Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is EASY — I’ll Show You the DATA
Summary
Question 1: What percentage of players who start Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice actually beat the final boss?
Answer: 1 in 4 players who start playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, beat the final boss — Sword Saint Isshin Ashina. Source: PS4 Trophies.
Question 2: What percentage of players who start Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice complete the game 100%?
Answer: Over 1 in 4 players who start playing Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice receive the 100% Completion Trophy. Source: PS4 Trophies & PSN Profiles.
Introduction
The argument on the internet surrounding difficulty and accessibility in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is noise. Outrage for the sake of content.
The easy answer is boring. Because graphs! And actual data!
Simply compare how many people play the game, with how many people beat the game. Your experience doesn’t represent the population, and sits somewhere in the middle.
That’s it.
For example, Celeste — often referred to as the paragon of video game accessibility — has similar completion rates with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. See table above.
Simple, right?
So why write this? Because the people who read these articles are actual video game nerds — not video game journalists spinning bullshit for clicks.
Method
Simply look at the PS4 Trophies and Steam Achievements awarded to players who completed Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. You can see the percentage of players who stop playing the game based on which boss they defeat:
Results:
~60% of players defeated Gyoubu Masataka Oniwa — the gatekeeper boss of the game. In other words, they passed the 1st skill checkpoint that prevents further progress.
~25% of players beat Demon of Hatred & Sword Saint Asshina — the most difficult fights in the game. In other words,
1 in 4 players beat the game on its own merits.
Let’s put that into perspective. Compare that to another From Software fan favourite, Bloodborne:
Results:
Less than 50% of players defeated Father Gascoigne — the gatekeeper boss of Bloodborne!
Yet only 15% defeated Gehrman, the First Hunter — the final boss
And only 10% completed the DLC at Orphan of Kos.
Finally, let’s compare Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice to Dark Souls 3:
Results:
Wow! 87% of players defeated Iudex Gundyr — the gatekeeper boss of Dark Souls 3.
And a whopping 36% beat The Nameless King — the most difficult boss, and 29% beat Soul of Cinder — the final boss.
NOTE: there are no trophies for the Dark Souls 3 DLC, so difficult and awesome fights like Sister Friede, Darkeater Midir and Slave Knight Gael aren’t included.
Let’s summarise our findings, and also compare Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice to a non-From Software game that’s also considered difficult, God of War (2018):
Conclusion
- 10% more players got through the BEGINNING of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice than they did Bloodborne.
- TWICE as many players defeated Sword Saint Isshin Ashina than they did Valkyrie Queen Sigrun.
- TWICE as many players obtained 100% PS4 Trophies in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice than they ever did in Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne & God of War.
- Therefore, according to the last boss fight, ranking the games from EASIEST to HARDEST would be:
Dark Souls 3 (Nameless King) ->
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (Sword Saint Isshin Ashina) ->
God of War (2018) (Valkyrie Queen Sigrun) ->
Bloodborne (Orphan of Kos)
Further Reading
From Software Video Game Difficulty and the Ego of Gamers
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice Bosses: Ranked from Easiest to Hardest
