I do apologise for my inferior intelligence Terrence Tao, for you see when a games most important mechanic is formally introduced 1 hour into the game with a screen prior to a boss battle coupled with an awkward button layout better suited for a 2d fighter than a 3d action game, my dense neanderthal mindset is incapable of processing this.
But nonetheless i'm the only person to acknowledge this, therefore my critique must exist only within a vacuum, regardless of how much praise I give the game.
There's literally a VR tutorial that explains parrying before that, sure you can choose to skip it but why would you. Other people have also complained about it, but honestly as long as your halfway paying attention it's not hard to learn at all.