Sifu is boundlessly entertaining, immensely satisfying, and unrelentingly fresh. Even over a year after its initial release, I was still excited to jump back in, and I'm still excited to go back.
With Sifu, developer Sloclap is asking a lot from players. From the punishingly difficult combat that takes hours to learn and tens of hours to master, to the need to repeat and near-perfect levels to lower your starting age, this fighter can be an absolute slog. However, for those who can grit their teeth through the losses and frustration, you’ll come out smiling on the other side having played one of the best games of the year.
Just what a brilliant game, this game absolutly successfully make you feel like you are in a classic 1980s kung fu movie. The controls feel so good and responsive, you have so many utility moves that vary your combat, unique move sets for weapons and the expertly designed boss fights makes this game a must play. Another perfect note is the visuals, not only is it extremly stylized but all 5 levels have such a unique aesthetic to them. The story might be a tad generic but I love how vague it is and allows the player to connect the dots all on his own without telling the player much.
If you're looking for simple, direct action, this game is not for you. But if you are a stubborn player who loves to be tested, with Sifu you will get one of the most thrilling games in recent times. It's as hard and irresistible as martial arts.
Sifu's deep combat and ageing mechanics aren’t for everyone, but those keen to roll with the kicks and punches will find one of the most satisfying and addictive brawlers of recent times.
Sifu will age us as the main character ages, but it also gives us some of the best martial arts moments in video games, which make us say, like Neo in the Matrix, "I know Kung-Fu".
Sifu has an extremely high skill ceiling and very deep gameplay, paired wonderfully with stylized visuals and great art. The gameplay is extremely refined, but Sifu's narrative just feels unfinished as a whole, and could have been the difference from Sifu being a lot more than what it is.
It all meshes together into a game that's far too difficult and without the satisfaction that comes from making progress in a difficult game. It's like bashing your head against the wall, and unlike other games with this approach, the wall isn't starting to crumble. The wall has grown a smug, laughing face as it prepares to take away one of your character's most important abilities, just in time for the final boss battle.
Extremely stylish and awesome Kung Fu beat-'em-up !!! Super fluid 3D animations !!! Love the very rare voice option for CANTONESE (yeap, Hong Kong's Cantonese, not China's Mandarin), hearing foul swearing in your native language is always super cool LOL !!!
Beat-'Em-Up game, overhyped at launch to make you buy it. Rehabilitated itself after lots of patches and additional content. But the bad taste still remains, because this product started horribly. A grindy, repeatative, short game, with critical issues at release, some of which made the game unplayable like sometimes not even launching. Bad crowd control mechanic is still too essential and makes controls feel not really responsive. And it's nothing really special except for this makes the game harder to play while it already has it's own difficulty system without which you would beat the game very fast and forget about it. Developers just decided to make it as hard as they can so you wouldn't notice lack of content while replaying the same levels again and again.
Core mechanics are mostly a clone from the studios first game - Absolver, which they abondoned. And Sloclap Studios attitude to Absolvers community even became a meme. So the developer didn't feel like the one to trust from the very start. Still they made Sifu a playable product and added free content.
For what it sets out to be, its an amazing game but for me, the learning curve was quite steep and frustrating at times which took away from my enjoyment.
The game is bland, with shoehorned mechanics that bring nothing to the table and other defaults that should absolutely not be there.
Combos are few and far between, attacks that actually let you control your range are grind-locked and don't really offer variety. Where are the disarms, throws, why can't I launch an enemy into another, why can't I parry into a lock, why can't I grapple? In short, why do I feel like I have less options in this game than in Street Of Rage 2?
Also, stuff like dodges that leave you open in the last frames or having to hold a button to beat on a downed enemy (when it works) are terrible design options in the sense that they bring neither realism nor spectacle to the mix.
The stages are pretty and feel lived in, but the enemy's lines will make you want to actually slap them across the face after the first half hour. Yes my nerves go the better of me, shut up.
I won't talk about the story because there's none.
Aging doesn't actually do anything more than a limited continue system would, except for locking you in a glass cannon build, whether you want it or not. The game is NOT a roguelite by any mean, there is no randomness in builds, enemies or level design.
The camera is too often taking weird angles, obscuring your view, enemies glitches inside of walls, the auto-lock system is fussy and the game does a terrible work at explaining you how the controls work (I still don't know why sometimes my character leaps back before a heavy attack, but sometimes doesn't).
The difficulty isn't a problem -lots of people like it. But in this case, there is nothing for me that makes me want to face that difficulty and progress further into the game. Some people will jump in because the level of mastery it takes to beat the game, and yes mastery is indeed a very valid motivation. Some people will jump in for the challenge given by the difficulty, which is also a very valid motivator. But if you're looking for a balanced and polished experience or anything that allows you to have your own playstyle, then look for something else.
This game has potential, unfortunately the frustrating & infuriating gameplay mechanics dampens the fun. Trying a level over and over isn't even a problem, but the aging mechanic ultimately limits you to how many times you can actually die and try again. I'm a Soulsborne veteran and have never been this frustrated with any of the fromsoft games.
SummarySifu is a stylish yet gritty beat-em-up, featuring visceral hand-to-hand combat in a contemporary urban setting. From Sloclap, creators of acclaimed PS4 fighting game Absolver, Sifu follows a young kung fu student on a path of revenge, hunting for the murderers of his family. One against all, he has no allies and countless enemies. He wi...