One of the reasons that Dark Souls made so many waves within the gaming industry was its difficulty. A notorious video game, Dark Souls beautifully combined mesmerizing production design with interesting gameplay, resulting in a dark fantasy nightmare that many became invested in.
But no matter how beautiful or how fun the game was, everybody talked about the difficulty. Dark Souls clones suddenly popped up, and FromSoftware one-upped themselves with Sekiro - a borderline impossible game that desperately needed an easy mode (according to some). The bosses for Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice were particularly challenging, and likely resulted in many a broken controller.
Lady Butterfly
On repeat playthroughs, Lady Butterfly doesn't seem like much. But for first-time players, she can be a real deterrent. Lady Butterfly essentially trains players how to play the game - at least when it comes to bosses.
Dark Souls favors a slower and more methodical approach, whereas Sekiro rewards a faster pace and more aggressive style. Longtime Dark Souls fans essentially need to re-wire their brains to master Sekiro, and attempting to defeat the relentless Lady Butterfly is the perfect way to do it.
Isshin Ashina
Isshin Ashina is a major character throughout Sekiro, and players are forced to fight him if they choose the Shura ending. It's certainly enough to deter players from choosing that specific ending. This guy would make a great senior action hero, because he can absolutely move with ferocity.
It makes sense, considering Isshin Ashina has spent his whole life as a samurai. The moveset and speed of Isshin Ashina is imposing, and defeating him without the use of some Shinobi Firecracker is a major challenge, indeed.
Gyoubu Oniwa
Much like Lady Butterfly, Gyoubu Oniwa seems like a piece of cake for returning players. Depending on how someone plays, this is the first major boss that they may fight in the game. This results in one of two outcomes.
Returning players find him easy, because he's absolutely nothing like the later bosses, both in terms of speed and difficulty. But first-time players find him a nightmare because they haven't faced anything like him before. He's a great, if often frustrating, introduction to the world of Sekiro.
Isshin, The Sword Saint
Isshin the Sword Saint is the final boss in Sekiro, and for good reason. The man is borderline impossible to defeat. This is a younger version of Isshin, and he is even harder than his old, modern counterpart. He's certainly one of the strangest final bosses in gaming history.
His timing is very hard to nail down, and he attacks with incredible speed and intensity. It's incredibly difficult to defend his unpredictable blows, let alone land some on him. He also has three phases, and if the player dies in phase three (which they certainly will, many times), then they have to start all over again.
Juzou The Drunkard
Juzou The Drunkard is actually a mini-boss who is encountered outside the Hirata Estate. The difficulty of Juzou largely depends on how he is approached. Some people may simply rush in, in which case they will have to deal not only with Juzou, but with the dozens of surrounding enemies.
In that case, defeating Juzou single-handedly is controller-breakingly annoying. But with some stealth and the help of an NPC ally, Juzou becomes much more manageable. Still very hard and frustrating, but manageable.
Demon Of Hatred
This is like one of those hard boss fights from old NES games that were impossible to defeat. Even above Isshin, the Sword Saint, and even above Isshin Ashina, the Demon of Hatred is arguably the most difficult boss in the game. At least its name is fitting. The Demon of Hatred's attacks are incredibly far-reaching, so hiding from it and taking a breather is impossible.
Its attacks also pack an incredible wallop, and they have the ability to one-shot kill. Perhaps worst of all, its health pool is unbelievably deep and his hitbox is clunky. Even great Sekiro players will be spending upwards of 10 minutes fighting this fiery demon.
Guardian Ape
Many Sekiro players quit at the Guardian Ape. Just as Lady Butterfly introduces players to the Sekiro style, Guardian Ape tests their capabilities and ensures they are good enough for the second half of the game.
His first phase is difficult enough, but then FromSoftware pulls the rug out from underneath players and introduces a second phase. It is here where the Guardian Ape gets really difficult. Its sweep slashes and terror roar are particularly frustrating, with the latter causing high amounts of terror build up. It can easily one-shot unexpecting players.
Headless
Just as the Headless Ape is horribly difficult, so too are the general Headless. Like Juzou The Drunkard, Headless are mini-bosses who are found in certain locations throughout the game. For the untrained player, these bosses can prove unbearably frustrating.
The black mist that surrounds them prevents running and dashing, which is a major component of Sekiro's gameplay. Furthermore, Divine Confetti is required to defeat the Headless, and if the player doesn't have any, then they are completely out of luck. That, and the terror damage is incredible.
Great Shinobi Owl
There are some video games that seem to masterfully portray bad father-son relationships. The Great Shinobi Owl is Sekiro's adoptive father, and he does battle with his son atop Ashina Castle.
He's a very hard fight thanks mainly to his choppy rhythm and hard-hitting attacks. Many of his attacks are one-shot kills, and wearing his vitality down often proves very tiring. This Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice boss requires impeccable timing, and one simple mistake means the difference between life and death.
Genichiro, Way of Tomoe
The player fights Genichiro many times throughout Sekiro, including atop Ashina Castle. This is another two-phase boss, and it is just as frustrating as every other two-phase boss. The first phase is hard enough, but then Genichiro sheds his armor and turns into the (literally) electric Genichiro, Way of Tomoe.
He's an incredibly aggressive fighter, so most of the battle is spent deflecting his flurry of attacks. Or attempting to, at least. His lightning bolt attack also deals unbelievable damage, so failing to counter it proves deadly and game-ending. Game-ending, as in the player instantly stands up and turns the console off in frustration.