang his drum and tell everyone where you are. Once you find a method for defeating them, that part is easy. Then there's the small matter of getting repeatedly murdered by their superior.

With each demise, I got sloppier. If I did manage to challenge Yamauchi unscathed, I'd be promptly sent packing. I felt like crying. I was beginning to think that perhaps these games just weren't for me. I'd heard that Sekiro was a game that just clicked with you, and I anticipated that moment as if I'd taken a drug, waiting for it to take effect.

Then, suddenly, it did: sitting between the cautious defensiveness of Dark Souls and the offensiveness of Bloodborne, I realised that Sekiro's combat demanded an understanding of both. I got it. The awful sounds of Wolf's punctured flesh were replaced by the delightful tings of successful blocks, and Tenzen was defeated shortly after. The layers of Sekiro's combat system only unravelled from that point, which is a testament to its depth and inch-perfect precision.

James: Holding both my middle fingers in the air for the damn ape that don't quit, a gesture of rage and respect and despair; or my feelings for Sekiro distilled. 

Tom: The combat is sensational. The parry system essentially gives enemies two health bars—vitality and poise—that you can attack in different ways. If you can parry well enough to put an opponent off balance, you get the satisfaction of a gory instant kill, but you can also wear down a tough enemy's health bar by dodging and striking strategically. For some foes, this is the only way you can eventually bring them down. 

The combat system shines brightest during some incredible boss battles. The fight with Genichiro matches ninja against ninja in a remarkable spectacle. It may be one of the best boss fights in FromSoft's rich catalogue. It's rare to have such intense combats with a single human enemy, but Sekiro creates glorious samurai showdowns that reward persistence with cathartic moments of victory.

It's a game that rewards skill, and the joy of Sekiro is learning its punishing combat system over the course of 40 or 50 hours, all while exploring a beautiful, mythical depiction of Sengoku-era Japan. As you fight through the world the gritty guard-infested towns give way to more magical areas and enemies. It's a wonderful, memorable journey with enough rich lore to satisfy Dark Souls nerds like me.

James is right, though. Fuck that giant ape.

A campaign has been created to encourage people to vote in the upcoming UK election on Thursday. The campaign, called the Gamechangers Giveaway, was created by video game presenter and voice actor Elle Osili-Wood who launched the giveaway earlier this week. 

Osili-Wood has received a wealth of support from game publishers, developers, and studios with the giveaway including over 200 games and gaming prizes. Publishers like Bethesda, EA, and Activision have pitched in alongside the likes of Frontier and Raw Fury. Games up for grabs include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Prey, Planet Zoo, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and The Walking Dead: Definitive Edition. 

To enter the giveaway, voters must tweet a picture of themselves outside a polling station with the hashtag #GamechangersGiveaway to be up for a chance of winning prizes. The winner of the grand prize will receive twenty games, 2 EGX Rezzed tickets, a £50 InsertCoin clothing voucher, a Cyberpunk jacket and a heap of gaming merch that would make a great early Christmas present. 

The Gamechangers Giveaway will go live on Thursday, December 12 when the polls open, for more information and a full list of the prizes check out Osili-Wood's Twitter and follow #GamechangersGiveaway. 

Thanks, gamesindustry.biz. 

Before you ask, yes, Sekiro already has a nude mod. But did you know it also has model replacer that can let you play as Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2? Or as Darth Maul, Geralt of Rivia, or 2B?

The Ultimate Character Collection is the work of modder Eyedeability, who has also created various outfit and weapon retextures. Since these are just model replacements—using models from Deviantart—they don't include voice files for the characters. But that's a small price to pay for the chance to be Gwyn, Lord of Cinder, or Scorpion from Mortal Kombat while stabbing up some samurai.

Here's our list of the best Sekiro mods.

Thanks, DSOGaming.

Since plenty of people have beaten Sekiro by now, it's clearly not challenging enough. Thank goodness, then, that modder Zullie the Witch has put together a Cheat Engine 6.6 script that turns Sekiro into an intimidating first-person game. You can see how it looks above. 

The duels look great and I'm a sucker for first-person melee, but I can already see the countless deaths now. I confess I've not even finished it in third-person yet, so this would probably destroy me. 

You can find mod instructions on the Nexus page, and Zullie notes that you can optionally hide the Mortal Blade, if you've got it, which will stop it clipping but won't stop you from being able to use its power. 

Take a look at our round-up of the best Sekiro mods for more overhauls, tweaks and skins. 

This week in "it was only a matter of time" news the first nude mod for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has been released. 

"Replace the player's model with naked body versions of Sekiro, Emma and Genichiro" is how modder ApolloHoo describes it, noting that the bodies actually come from Dark Souls 3. For that reason you'll need to download the DS3 and Bloodborne Material Pack mod as well as Mod Engine to get it working.

It's not as fully featured as the nude mods for some other games out there, by which I mean it does not depict the gentlemen vegetables, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time.

If you'd rather be a monkey or a guy with a basket on his head there's a mod for that too.

Across hundreds of episodes of Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, I think Krillin, Goku's best friend, has held a sword exactly once. He's also often a coward, almost always an idiot, and doesn't have a nose for some reason. Krillin is a world-class screw-up who somehow gets dragged into getting his ass kicked by super powerful aliens, which is why I love him. It's also why I love this mod for Sekiro that replaces your lethal warrior with this big dumb anime boy. He looks completely out of place, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Look at his giant head! That bright orange gi! That serious look! Krillin may be a chump next to Goku, but he's still the strongest human being on Earth, y'know. 

Sadly with this mod we don't get any voice lines of Krillin freaking out (Krillin is always freaking out, so there's plenty of material out there) or facial animations. Like with the bone-chilling Sheriff Woody in Sekiro mod, created by the same modder, this is a simple reskin. 

But that's okay. For once, Krillin gets to be the tough guy. 

Check out our round-up of the best Sekiro mods for more goofy skins, as well as some vital tweaks like an unlocked framerate.

Why would anyone watch a video featuring Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas stars CJ and Big Smoke duking it out in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice? Well, I'm not sure many would. When I was sent the below video, featuring the above described scenario, I didn't think I'd bother watching it either. But then I did, and then I felt a great compulsion to share it, and so here we are.

It's not rare for mods to combine two or more highly incompatible things: just check out this Sekiro mod that replaces the playable character with Woody from Toy Story. Blending GTA and Sekiro isn't the weirdest thing you could do. But it's still an oddly hypnotic and disorientating video. I did, despite myself, watch the whole thing through. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The video above belongs to YouTuber horheristo, and it uses two mods created by modder DropOff. The mod for replacing the player-character with CJ is here, while the mod for turning Genichiro Ashina into Big Smoke is here. See? Now you can do it yourself.

Check out the video below:

Who better to take out a naughty samurai clan than Toy Story's diligent lawman, Sheriff Woody? Modder huckleberrypie has added the cowboy to Sekiro, finally allowing him to tap into all that rage that's surely built up after years of living with Tim Allen. 

There's no time for jokes or heartwarming moments in Sekiro, and Woody has no interest in quips, just killing and silently staring with those cold, dead eyes. All the better to watch the life bleed out of a man. He's got a taste for it now. Toy Story 5 is going to be messed up. 

Watch him slicing away at Owl Father in the video below:

If you want to put Woody in your game, you'll need to download the Sekiro Mod Engine as well as the mod itself, then copy the contents of the folder to your Sekiro mods directory. Fire up the game and you should have Woody instead of Wolf. 

I highly recommend downloading the Thomas the Snake Engine mod, too, as it complements Woody perfectly. It replaces the Great Serpent with, obviously, Thomas the Tank Engine, complete with manic whistling. It's a nightmare. Check out our list of the best Sekiro mods while you're at it.