Playtime: 24h.
After being done with Simon on Clair Obscur, I needed a palate cleanser. Something short but entertaining enough, since I wouldn’t have much time to sink my teeth on some long title before the Christmas break.
While consuming content related to E33 (I know, I know, I’ll stop talking about it; eventually) I heard its publisher, Kepler Interactive, get constantly mentioned as publishing good indie titles, such as Sifu. That rang a bell. “Hey, I have that game!”, I thought. I even started it, but never finished it!
I quickly checked my Epic library and there it was. 2h of playtime. Abandoned after being done with the 1st level. I don’t think I rage quit or anything like that, but likely saved it for later.
But enough backstory. The game has amazing combat. It is very satisfying, and can be played in many different styles.
Wanting to hone and prove my gaming skills, I tried to play as aggressively as possible, eventually falling back to a more reactive / counter-attacking approach for mini and level boss fights. While entertaining, it is not how you SHOULD play to be able to get the true ending (well, maybe unless you’re a teenager at the top of your gaming skills and reflexes).
I really liked the aging mechanism to deal with failures. It is forgiving enough that you clear a level on your first attempt, but requires mastery and finesse to be able to clear it without considerable aging.
I wrote that the game forced me to play differently to be able to truly finish it, and I don’t love it when a game takes my freedom away, but it was something that made sense in this game’s world, so it was entirely forgivable for Sifu.
Although the narrative was quite predictable, the story is interesting enough that you want to collect the bits of exposure spread here and there to increase immersion, and the boss fights were all very different, entertaining, and felt worthwhile.
Visually, the game has a strong art direction and some astonishing set pieces. I caught myself pausing on almost every room of the museum level to have a look around and appreciate the visual design.
The “John Wick meets old Kung Fu movies” vibe is intoxicating and highly immersive. Some moments were highly satisfying and I couldn’t keep myself from bobbing my head or laughing out loud during “I see what you did there” moments.
If you like martial arts and feel like tackling a decently challenging brawler with Souls-like elements and a unique twist, then I definitely recommend you give Sifu a go.