Sifu Review | I recommend it | Know Thyself

We recommend Sifu to anyone wanting some Kung fu action video game. Our video review below, Thank you for watching.

Gaming, Martial Arts and my Experience

It’s a natural instinct to want to survive, Human beings have evolved more than animals in many ways and one big important part of that is entertainment and in this case Video games, More specifically Sifu allows players to become a master of kung fu and survive waves of enemies. The connection of our natural instinct and video games is entertainment tapping into our fight to survive is why the gaming industry has thrived and will continue to. A key factor is humans use entertainment as a release of the animalistic nature and it’s what we call fun but the other side of that comes from the discipline to be great. Our competitive nature really lives within these games and it’s a win for the seller and buyer but at the cost of effort and discipline by the user. Much like Martial Arts when it comes to gaming there is a learning curve and skill gap between the best and those who casually practice. Martial arts has been around for thousands of years and keeps evolving with the times. Nowadays people casually practice some kind of Martial arts for various reasons from physical health to Mental strength. The arts offer many formulas for all kinds of people. The same can be said about video games but only few can tap deeper into the rich culture of true martial arts. I can say with all certainty that Sifu offers Martial arts at its finest in video games and it will also showcase the discipline it takes to master kung Fu. I will break down a few important things about Sifu to help players get the most out of what looks like a fun and well put together video game.

I would like to take a moment to give my history with Martial arts before we dive into all things Sifu. At the age of 9 I meant a karate World champion as he teaches a class I was brought in because I was a troublemaker in school. At the time I couldn’t appreciate what he offered and always was a smart mouth trying to be funny at all cost. During my early teens I met a Boxing coach who saw me in a fight at a park and stopped it. He would invite me to his school and I never came but I would show up to his house and practice boxing in his basement. At this time I was always in a fight after school so actually learning to fight was a dangerous lesson I shouldn’t have added but Coach Greg didn’t need to know my bad intentions. One day Coach forced me to come to the gym where I met a Golden glove kid johnny. With no clue what golden gloves meant I did my normal trash talk where I tried to pick a fight and johnny laughed at me instead of getting aggressive which made me upset so I jumped in the ring and told him come on let’s fight. Coach pulled me out and said I wasn’t ready, which ate at my pride as a teenager. Furious I demanded for only 3 rounds and Johnny finally said ok with the coach saying to keep my cool. At the time I would lower my head to rush in and swing hard and when I tried this Johnny countered with a slip and uppercut then dropped me, without going deeper I was dropped a few times and crying every time I got up. More embarrassed that I picked the fight and couldn’t do anything to even defend myself. Coach stopped the sparring match and took me to the office, Sat me down and expressed a few words that still stay with me “ Discipline is the only way to master anything and until you commit to it you cannot master anything in life” I might have rephrased his words but those hit extremely hard now that I understand them but as a kid I just wanted revenge on johnny. That was over 25 years ago and it’s important to add to my story with martial arts because we take many things for granted in life and those lessons now are part of my foundation. Martial arts is not even about fighting but mastering yourself and after 20 years of practicing various arts I am humbled to say I still have much to learn but the key is discipline is now there.

How does that tie into Sifu? The game has a cool fighting skill tree system and mechanics. As you play you can unlock moves but if you get killed too many times it will be game over and you can lose some of the skills if you didnt unlock them permanently. This is a reminder of my younger days training karate and boxing and never retaining the lessons at a young age but as I got older I started to store all valuable lessons in martial arts. The unlock system of dying and coming back older but stronger yet a bit vulnerable is exactly like real life. All my past lessons help me reinforce many present after I die to the previous mindset and expand to a new more experienced me. That has me very excited to experience the game as a visual metaphor of my personal journey in the arts. Note Sifu focuses on Kung fu and while my favorite lessons came from Shaolin arts, It focuses on many art forms and I only had a little kung fu training but will be getting back into Kung fu lessons at some point in the near future. The way I look at video games and my personal life always intertwine as Sifu offers everyone a way to be a Kung fu fighter mastering the skills while trying to survive enemies but for myself it will remind me of my younger days lessons and how getting older has made me a better version of myself just like the death mechanics showcase below.

My expectations of Sifu are actually Game of the Year candidate as The studio SloClap has made Absolver which is one of my favorite Fighting/Beat’em up games. Seeing what Absolver does with combat and how Sifu improves on that plus adds a modern story with kung fu movie presentation really going to be a global success but for myself the core elements of true marital arts experience are extremely exciting. I will be live streaming my first playthrough and sharing more of my personal journey into martial arts during the that time so come by. https://www.twitch.tv/maggamerinc

The rest of this article will be the key info needed to know everything about Sifu.

Story, Release Date, Platforms and gameplay info

Story

“Sifu puts you in control of a young Kung-Fu student who has dedicated his very soul to his quest for vengeance. After his family was murdered by a squad of mysterious assassins, our hero has spent the next eight years of his life preparing his revenge. The day of reckoning has finally come, and he will hunt down the murderers one by one without letting anyone get in his way. To overcome the odds stacked against him, he will rely on his Kung Fu skills, and on a magical pendant that revives him upon death. This magic has a cost though: our hero gets older every time he comes back to life. How long will you manage to survive before having to start his quest again? Is one life enough to have Kung Fu?

On the path of vengeance: The hunt for the assassins will take you through the hidden corners of the city, from the gang-ridden suburbs to the cold hallways of the corporate towers. You have got one day, and countless enemies on your way. Time will be the price to pay.

Adaptation is the way: Careful positioning and clever use of the environment to your advantage are key to your survival. Use everything at your disposal: throwable objects, makeshift weapons, windows and ledges… The odds are stacked against you, and you will be offered no mercy.

Training never ends: Kung Fu is a path for the body and the mind. Learn from your errors, unlock unique skills, and find the strength within yourself to master the devastating techniques of Pak-Mei Kung-Fu.” via Playstation blog

Release date and Platform

Sifu is releasing on February 8, 2022 on PS4, PS5 and the Epic Games Store.

Pre-orders available now !

Playstation Store

Epic Games Store

Gameplay

As we see in these videos tons of great combat and I felt its best to quote Felix Garczynski from Sloclap

“We designed what we called the Structure system, to emulate the real combat notion of impacting and breaking the stance of your opponent, his ability to attack and defend himself. It takes the form of a gauge, for both you and your enemies. If you manage to break your opponent’s structure, you will be able to finish them with a powerful takedown, which is the opportunity to display the devastating techniques of Pak Mei. But if your own structure gauge is filled, you’re unable to fight and defend yourself for a short duration and you will find yourself vulnerable to your enemies’ attacks.

Blocking attacks will quickly fill your balance gauge, and we’ve given the players a few more flexible defensive options. Dodges will allow you to create space at key times and can be life savers. But more importantly, parrying hits at the right time will let you deflect the blow, unbalancing your opponent and opening opportunities to counterattack or to throw them down. You can also avoid blows altogether, by ducking under or jumping over incoming strikes. It is particularly useful against strong hits that you can’t parry or to quickly recover balance and strike back at your opponent.

The player will start with an offensive kit able to deal with any opposition, but it will take you some time to learn the different properties of the techniques available to you. You can mix strong and fast attacks to build combos, on a single enemy or going from one opponent to the other. And as you progress and unlock new skills, you will have more options available to fit your playstyle and how you like to approach challenging situations. You will be able to knock your enemies down, push them back into their allies, stun them or disarm a threatening foe. It will be particularly useful as you start fighting more and more opponents at the same time.

Fights against multiple enemies are at the heart of the Sifu’s gameplay experience. We aimed at finding the right balance between having the player feeling surrounded and challenged, but not overwhelmed by the amount of aggression coming at the same time. We’ve chosen to use a dynamic lock system for the camera, to allow for quick and responsive swapping between multiple targets. We’ve worked on optimizing the game to ensure a stable 60FPS frame rate on PlayStation 4, as well as on PS4 Pro and PS5 of course, to provide a smooth and reactive experience. We want combat to feel like a back-and-forth motion, with enemies forcing the players to react, to use a variety of crowd control techniques and good positioning to prevail.

Beside relying on their favorite Pak Mei techniques, players will have to make clever use of the environment to overcome the unfavorable odds they will be facing. We have introduced usable elements to all combat situations, be it furniture you can toss into your enemies’ feet, throwable items, makeshift weapons or tables you can leap across. They add options for the players, who are free to approach a given situation from different angles.

Finally, players will be able to rely on precise and powerful techniques through the focus mechanic. Focus is a resource that builds up as you fight, filling up charges that you will progressively unlock during your playthrough. Using a focus charge will slow down time and allow you to choose a weak point of your opponent to perform a devastating technique, disabling or seriously wounding your enemy. Players will be able to access different focus attacks as they unlock new skills, allowing them to adapt to specific situations they struggle with.

This overview may give you an idea of what will be expected of you to learn kung fu and achieve your revenge in Sifu, but nothing replaces good practice.”

via Playstation Blog