Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

1. Summary

Players recommend Sekiro for its sword combat above everything else. Combat is the most discussed topic: 51% of the longer reviews talk about deflecting, posture or parrying, and 246 reviews use the words "best combat" or "combat is perfect". Many describe the same arc: a brutal opening, a stretch of being stuck on one boss, and then the moment the deflect timing "clicks" and fights turn into duels. After combat, the bosses get the most praise (Genichiro, Lady Butterfly, Owl and above all Isshin), followed by the feudal Japan setting, the art direction, and the replay value of New Game+, four endings and community mods. The game's motto has become the community's sign-off: 415 reviews quote "Hesitation is defeat", often as the entire review.

Negative reviews are a small minority, and their complaints cluster in a few places. Players who wanted another Dark Souls or Elden Ring object to having one sword, no builds and one way to fight. Minibosses surrounded by extra enemies and long run-backs come up again and again, and so do the camera and lock-on. On the PC side, the 60 fps cap, missing ultrawide and borderless modes, forced HDR and controllers the game will not detect stop some buyers in their first hour. The death penalties (Dragonrot, lost experience and money) add to the pile for players who were already struggling. Some negative reviews praise the combat before explaining why the rest of the game did not work for them.

2. What keeps coming up

What players praise

Deflect-and-posture combat that turns every fight into a duelHigh

Combat is what reviewers praise most often. Players describe standing their ground, deflecting a chain of strikes, filling the enemy's posture bar and landing a deathblow. In 42 reviews, players say specifically that it is the best combat in a FromSoftware or Souls game; most other "best combat" reviews compare it with games in general or name no comparison. The sound of a perfect deflect is part of the appeal: reviewers write it out ("CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.") and call it addictive or "music to my ears". Mikiri counters, jump counters and lightning reversal come up as the moves that make the system feel deep once it opens up. Some people who do not recommend the game still praise the combat: one negative review opens with "One-on-one Combat is arguably the best I've ever experienced. The game just does everything it can to prevent you from experiencing it." Criticism of the combat itself is covered in the split section below.

Hard, then it clicks: progress comes from the playerHigh

The common advice is to unlearn Dark Souls habits. One reviewer sums it up: "Stop rolling. Stop leveling past the problem." Another says that once it clicks, "You stop rolling around like an idiot." In all, 34% of the longer reviews talk about the game being rewarding, satisfying or earned, or about the moment it "clicks". Fans like that there is no way to grind past a wall, so a win feels like their own improvement, and several say the late game feels easier than the opening once the timing is learned. A minority describe that same arc as a wall they never got over; the frustration items below cover what stopped them.

A boss roster led by human duelistsHigh

The named human fights carry most of the boss praise, and bosses come up in 38% of the longer reviews. Genichiro is the fight players say "teaches you how to actually play the game", Lady Butterfly and Owl are remembered as hard lessons, and Sword Saint Isshin is the final exam that some reviewers call the best boss in the game, or in any game. Players enjoy that a boss who once took dozens of attempts can later be beaten in a couple of tries. The beast and gimmick bosses are a different story, covered in the split section.

Feudal Japan setting, art direction and a castle that changesMedium

Players call the game gorgeous for its age and point to the art direction more than raw graphics; 19% of the longer reviews praise the visuals, atmosphere or the Sengoku Japan and folklore setting. One reviewer singles out "seeing Ashina Castle changing from calm -> to invasion -> to complete chaos over time" as the moment the world got more spectacular. A smaller group adds that it runs well on modest or older hardware; one reviewer wrote "Although Sekiro is locked to 60 FPS, the game feels extremely smooth". A few critics find the areas too similar or the look dated.

Replay value: NG+, four endings, Charmless runs and modsMedium

Some reviewers say they finished it several times or chased every achievement, and that it plays better on a second run. Mentions of New Game+, the multiple endings, the Charmless and Demon Bell difficulty options or mods appear in 11% of the longer reviews. PC players recommend overhaul mods such as Resurrection, plus fps-unlock and HDR fixes, and some reviewers ask for a Sekiro 2 or wish it had DLC. The main gripe here is that each ending needs its own playthrough, and one player asks for multiple saves so they can branch.

Where players are split

The story and how it is toldMedium

The story or lore comes up in 23% of the longer reviews, and reviewers disagree about it. Fans say it is FromSoftware's most present story, with a named protagonist who talks ("Wolf actually talks"), a clear goal of protecting Kuro, and memorable side characters. Critics, including some who recommend the game, find it cryptic, full of time skips, or told through static dialogue boxes, and a few mock the English voice acting. The choice of ending also splits people: some like that a bad ending cuts off a large part of the game, others resent being locked out of content.

One sword, one way to fightMedium

Builds, playstyle or the rhythm-game feel of combat come up in 12% of the longer reviews. Fans embrace it: they call fights a dance or a rhythm game and like that every tool has a purpose. Critics, often Dark Souls and Elden Ring veterans, describe the same thing as a lack of choice: "There is only one main weapon in this game and you mainly use it to parry. And parry, and parry and parry." The harshest call it Simon Says or a string of quick-time events, and one sums it up as "It's Guitar Hero, but with ninjas." Some negative reviewers say plainly that it is a good game that does not suit them, and one asks Steam for a "Great Game, but Not for Me" button.

Stealth, grappling and explorationMedium

Stealth, grappling and level design come up more in negative reviews: 17% of the longer negative reviews talk about them, against 10% of the longer reviews overall. Positive reviewers enjoy the verticality, the grappling hook and the ninja fantasy of thinning out a group with stealth kills before a fight. Critics say the stealth is shallow, with enemies that see through walls or forget you after a few seconds, and that some levels are built around grapple points that are easy to miss. Several reviewers see stealth mainly as the chore of clearing guards around a miniboss before every attempt.

Beast and gimmick bossesMedium

The Blazing Bull, Chained Ogre, Guardian Ape, Headless and the Demon of Hatred are named in 7% of the longer reviews, and they are the fights fans complain about too. The complaint is that these bosses ignore the deflect system the rest of the game teaches. One player put it this way: "After teaching you for 20+ hours to play Sekiro like Sekiro and not like DS, Demon of Hatred shows up and tells you you have to play Sekiro like DS". Several players who quit early name the Bull or the Ogre as the point where they stopped, and the Ogre's grab draws specific complaints about its hitbox. Some fans defend these fights as deliberate tests of a different skill.

LengthLow

A handful of fans wish the game were longer and call it relatively short once you know it. Others say their first run took 60 hours or more because of the time spent learning bosses.

What frustrates players

Minibosses surrounded by extra enemies, and long run-backsMedium

Ganks, minibosses or run-backs come up in 13% of the longer negative reviews, and positive reviewers bring them up too. Players say the combat is built for one-on-one fights, yet many minibosses come with archers, gunners or a crowd of guards. One wrote "Nearly every miniboss is some sort of duo fight", and another described clearing the same group by stealth before every attempt at the drunkard. Repeated or reused minibosses (Headless, Shichimen, the Lone Shadows) and long trips back from the last idol add to the irritation.

The PC version: 60 fps cap, no ultrawide or borderless, controller detectionMedium

The PC version is the subject of 62 negative reviews, and it matters most at the start: 28% of the negative reviews posted within the first two hours of play are about technical problems. The recurring list is a 60 fps cap, no ultrawide or widescreen support, no borderless window, and HDR forced on: one reviewer listed "a 60 fps cap", "no widescreen support, and HDR is forced on every boot". A controller the game will not detect stops some players from playing at all. One wrote "Steam recognizes my controller. Other games recognize my controller. Joystick tester recognizes my controller. Sekiro doesn't." A few players report fixes such as unplugging the keyboard or choosing the preferred device in Windows' joy.cpl. A smaller group says the image launches zoomed into the top-left corner on high-resolution screens, or reports stutters and launch crashes. Others report that it runs smoothly, and mods fix the frame cap for those willing to install them.

Camera and lock-onMedium

Positive and negative reviewers both complain about the camera, and 12% of the longer negative reviews blame it. The complaints are specific: the camera pulls back toward center on its own while you move the mouse, lock-on drops during grapples and fast bosses, and tight arenas or foliage block the view. One reviewer wrote that the "camera is your worst enemy in this game". The auto-centering complaint comes from keyboard-and-mouse players.

Death penalties: Dragonrot, lost XP and sen, emblem farmingLow

Penalties for dying draw objections in 8% of the longer negative reviews. Losing half your experience and money, Unseen Aid as the only chance to keep them, and Dragonrot sickening NPCs feel to these players like punishment for learning a boss. As one put it, "this mechanic doesn't manifest itself until after the refund period is over". Others dislike that prosthetic tools cost Spirit Emblems: "you have to farm if you run out while learning a boss". Positive reviews mention these less, though a few fans list emblem farming as their main con.

Stiff movement, input delay and grab hitboxesLow

Some negative reviewers (9% of the longer ones) call the controls clunky or unresponsive. The specifics recur: a delayed jump, attacks that cannot be cancelled into a deflect, getting stunned through follow-up hits, sprint and dodge sharing a key on keyboard, and grab attacks that seem to snap onto the player. Positive reviewers rarely raise it, though a few concede the engine "does start to show its age".

Not knowing where to goLow

A small group, mostly newcomers, say they often did not know where to go next or how to advance NPC quests without a guide. One wrote "you dont know where youre going 90% of the time".

Price that rarely dropsLow

A few reviewers say the game stays close to full price years after release. One says it "has been gatekept from being on a decent sale". Other reviewers who mention price say it is worth paying in full, and several bought it on a sale.

3. The player conversation

The tone is admiring and often playful: much of the conversation is one-line praise, jokes about the Guardian Ape and about shadows dying far more than twice, and the "Hesitation is defeat" catchphrase, alongside long personal stories about being stuck on Genichiro or Isshin for days and finally breaking through. In 104 reviews, players say it was their first FromSoftware or soulslike game; those newcomers write about long first runs, chasing every achievement and replaying it, though one warns "DO NOT PLAY AS YOUR FIRST SOULS-LIKE".

The negative side is small and falls into two groups. The first is PC buyers in their first hour or two who could not get a controller detected, a window that fits their screen, or more than 60 fps, and some of whom refunded inside Steam's two-hour window. The second is experienced Souls players, often listing their Dark Souls and Elden Ring completions, who found the single playstyle, the death penalties, the ganks and the camera wore them down. Players who finished the game and still disliked it name the Demon of Hatred, the final gauntlet and reused minibosses as the low points. Some negative reviews are openly conflicted, praising the combat and art before explaining why they still cannot recommend it.

Sentiment barely moves over time. In every week with 100 or more reviews from late September 2025 to October 2026, between 88% and 96% recommended the game. Review volume rose around the end-of-year holidays and again in late June and early July 2026, when several reviewers mention buying it on sale, and those waves were as positive as the quieter weeks.

4. What the developers could do

1. Fix controller detection on PC. Some players could not play at all because the game would not see their controller, and others report having to unplug keyboards or edit Windows' joy.cpl settings first.
2. Modernize the PC display options. Reviewers ask for an unlocked frame rate, ultrawide support, a borderless window, an HDR toggle that stays off, and a fix for the top-left zoom on high-resolution screens, and a few say they refunded over the frame cap or missing ultrawide support.
3. Let players turn off camera auto-centering and make lock-on hold. Camera complaints run through both negative and positive reviews, especially the camera pulling back during mouse movement and lock-on dropping during grapples and fast bosses.
4. Thin out the groups around minibosses and shorten run-backs. Players like the one-on-one duels and say the gank encounters and long returns from idols work against the system the game teaches.
5. Soften the cost of learning a boss. Refilling Spirit Emblems at idols, or easing Dragonrot and the experience and money loss, would answer the players who feel punished for every attempt.
6. Fix keyboard-and-mouse prompts and bindings. Reviewers report Xbox button prompts shown on keyboard, sprint and dodge sharing a key, and Mikiri counters that fire as a forward run.
7. Give clearer pointers for the next objective and NPC quests. Newcomers say they had to look up where to go and how to advance questlines.