A love letter to arcade beat em ups of old with an unforgiving edge. Has you screaming at your TV one minute and punching the air in celebration the next
It’s easy for me to have a soft spot for a game like Sifu. Growing up loving fist fighting classics like True Crime, Jet Li: Rise to honour, Sleeping dogs, even deep cuts like Jackie Chan: Stunt master and the OG turtles arcade game if you know your history. So I was beyond excited for Sifu and with more than modest pricing it was an easy decision to pick up.
The story follows every old martial arts movie trope in the book. Starting you off as the villain, Yang, ransacking his master’s (your father) Dojo. You witness his murder at the hands of Yang and his 4 allies. This sets in motion a bloody path to revenge that we have seen a million times before in the movies. However, the games beauty and morphing narrative as you piece together your detective board make it feel more like nostalgia than treading old ground. What starts off seeming like a realistic world quickly takes a mystical turn that fits the game’s setting like a glove. Not only does the player have the power of his (or her) medallion which allows you to grow older when you fall in battle rather than die. The men and women you are hunting all turn out to have elemental powers of their own which get more impressive as the story progresses.
Trying to refrain from spoiling any more of the story, the way the game looks needs talked about. The game is beautiful, like a moving anime episode in places with an art style that just works for a mystical, martial arts mash up like this. Never skipping a beat or dropping frames on the PS5 when there can be A LOT happening on screen at one time with the fast paced combat. A game it really reminded me of in terms of look was XIII from way back in 2003 (got a 2014 remake I don’t like to think about) or the famous Telltale games, it really just feels like a moving comic strip, like the games concept art has just come to life on the screen. It really fits this old school, revenge driven narrative to a T. You can just see the influence anime has had as well, I mean I’m almost certain Sean, the staff wielding bandage boss, is THE SAME guy as Shishio from Rurouni Kenshin. The influence of every medium we see this genre in is plastered all over SloCap’s work. Every level fits the story so well, fighting your way through China from dingy drug dens and bouncing nightclubs to executive skyscrapers and mountain sanctuaries. The game really switches it up well as you are blazing your bloody path of revenge. Something you really feel when you have to replay a level multiple times to fill in story gaps, find shortcuts or simply finish the stage at a younger age.
The music here also really compliments the story, showing SloCap have either done their research or really are long time lovers of the genre. Flute music that wouldn’t sound out of place in Ghosts of Tsushima in the more mystical maps/ sections in the game. Bouncing club music as you are smashing people around with glass bottles on the dancefloor, Eerie music when you are moving through a dark cave with enemies around every corner. It really feels like a section of the game that has been given a lot of love and attention.
This really only leaves the elephant in the room to talk about. The biggest debate surrounding Sifu at the moment. The gameplay. Social media is awash with complaints about the difficulty, one glance at trophy percentages tells you it is defeating people, with each achievement for beating a boss dropping % of players unlocked SIGNIFICANTLY as you move up the ladder. Some people are even suggesting it is the Dark Souls of beat em ups. Now, that could be viewed as an easy assumption. Souls is a game I have always wrestled with from a difficulty standpoint. I would find myself put it down and not go back for weeks because I just felt beat down by a mountain I couldn’t climb. Sifu never gave me those moments. A comparison I find myself making is Jedi : Fallen order, this is another game some consider “souls like” that challenges you at every step. The first time you see Stormtroopers the very untypically DO NOT MISS. The game could be brutal but, like I have with Sifu, I kept going. Maybe the both being steeped in lore I love drove me on but I feel like the game being fun despite the bloodshot eyes, scream at the TV, angry moments really says something about the game.
Now while there is fun in abundance here, it has a gameplay loop I have never quite seen in a game with the medallion system. Starting the game at 20 with the age limit being your 70s (a decade for each medallion). The game , on the first run at least is really about dying well. Once you realize that, the game becomes more rewarding than any fighting game I have played for a long time. You learn patterns, know when to dodge and when to parry, memorize stronger foes attacks, find shortcuts to reduce your age, , every play through is a lesson. Add to that the skills system which allows you to equip for your current playthrough or permanently unlock a skill you use a lot. The trade offs happen on every attempt and you soon realize by the end game that you may need to go back and shave a years off of each level playthrough to stand a chance. Every fight feels like a lesson and you can just as easily die in the 1st level as the last if you get complacent. That is the beauty of this game. The combat itself is gruelling, let yourself get surrounded and it’s GG’s but once you perfect the dodging system you start to feel “like water my friend”. The addition of knives and staffs to compliment the bats and bottles that are in it from the first stage really help you change your approach as the game goes on. Weaving through smaller groups can seem easy but a challenge even lies in these little encounters. Let a normal enemy build up a head of steam and try to finish them off, they go incredible hulk on you and turn what should have been a breeze into a fight for your life(s). Oh and if an enemy has a cinematic, just, be ready.
Now all is not perfect, when you are in full flow the camera can sometimes fail to adjust with you and trying to move it while dodging 14 guys can lead to some… sticky situations. It is also clear that the game should add difficulties, I get that hardcore gamers feel that is what makes the game but a game wont have legs if it isn’t as accessible to as many people as possible and it is a game I can see defeating some people. Those little nit picks aside the combat and gameplay is super satisfying with a gameplay loop that will keep you invested. Where a game like Hades keeps its “run-through” system fresh with morphing levels its Sifu’s ever changing combat scenarios and approaches to stages that keep it going.
So, by the tone taken most of this review, you likely know where I am at with how much I love the game. 27 hours played when there is only a 5 levels should be some indication. As I opened with, the game is a real love letter to the martial arts genre. Never taking itself too seriously while clearly paying homage to great arcade beat em ups that it took soo many queues from. There are even two sections where it is legit, side scrolling, 2-D , old school, TMNT style camera angles while you layeth the smacketh down in a few hallways. The game is just great and SloCap has done a fantastic job kickstarting this brand new fighting IP!
RM RECOMMENDS
+ Hard but rewarding
+ Lovely visuals
+ Great old school revenge story
+ Satisfying combat and boss battles
- Camera can wander
- No difficulty option
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