Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice - GOTY Edition

The 'Return' ending is the 'secret' ending, and requires the most steps.

Firstly progress through the game until you confront Owl on top of Ashina Castle. You must choose to 'Break the Iron Code, stay loyal to Kuro'. This will trigger a boss fight against Owl. Defeat him.

The following steps must be completed before defeating the Divine Dragon at Fountainhead Palace.

After the boss fight, exhaust all dialogue with Kuro, then fast travel to the 'Inner Sanctum' idol at Senpou Temple, Mt Kongo. Speak to the Divine Child, who will give you Rice (which you may already have). Eat the Rice, then fast travel away and back and speak to her again to get another Rice. Repeat until you have consumed three Rice.

After you have rested again, the Divine Child will be sick and will require Persimmon. This can be bought from the merchant next to the 'Shugendo' idol in Senpou Temple. When you spawn, turn around and you should see a rickety wooden ledge. The merchant is over there. Once you have it, give it to the Divine Child and she will give you 'Rice for Kuro'.

Go to Kuro's Room and give him the rice. Rest and speak to him again and he will give you the 'Sweet Rice Ball'. Eat it, then fast travel back to the Divine Child. After talking to her, you will have to get the item named 'Holy Chapter: Infested'. This can be found in the small pond near the 'Temple Grounds' idol. You might have already received it from a priest by the 'Main Hall' idol earlier in the game if it is not here. Give this to the Divine Child.

Rest again and the Divine Child should be gone. Enter the blue rift nearby to travel back to the Halls of Illusion (where you fought the Folding Screen Monkeys). Talk to the Divine Child here. You will now need the 'Holy Chapter: Dragon's Return' item. This can be found in the cave covered by a white tarpaulin just outside the Main Hall area. When at the idol, go left and it's just outside. Enter this cave and follow it until you drop down. Turn around after dropping down and you will crouch under a large rock. Follow this passage and after some enemies you will find a dead priest with the item. Take this back to the Divine Child.

You will now need Dried and Fresh Serpent Viscera. Fresh Viscera can be obtained by killing the Giant Serpent. To kill it start at the 'Senpou Temple, Mt. Kongo' idol and jump down the cliffs just outside. At the bottom you should find a small enemy looking away from you. Backstab him and use the Puppeteer ninjutsu so that he controls the kite nearby. Now progress through the area and through the building. After the building you will see a large tree with the kite above it. Climb the tree and use the kite as a grapple to a platform. Once you land, turn to your right and look down to see ledges. Drop and grapple the ledges while falling. You will come to a new idol, quickly followed by a large wooden beam. Look down, and you will see the Giant Serpent coiled around a statue. Jump off the beam and perform a mid-air Deathblow on the Serpent to kill it and retrieve the fresh viscera, as well as the following achievement:



Now for the Dried Serpent Viscera travel to the 'Bodhisattva Valley' idol in the Sunken Valley area. Instead of heading towards the Guardian Ape's arena, go backward and jump down to the poison pool, using the grapple to break your fall. Head through the pool, meeting a dual katana-wielding monkey and then a merchant. After the merchant there is a cave. Once in the cave follow it until you emerge in a larger area with another Serpent. Head to the left side to find a cowering monkey. Use Puppeteer ninjutsu to get him to distract the Serpent. Grapple up to where the Serpent was and enter the building to pick up the Dried Viscera.

Now that you have both the Visceras, take them back to the Divine Child. Rest, and eavesdrop on the closed door. Rest and come back again, and the door should be opened (ensure that all dialogue with Kuro has been completed at this point). Talk to the Divine Child to receive the Frozen Tears.

Now all that is left is to run through the game normally, and after defeating Sword Saint choose to give Kuro the Dragon's Tears + Frozen Tears to get this ending.

There is also a method to get this and the other two ending achievements without having to play through the game three times. Once you defeat Sword Saint, save and quit back to the dash, and then reenter the game again. Choose to give Kuro the items for the ending you need, then once the achievement pops hit Guide, press on Sekiro, choose Manage Game & Add-Ons, scroll down to Saved Data, choose your name and choose Delete from Console. Repeat until your data is gone. Now restart the game and you will be able to choose again. Repeat for the other ending to get all three.