Sifu

Written by Henry Yu on 2/6/2022 for PS5  

It’s rare nowadays to see video games that touch upon Chinese culture and history, let alone Pak-Mei Kung Fu. Developer Sloclap are one of the few rare ones though, with their upcoming semi-roguelike martial arts title Sifu. Coming off of their 2017 project, Absolver, which focuses more on cooperative and competitive play, Sloclap is this time aiming for a purely single player experience. Sifu, which means teacher or mentor in Chinese, is the perfect name for this game, as the narrative sends you on a journey to avenge the death of your own Sifu. Interestingly enough, you also become your own Sifu, as a magical pendant allows you to revive as an older version of yourself every time you fall in battle, forcing you to learn from past mistakes and grow as a fighter.

As you age you deal more damage but have less health, which makes sense as the older you get, the more fragile you become. Sifu is truly a game like no other, because it blends multiple genres of gaming together into a seamless one-of-a-kind experience. You start the game at the young age of 20 and journey across 5 beautifully distinct locations in search for the assassins that murdered your family. Your age increases the number of death counters you have, capping out in your 70s. At that point, if you were to die again, it’s truly game over. There are ways to reduce your death counter, such as defeating enraged enemies, bosses, or finding various shrines hidden throughout each level. These shrines grant you various buffs, namely increased weapon durability, more healing on takedowns, or a reduced death counter, but come with an age, score, and experience requirement as well.

Sifu’s art direction and graphics are nothing short of gorgeous, featuring pristinely drawn characters and locations that encompass both modern and traditional China. From burnt down hutong streets and ancient caverns to contemporary museums and nightclubs, this game has got it all. The bopping soundtrack by Beijing-based composer Howie Lee equally transcends both the past and present, combining modern electronic beats with traditional influences. Voice acting is likewise well-versed, featuring a full English voice cast with Chinese localization coming out shortly after the game’s launch. The game makes excellent use of the PlayStation 5’s Dualsense controller by utilizing its built-in speaker to project various sounds of the environment, with cool noises like stomping footsteps, downpouring rain, and opening doors. Though this is a small detail, it represents a huge step up in immersion. Unfortunately, I did run into some minor bugs, including doors not being able to be opened even though the prompt was present, and cutscenes occasionally glitching out.

The roguelike element comes into play as once it’s game over, you must start over at the lowest age you cleared the previous level at, losing all your shrine buffs and any skills that are not permanently unlocked. For example, if I spent my entire life on the first level and beat it at age 70, I would start the second level at that age. Should I reach a game over in the second stage, I must start at age 70 again; otherwise, I need to replay the first stage and attempt to clear it at a younger age. This is a brilliant gameplay mechanic as it forces you to achieve mastery through practice, and the only consequence you suffer is the time you lose whilst trying to achieve your goal. How can you expect to reach the end if you spent your entire life on the first stage? Level design is equally inventive, introducing shortcuts and secret areas that can be accessed the more you progress the narrative. Additionally, items intentionally placed in the environment can be used to your advantage during combat encounters.

Combat is best described as a hybrid between Sekiro and classic beat’em up games, and boy, is it adrenaline inducing. Not only is the entire battle system fluid and smooth, it also pays awesome homage to traditional old school martial arts films. Fighting might be daunting at first, especially when so many moves and combos are presented to you at once, but once you get the hang of it, it’s more than satisfying to engage in duels with groups of enemies or a boss. A structure or posture meter is used, much like in Sekiro, that exists on every enemy, including yourself. Once this meter is filled and broken, an immediate execution can be performed. Each punch you throw feels dynamic and impactful, so you know exactly when you’re doing well and when you’re underperforming. One minor complaint is that some movement inputs, such as avoiding high and low attacks, or how to attack an enemy after they are downed, are no longer available for you to see what the button combinations are if you are to forget. The pause menu only shows you what the active combo movesets are, and I had to replay through the tutorial on a new save file to see what the aforementioned movements were again. Certain moves are also underused compared to seemingly more powerful ones.

Different skills can be unlocked via experience points, and purchasing a skill five additional times after the first unlock permanently unlocks it for any subsequent runs. This is where the “permanent progression” comes into play in the classic roguelike fashion. There’s much more depth to the combat system than spamming the attack button over and over again, and the game demands more of a defensive, rhythmic playstyle by learning and reading enemy attack patterns. Parrying and avoiding attacks are the ebb and flow of combat, so it’s crucial to learn the timings correctly. Attempting to execute certain enemies can also put them in an empowered rage state, increasing their health, structure meter, and damage output, forcing you to vary up your strategy and approach. Don’t worry, you have a trump card under your sleeves in the form of Focus Strikes, which slow down time for you to aim a special move on at enemy, blasting them with a leg sweep or eye poke. Sifu also makes great use of its environment for immersion and versatility, allowing you to pick up objects such as bottles, sticks, and even footrests to be used as weapons in battle. Different takedowns and combos can also be executed, depending on where you are standing; you can use environmental features like walls, ledges, or tables to your advantage. The game turns into an almost cinematic experience once you get into the rhythm of things.

Boss encounters are where Sifu shines the brightest, presenting the greatest challenge and fun. The arena for each boss oozes with style and color, and even transforms once you get to the second phase of each fight. Every assassin’s moveset also varies vastly, requiring you to adapt and respond accordingly and quickly. It’s the ultimate test of your skills to see if you’re even worthy to continue on your journey.

As with any other revenge story, there’s more to Sifu than what is presented to you. Hidden secrets and endings await as you truly discover what it means to become a Kung Fu master. The game is much more than just pursuing the five individuals responsible for your family’s demise. It takes a step in the investigative direction by scattering clues around each level that allows you to gain a little bit more insight and background on each of the five assassins. These clues are conveniently displayed on a well-organized detective board that you can use to tie together loose ends.

Sloclap has surely created an exquisite experience that can’t be described with just words. It combines the cultural aspects of traditional Chinese martial arts with silky smooth yet challenging gameplay, a touching story of an individual's search for revenge and personal peace, and alluring visuals. Despite needing a few quality of life tweaks, Sifu is not just a fighting game, but an experience that demands your own journey of learning.