History YMMV / SekiroShadowsDieTwice

* MagnificentBastard: Usui Ukonzaemon, better known as The Great shinobi "Owl", is a talented ninja who once stood alongside the Ashina Clan. Betraying the clan to hunt the Dragon Heritage manifest in Lord Kuro, Owl directs the Interior Ministry and bandits to assault the Hirata Estate while faking his death. Suspecting his partner, Lady Butterfly of treachery, Owl has his adoptive son Wolf deal with her while disappearing so he can play all sides against one another. Returning to claim Kuro, Owl plans to seize all Japan with the dragon heritage and even upon his defeat, uses his final breath to express his pride in the ninja Wolf has become.

* BrokenBase: The removal and/or heavy reduction of the RPGElements compared to the ''Souls'' games and ''Bloodborne''. Some players like how it makes the game much more skill based, while others lament the loss of the ability to experiment with different builds and play-styles, which they argue makes the game less accessible to different types of players and reduces replay value.

** Before that, expect many to use the Whirlwind Slash; Easily spammable, good Area of Effect, and free, not to mention, the very first combat art you'll probably find. Unlike the Ichimonji however, it does relatively low damage and falls closer towards BoringButPractical.
** As mentioned below under GameBreaker, many players don't use any shinobi tool other than the Firecrackers, simply because stunning enemies and attacking them while they are stunned is the eptiome of BoringButPractical.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks:
** Some people are put off by the fact that the game does not use the "Soulsborne" formula that put [=FromSoftware=] on the map. Others argue that after five Soulsborne games in a row, the developers every right to try something new. And despite the changed gameplay, the game ''still'' borrows a lot from Soulsborne in visuals, atmosphere, and even the mechanics.
** There is a trend where hardcore Soulsborne fans have a somewhat sour opinion on the game due to it not having the features that drew them into the series in the first place (weapon variety, character customization, number-crunching, etc.), and consider what ''Sekiro'' brings (posture system, narrative focus, freedom of movement, etc.) to be insufficient.
** Some players are not as interested in JidaiGeki and HistoricalFantasy aspects of ''Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice'' as others, and thus consider the game's level design and artstyle to be less compelling and/or boring compared to the Western Fantasy-inspired aesthetics of the Soulsborne series.

* PlayerPunch: An intended mechanical example by the developers, given how Dragonrot works on a narrative level. The game guilt-trips you for your numerous deaths by dropping Rot Essence of infected [=NPCs=] into your inventory, complete with item descriptions describing a bit of their background and how they are struggling with their newfound illness. When Wolf speaks with the victims, they can barely manage their words in-between bouts of sickly coughing.

* ItsHardSoItSucks: Some people have criticized the game for being too hard — be it due to [[NintendoHard the punishing difficulty]], the Dragonrot making [[ContinuingIsPainful continuing even worse]], and the [[EarlyGameHell absolute hell that is early game]]. A few even criticize it as being FakeDifficulty. Others dislike the emphasis on parrying and strict timing windows, especially since the game doesn't offer other methods of combat the way similar titles do. Many argue that these are just teething pains of players attempting to play the game like a ''Souls'' title and encountering problems due to incompatible styles. Another thing to note is that ''Sekiro'' lacks some of the difficulty mitigating features the ''Souls'' series has, such as being able to grind levels to brute force your way past difficult bosses and summoning co-op partners, as well as boss fights that often limit outside-the-box tactics and force the player to instead win difficult swordfights with few, if any, "shortcuts."

** ''Sekiro'' needs to respect its players by adding an easy mode. [[labelnote:Explanation]]A complaint made by multiple gaming journalists is that ''Sekiro'' is so incredibly difficult it ''requires'' an easy mode, asserting that not doing so is somehow "disrespectful" to players, especially players with physical disabilities, and how those playing would lose nothing with the addition of an easy mode. A good number of players criticized and mocked this notion, citing how adding an easy mode would clash with Miyazaki's vision for the game and how players with debilitating physical disabilities still can and ''have'' beaten the game without a need for an easy mode.[[/labelnote]]
** You cheated not only the game, but yourself. You didn't grow. You didn't improve. You took a shortcut and gained nothing. You experienced a hollow victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained. It's sad that you don't know the difference. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Related to the above controversy, in a [[https://www.pcgamer.com/i-beat-sekiros-final-boss-with-cheats-and-i-feel-fine/ PC Gamer article]], the writer recounts beating the game's final boss using a cheat mod, and asserts that beating a game with cheats is just as valid as beating the game fairly. A Twitter user [[StopHavingFunGuys opposed him]] with that [[FelonyMisdemeanor melodramatic]] quote. His speech is jokingly juxtaposed by both sides of the issue with popular tricks and skips as well as instances of EasyModeMockery through video game history, and many have made video edits where the speech is inserted into a video directly after demonstration of said tricks (such as [[http://twitter.com/skittflash/status/1114805607599464448 using a cannon in the first Koopa the Quick race]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', [[http://twitter.com/SSBReed/status/1116146712593272834?s=19 Gelato Skip]] from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', [[http://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/1115674026628636673?s=19 Marble Zone 2 Skip]] from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'', [[http://twitter.com/MegaMan/status/1116071342636290050 the Hadouken one-hit kill of Sigma]] from ''VideoGame/MegaManX1'', [[http://twitter.com/TetraxZ/status/1116531052485455873?s=19 skipping Mermaid Man's slide challenge]] in ''VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsBattleForBikiniBottom'', and [[http://twitter.com/ZyflairGriffane/status/1116095964228415488?s=20 setting "Baba is Win"]] in ''VideoGame/BabaIsYou''). ''Creator/CamClarke'' also joins the fun with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFJqOlYaJbs him reciting the phrase]] using his [[Videogame/MetalGearSolid Liquid Snake]] voice.[[/labelnote]]

* HilariousInHindsight: Back in 2017, Ubisoft created [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins a game]] that takes inspiration from ''[[VideoGame/DarkSouls Dark Souls]]''. Now, [[Creator/FromSoftware FromSoftware]] created a game that takes some inspiration from ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''.

** Dark Souls, but everything is a dex build. [[labelnote:Explanation]]After it was revealed that ''Sekiro'' would be set in feudal Japan, many a joke was made as a result of katana being dexterity-based.[[/labelnote]]

* ThatOneAttack: Both the Guardian Ape's grab attacks make the boss extremely difficult on their own. His first is a sweeping grab attack that, while easy to simply jump over, comes out so fast you often won't have the reaction time to avoid it. The other is a leaping grab that, while heavily telegraphed and slow compared to the other grab, has an absolutely ''massively'' hitbox ([[HitboxDissonance larger than it looks, even]]) that is almost impossible to avoid if you don't see it coming well ahead of time. Both grabs do a huge amount of damage, easily enough to kill you if you are at anything less than full health. [[OneHitKill and if you haven't been keeping up with your prayer beads or are in NG+, then they can kill you even at full health]]. The constant possibility of the grabs coming out necessitates the player to constantly keep aware and ready to dodge, making an already challenging boss a lot harder.

** You cheated not only the game, but yourself. You didn't grow. You didn't improve. You took a shortcut and gained nothing. You experienced a hollow victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained. It's sad that you don't know the difference. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Related to the above controversy, in a [[https://www.pcgamer.com/i-beat-sekiros-final-boss-with-cheats-and-i-feel-fine/ PC Gamer article]], the writer recounts beating the game's final boss using a cheat mod, and asserts that beating a game with cheats is just as valid as beating the game fairly. A Twitter user [[StopHavingFunGuys opposed him]] with that [[FelonyMisdemeanor melodramatic]] quote. His speech is jokingly juxtaposed by both sides of the issue with popular tricks and skips as well as instances of EasyModeMockery through video game history, and many have made video edits where the speech is inserted into a video directly after demonstration of said tricks (such as [[http://twitter.com/skittflash/status/1114805607599464448 using a cannon in the first Koopa the Quick race]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', [[http://twitter.com/SSBReed/status/1116146712593272834?s=19 Gelato Skip]] from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', [[http://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/1115674026628636673?s=19 Marble Zone 2 Skip]] from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'', [[http://twitter.com/MegaMan/status/1116071342636290050 the Hadouken one-hit kill of Sigma]] from ''VideoGame/MegaManX1'', [[http://twitter.com/TetraxZ/status/1116531052485455873?s=19 skipping Mermaid Man's slide challenge]] in ''VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsBattleForBikiniBottom'', and [[http://twitter.com/ZyflairGriffane/status/1116095964228415488?s=20 setting "Baba is Win"]] in ''VideoGame/BabaIsYou''). ''Creator/CamClarke'' also joins the fun with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFJqOlYaJbs him reciting the phrase]] with his [[Videogame/MetalGearSolid Liquid Snake]] impression.[[/labelnote]]

* HilariousInHindsight: Back in 2017, Ubisoft created [[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins a game]] that takes inspiration from [[VideoGame/DarkSouls Dark Souls]]. Now, [[Creator/FromSoftware FromSoftware]] created a game that takes some inspiration from Franchise/AssassinsCreed.

** Since he is so easy to beat, fans have taken to jokingly treat the Mist Noble miniboss in Ashina Depths as the game's biggest ThatOneBoss, collectively coming up with various reasons why he's so difficult, like having ridiculous amount of deathblow markers.

* BreatherBoss: After fighting Genichiro Ashina in Ashina Castle, the game's hard skill gate, the Folding Screen Monkeys offer a quiet game of hide and seek.

** You cheated not only the game, but yourself. You didn't grow. You didn't improve. You took a shortcut and gained nothing. You experienced a hollow victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained. It's sad that you don't know the difference. [[labelnote:Explanation]]Related to the above controversy, in a [[https://www.pcgamer.com/i-beat-sekiros-final-boss-with-cheats-and-i-feel-fine/ PC Gamer article]], the writer recounts beating the game's final boss using a cheat mod, and asserts that beating a game with cheats is just as valid as beating the game fairly. A Twitter user [[NoFairCheating opposed him]] with that [[FelonyMisdemeanor melodramatic]] quote. His speech is jokingly juxtaposed by both sides of the issue with popular tricks and skips as well as instances of EasyModeMockery through video game history, and many have made video edits where the speech is inserted into a video directly after demonstration of said tricks (such as [[http://twitter.com/skittflash/status/1114805607599464448 using a cannon in the first Koopa the Quick race]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', [[http://twitter.com/SSBReed/status/1116146712593272834?s=19 Gelato Skip]] from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', [[http://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/1115674026628636673?s=19 Marble Zone 2 Skip]] from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'', [[http://twitter.com/MegaMan/status/1116071342636290050 the Hadouken one-hit kill of Sigma]] from ''VideoGame/MegaManX1'', [[http://twitter.com/TetraxZ/status/1116531052485455873?s=19 skipping Mermaid Man's slide challenge]] in ''VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsBattleForBikiniBottom'', and [[http://twitter.com/ZyflairGriffane/status/1116095964228415488?s=20 setting "Baba is Win"]] in ''VideoGame/BabaIsYou''). ''Creator/CamClarke'' also joins the fun with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFJqOlYaJbs him reciting the phrase]] with his [[Videogame/MetalGearSolid Liquid Snake]] impression.[[/labelnote]]

** For the majority of the game, Lone Shadows are rare enemies that appear only on a singular basis in out-of-the-way areas, [[BossInMookClothing usually as a mini-boss]]. And for good reason - they hit like a truck, have long combos, are as disgustingly quick as they are acrobatic, and can easily parry Wolf's attacks from affecting their generous health pool. What makes them so awful is that halfway into the game's second act, [[spoiler:during the Ministry's first invasion of Ashina]], they become a common sight in Ashina Castle. Good luck fending off as many as ''four'' Lone Shadows at once!

** The use of centipedes as an {{Immortality}} device - those with a passing knowledge of Shintoism will know this arthropod symbolizes ''kegare'', the concept of spiritual defilement. Those infested with a centipede to gain immortality, like the monks of Senpou Temple, are morally decayed.

** Throughout its boss fight, the [[spoiler: Demon of Hatred]] repeatedly strikes a kabuki pose known as a ''genroku mie'', which in traditional kabuki theatre is meant to indicate heightened emotion, usually anger. Quite appropriate for a creature literally created by wrath.

* GoodBadBugs: You're supposed to fight Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa - but you can also just climb out of the arena. Follow that up by hanging out on a roof near a ledge, and he'll steer his horse right off a cliff trying to get to you. The exact same strategy works on [[spoiler:the Demon of Hatred]].

* ItsHardSoItSucks: Some people have criticized the game for being too hard - be it due to [[NintendoHard the punishing difficulty]], the Dragonrot making [[ContinuingIsPainful continuing even worse]], and the [[EarlyGameHell absolute hell that is early game]]. A few even criticize it as being FakeDifficulty. Others dislike the emphasis on parrying and strict timing windows, especially since the game doesn't offer other methods of combat the way similar titles do. Many argue that these are just teething pains of players attempting to play the game like a ''Souls'' title and encountering problems due to incompatible styles. Another thing to note is that ''Sekiro'' lacks some of the difficulty mitigating features the ''Souls'' series has, such as being able to grind levels to brute force your way past difficult bosses and summoning co-op partners, as well as boss fights that often limit outside-the-box tactics and force the player to instead win difficult swordfights with few, if any, "shortcuts."

* QuicksandBox: A large number of players seem to put off fighting Genichiro for as long as humanly possible, when he is intended to be fought fairly early as the third "real" boss of the game. They assumed that he was the final boss and that the game would end after beating him, not realizing he was merely the DiscOneFinalBoss, so they end up exploring everywhere else it's possible to go and even clearing out some mid-to-late-game areas -- getting many Skill Points, Gourd Seeds, Prayer Beads, and possibly even a Battle Memory or two in the process -- before finally coming back and [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] him with an overpowered character.

** The Dragonrot mechanic penalizes you for dying by making it impossible to progress the questlines of the afflicted characters AND reducing the chance that you won't lose XP and money upon death. It also makes the afflicted characters visibly and audibly suffer. You can cure this using a rare and expensive item...but the cure doesn't prevent any characters from being afflicted again, meaning that the cures become TooAwesomeToUse unless you look up a guide to know when it's actually important to progress a character's questline (and where to find the rare item). This is a particularly bizarre mechanic for FROM, since they've always given the player an easy way to mitigate or strictly limit the degree of penalty for dying in their games, but no such thing exists in this game.

** The fight with the Guardian Ape, specifically [[spoiler: the surprise of it standing right up after being ''beheaded''.]]
** The FinalBoss fight against [[spoiler: Sword Saint Isshin]], primarily for being one of the hardest fights to ever appear in a Creator/FromSoftware game.

** [[spoiler: Sword Saint Isshin]] introduces himself by literally [[spoiler: crawling out of the lifeless body of his grandson like a crab shedding its shell]]. It's almost as bad as the [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} Orphan of Kos's]] intro.

* ToyShip: Kuro with [[spoiler: the Divine Child of Rejuvenation]]. This one is almost canon since they literally [[spoiler: merge souls]] in one ending.

* ViewerGenderConfusion: A lot of players thought that Kuro's was a girl the first time they saw him. It doesn't help that he is voiced in both Japanese and English by a woman. To be fair, he is rather young.

* QuicksandBox: A large number of players seem to put off fighting Genichiro for as long as humanly possible, when he is intended to be fought fairly early as the third "real" boss of the game. They assumed that he was the final boss and that the game would end after beating him, not realizing he was merely the DiscOneFinalBoss, so they end up exploring everywhere else it's possible to go and even clearing out some mid-to-late-game areas before finally coming back and [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomping]] him with an overpowered character.
** Going as far as the game will let you into those mid-to-late-game areas is also a good way to give yourself some wiggle room in the fight against Genichiro because it allows you to get more Gourd Seeds and Battle Memories, which are the only ways to get more heals and attack power at that point in the game.[[note]]Late in the game, you can get an item that allows you to spend skill points to gain attack power, but by then those points will be expensive and another point in attack power will only raise your damage by a few percentage points.[[/note]]

** Mist Noble has already gained infamy as the easiest miniboss in the whole game, making even previous pushovers like [[VideoGame/DarkSoulsI Pinwheel]] and [[VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}} the Witch of Hemwick]] look NintendoHard in comparison.

** A shinobi would know the difference between honor and victory.[[labelnote:Explanation]]If the player actually manages to "beat" Genichiro during their first battle, a hidden Nightjar will ambush Sekiro and distract him for just long enough for Genichiro to still cut his arm off, after which he says this line. This is often jokingly used by players to justify cheesy strategies like killing the Corrupted Monk by spamming ash at her, tricking the Demon of Hatred into running off a cliff, or getting the Corrupted Monk stuck in a cliff by baiting a combo that ends in a jump attack that would have her fall off a cliff if the programming allowed it.[[/labelnote]]

* BrokenBase: The lack of DLC since its launch. A good, refreshing practice signaling a complete game, or a underbaked story with many plotholes still unanswered?

* WhatAnIdiot: Genchiro capturing Kuro forces Wolf to honor his oath to protect Kuro by getting him out of the country. In his quest, Wolf goes on to kill practically every leader, secret asset, elite guard, and hero that Ashina still has available to it. Wolf even kills several supernatural creatures that would've made the Interior Ministry's occupation much more difficult up to and including one of the area's local '''gods'''. Given Wolf's immortality, it would've been a much better idea to send him out of Ashina to eliminate much of the Interior Ministry instead. Wolf probably would've done so too as doing so would've indirectly have protected Kuro.

** ''Sekiro'' needs to respect its players by adding an easy mode. [[labelnote:Explanation]]A complaint made by multiple gaming journalists is that ''Sekiro'' is so incredibly difficult it ''requires'' an easy mode, asserting that not doing so is somehow "disrespectful" to players, especially players with physical disabilities, and how those playing would lose nothing with the addition of an easy mode. A good number of players criticized and mocked this notion, citing how adding an easy mode would clash with Miyazaki's vision for the game and how players with debilitating physical disabilities still can and ''have'' beaten the game without a need for an easy mode, and accusing the journalists of hiding behind claims of standing up for the disabled so they can get an easy mode for ''themselves'' and beat the game without having to [[Memes/DarkSouls git gud]].[[/labelnote]]

** John Sekiro [[labelnote:Explanation]]Due to the confusing name of the protagonist, people don't know whether to refer to him as Wolf, Okami, Sekiro, or Shinobi of the Divine Heir. Many, including [[WebVideo/{{Vinesauce}} Vinny]], humorously opt to just call him John Sekiro, naturally springing jokes that he's a US Marine or a CIA agent on a mission to rescue the President.[[/labelnote]]

** A shinobi would know the difference between honor and victory.[[labelnote:Explanation]]If the player actually manages to "beat" Genichiro during their first battle, a hidden Nightjar will ambush Sekiro and distract him for just long enough for Genichiro to still cut his arm off, after which he says this line. This is often jokingly used by players to justify cheesy strategies like tricking the Demon of Hatred into running off a cliff, killing the Corrupted Monk by spamming ash at her, or exploiting bugs in enemy AI.[[/labelnote]]

** A shinobi would know the difference between honor and victory.[[labelnote:Explanation]]If the player actually manages to "beat" Genichiro during their first battle, a hidden Nightjar will ambush Sekiro and distract him for just long enough for Genichiro to still cut his arm off, after which he says this line. This is often jokingly used by players to justify cheesy strategies like tricking the Demon of Hatred into running off a cliff or killing the Corrupted Monk by spamming ash at her.[[/labelnote]]