Sifu’s story is a bit clichéd, as it’s a kung fu revenge story where the player is hunting down a group of thugs that murdered your family. Thanks to a magical talisman the player can resurrect, with the catch being that each time they do so they age. The older a player, the harder it is for them. This gives a sense of tension to the game that doesn’t exist in most rogue-likes, and also makes for a difficult experience where failure might lead to only more failure.
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While the game looks like a brawler in action, Sifu actively discourages button mashing. It plays more typical to a Soulslike game, where even the smallest enemies can cause massive amounts of damage if a player doesn’t play carefully. They will have to learn attack patterns and perform combos without interruption in order to make sure enemies don’t have opportunities to attack.
But gamers are wondering if this means that the game will be too difficult, or if Sifu manages to thread the needle of challenge and entertainment. This is what critics have to say:
“Sifu is a one-of-a-kind rogue-like that marries an engaging setup with sublime combat mechanics. It scratches that integral itch that fuels subsequent runs, and it tries its best to avoid the feeling that time has been wasted. Progression exists in many different forms, but Sloclap’s standout title pulls off one of the more impressive versions of it. Sifu shows players they are actually getting better at the game.”
Score: 4.5/5
Game Rant (Anthony Taormina)
“Like a 20-year-old combatant, Sifu comes out of the gate strong. Its core combat feels excellent, and the moment-to-moment action looks better than most Hollywood blockbusters. Sadly, as you progress, the action begins to show its teeth and eventually becomes a tiresome grind. Sifu deserves props for its incredible sense of style and tone, but it is also a great example of why growing old isn’t always fun.“
Score: 7.25/10
Game Informer (Ben Reeves)
“Sifu will likely ignite the difficulty debate once again, and it’s certainly a shame that more people won’t get to experience the game because of the barrier for entry. There’s design and mechanical justification for having such a steep learning curve, though, and it’s part of what makes Sifu so compelling. Your journey from student to master is thrilling, mainly because it’s governed by your own improving skill level rather than traditional character progression.“
Score: 9/10
GameSpot (Richard Wakeling)
“From the very first punch, Sifu is utterly uncompromising in its design. Absolver developer Sloclap’s latest martial arts beat-em-up is bold, its combat exquisite, its animation top-notch, its music outstanding, and its story – while very simple – is poignant and elegantly told. It’s also unforgiving and unapologetic, with pockets of frustrating moments during which I was certainly not in my happy place. But by the end, Sifu offered me a nearly unparalleled sense of mastery and accomplishment, and I can’t imagine that I would’ve enjoyed it half as much if it pulled its punches.”
Score: 9/10
IGN (Mitchell Saltzman)
“Sifu is The Protector or The Raid of video games – playable fight choreography that’s as graceful as it is brutal. Every fight is dangerous, every blow you land meaningful, and there’s plenty of room for showboating combos and techniques. From art direction to level design and gameplay, it’s stylish from start to finish.“
USAToday (Kirk McKeand)
“In the same way as Sifu‘s main character grows up, it demands players do as well. The game won’t hold your hand, and it certainly won’t offer any room to breathe. Instead, it throws players into a difficult fight, telling them to grow up and figure it out. The game is merciless, but the reward for solving its combat puzzles is immense. Figuring out what works when and where attacks fit means players can become ruthlessly efficient, matching Sifu‘s revenge-fueled character.”
Score: 4.5/5
Digital Trends (Otto Kratky)
“Rhythm is at the heart of Sifu’s combat. It’s unbelievable how fluid the game is in motion. You can throw any attacks out and they’ll all link together naturally. I ended up getting sent into a pseudo-meditative flow state during most of the fights, not too dissimilar from the Batman: Arkham games. All of the encounters carry a feeling of action and reaction, as if you’re following a dance partner’s footwork and trying to match it.“
RockPaperShotgun (Jai Singh Bains)
“Because none of the above works if combat isn’t fun. And Sifu’s combat isn’t just fun, it’s satisfying and addictive, it’s nuanced and intuitive, it oozes charisma and it’s damn challenging – all the while powered, for the most part, by just four buttons: light attack, strong attack, block and dodge. Still, players can expect to unleash over 150 moves through a variety of combos – many of which harness the special abilities noted earlier, some of which involve activating a range of slow-motion, limb-targeting Focus Attacks – while making use of environmental weapons such as wooden staffs, table legs, bricks, bottles, baseball bats, katanas, and malleable iron pipes to name but a few of the tools at your disposal.“
GamesRadar (Joe Donnelly)
Overall it seems as if critics are really taken with Sifu’s action mechanics, although the difficulty can be a sticking point. It seems similar to a Dark Souls title, in that if a player puts the time and effort into the game they will be rewarded. It’s just a question of whether the player likes challenging experiences or finds them off-putting.
Sifu’s PS5 version stands at 81 on Metacritic as of this writing, indicating generally favorable reviews. This is far higher than developer Slocap’s Absolver, which scored 62 and 69 on Xbox One and PS4, respectively, and a good indication that Slocap has used everything they learned in making action titles for their latest.
While the producers of the game have taken care not to call the game a roguelike, it’s hard not to see it as one, especially as they have revealed that players will need to make “multiple runs” to truly understand what’s going on in Sifu. There are secrets that encourage replays, a feature that rogue-likes such as Hades have used to perfection.
Sifu will be released on February 8, 2022, for PC and PS4/PS5.
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