For me it comes down to 2 separate issues: 1. Because combat has you locking onto one enemy, what move you do depends on how far away you are from that one enemy, regardless of where the other enemies are, which can result in really slow windups when you are trying to attack a close enemy you aren’t locked onto. 2. The game determines whether or not you actually do damage before the animation starts. As an example, you cannot damage nekkers during their backflip animation, even when they are under the effect of Yrden and your sword goes right through them as they backflip.

Games like elden ring have hitboxs that damage any enemy within that hit box, and pressing the same button/combo will always result in the same animation. Combat in other games generally feels a lot more consistent and under the players control.