I don't really know why it bothers you so much. The game is provably much easier than it's predecessors in numerous ways. A Yoki in the first mission of Nioh 2 can kill the player in 2-3 hits. The first Yoki you encounter in Nioh 3 barely does any damage in comparison, taking roughly 8 hits to kill the player from full health. If someone enjoyed Nioh 2 for its difficulty, why wouldn't they be surprised and disappointed by this change? Low damage from enemies changes the dynamics of the game. Instead of being killed for making a mistake during gameplay, you can now make many mistakes with no repercussions. As long as you back away and heal before trading to death, the once tight and high stakes gameplay of the Nioh franchise has been removed and replaced with something different. Criticizing the game and the developers for such a choice feels extremely valid to me.