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Sifu perfectly captures the essence of the martial arts genre. It clearly respects and appreciates all that the genre has offered before it.
Sloclap’s latest video game adventure, Sifu, takes everything iconic about the martial arts genre and packages it into a semi-roguelike environment with a powerful story, crisp graphics and controls that are as difficult as the levels in which they exist. That said, the game manages to use its challenges to help the player gain experience and eventually earn the title of Master. Through trial and error and the chance to revive from death at a deadly cost, Sifu stands on the building blocks of what fans have adored from the martial arts genre for decades.
The game’s story follows a young student who witnesses the death of their master at the hands of an old student. Although left for dead, the student returns thanks to a mystical collection of talismans that allow them to rise after death at the cost of their youth. From here, the story picks up eight years later with a student driven by revenge and enough clues to begin scratching the names of the killers off of their list. At its core, Sifu transcends a basic martial arts game and becomes a genuine love letter to the entire genre.
At its core, Sifu‘s story harkens back to the early days of martial arts cinema. It’s a revenge story of a student fighting for justice after their master’s death that’s reminiscent of Bruce Lee’s Fist of Fury. The game even has its main character driven by rage and using their skills for intimidation and violence rather than for education and as a last resort, the way it’s meant to be taught. This theme continues to permeate the main story as after each level, the student returns home to a place of solace. There’s even a tree for upgrades that shows how death isn’t necessary to evolve and fighting with anger isn’t the only way.
Sifu‘s snappy action and ability to interact with the environment mixed with intense and violent action also feels like a mix of The Raid and Jackie Chan films. However, from its hallway fight in the first level to the final boss, Sifu wants players to be more methodic than aggressive. The game could have implemented a different fighting mechanic, but its choice to play similarly to an arena fighter like Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm opens more doors for improvisation.
The game also offers controls that give players dominion over every aspect of the player, similar to Bushido Blade. While both games are nothing like Sifu on their own, they are brought together thanks to the takedown and combo systems that harken back to the Batman: Arkham games. As a whole, Sifu melds iconic action combat with niche martial arts titles to create something familiar but distinct.
The core mechanic of death offering players to upgrade at the cost of their age reminds audiences of the lessons that come from martial arts. All too often, the hero will rush into the battle, eager to come out victorious. However, after an incredibly humbling defeat, they must learn that the path to victory involves patience, timing and understanding oneself. Sifu offers this lesson time and again, especially since the game could be completed without dying. However, to do this, players will have to understand their character, take their time and strike true. By the conclusion, it’s clear that the actual student has been the player all along.
Sifu is a challenging look at a genre as old as the western. However, rather than only serving as a celebration of martial artists, styles and stories that have made it iconic, it also lets players experience it themselves. Sifu’s foundation is based on patience and understanding of oneself to succeed. When coupled with a simple but enthralling story and unique mechanics, it becomes more than a fighting game, and instead transforms into the perfect martial arts experience.
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