Sifu (video game)

A kung fu student must embark on a life long mission to hunt down a group of five assassins who have brutally murdered his family. The game is set in a contemporarily Chinese city and is mostly grounded in reality, though magic exists in the world as the kung fu student is resurrected whenever they die.[1]

Sifu is a beat 'em up action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. The game, which is inspired by Pak Mei kung fu, included over 150 attacks. Basic attack moves can be chained together, though some combos may grant players additional tactical opportunities, such as being able to knock down enemies or stun them. The protagonist and all hostile enemy character have a "structural gauge". When the gauge is fully filled, the guard of these characters will break and they will become vulnerable to finishing attacks. Players can also block strikes, though this will cause the gauge to fill up as well. Alternatively, players can also evade attack or parry when an enemy is striking the players. A successful parry allows the player to stun the enemy or throw them toward a particular direction. The game allows players to take advantage of the environment and improvise their attacks, or make use of the objects in the environment. For instance, the player may kick an enemy off a ledge, or throw a bottle at an enemy. The last enemy in a combat section may sometimes enter a state of frenzy, essentially becoming a miniboss.[2] Occasionally, the players may be presented dialogue options which may allow them to skip combat altogether.[3]

When the player dies in the game, they are magically resurrected at the spot where they die. As the player character ages, their strikes will be more powerful, but they will have less health, making them more vulnerable to attacks. Players will encounter shrines, which will be the place where they heals and unlocks new skills. They can also visit the "wuguan", a kung fu school to practice their skills in between levels.[2] Abilities are lost when the player character dies, though it is possible to permanently unlock upgrades so that they are available at the beginning of each run.[4] As the players complete multiple runs, they can access the "detective board", where the information collected across trials will be stored, and secret areas and shortcuts may open up.[2]

The game is currently being developed by Sloclap, who previously released their debut fighting game Absolver in 2017. Unlike Absolver, Sifu does not have multiplayer as the team wanted to focus on developing the gameplay and need not to spend time developing the infrastructure necessary for online games. The game was inspired by kung fu movies starring Jackie Chan where Chan defeat multiple enemies single-handedly. The term "sifu" refers to "master" in Chinese, and the combat style featured in the game is based on the Pak Mei style. The team consulted Benjamin Culos, a Pak Mei kung fu master to ensure that the game was authentic. The game emphasizes "mastery through practice", a key value of kung fu which is reflected through the aging system.[5][6] The game was also designed to be difficult and features a sharp learning curve, as the team felt that players would not gain a feeling of mastery if the gameplay experience is too easy.[7]

Sloclap officially announced the game in February 2021 during Sony's State of Play livestream.[8] The team initially planned to release the game in 2021, but it was delayed to the following year to further polish the game and avoid overworking the team.[9] Sifu is currently set to be released on 8 February 2022 for Windows via the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Players who purchase the Deluxe Edition can access the game 48 hours earlier, and receive a digital art book and the original soundtrack composed by Howie Lee.[10]

• Official website