7 Things Nobody Wants To Admit About Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

3. We NEED A Dedicated Heal Button

FromSoftware were so close. So very, very close to getting this right.

Why, when you're continually entertaining the notion of an instant-access, five item inventory on the D-pad, do we not have one button dedicated to healing? Yes, you can hold left/right to equip your Gourd, but in fights against the Headless, Shamans or anything that regularly inflicts Poison, Burn or Terror damage, you'll be flicking between cures and status reductions, just as much as healing overall HP.

By having to keep your eyes moving between the action on screen and some small icon in the corner - whilst also memorising the order of the five items you've equipped for that particular fight - it can result in eating a herb when you wanted to heal, or healing twice by mistake.

It's a tiny, tiny change, but when Down on the D-Pad is reserved for the always-out-of-combat Eavesdrop, it could've made all the difference.

Yes you can hold Left or Right to shortcut straight to the Gourd, but this is still finicky in the heat of combat, and doesn't get around the ease of a dedicated heal.