Sifu is a rather special game for me. And because of several reasons. First and foremost, it signals a return to my good old Filmaholic Gamer Reviews. I’ve been away from my usual rookie reviews for quite some time. And I’ve missed it, to be honest. Secondly, Sifu is a rather special game because it’s a fairly new game. It was released at the start of this year. We love new releases here at IndieGala, that’s for sure.
But I was also excited about Sifu because of the genre itself. I don’t think I’ve played beat-em-up games before and yes. I enjoyed it very much. Granted when I first heard of it, I thought it would be a game similar to Taken. Now, I’m no stranger to Tekken. I love Tekken, with a capital L. And yes. I already did an article about it. You can read all about it here. However, much to my delightful surprise it was nothing like Tekken.
But What’s Sifu All About You Might Ask?
Well, in essence, it’s a revenge story. You play as a Kung Fu student that’s on a path of revenge. You start the game as a child, and you end it as an adult. But along the way you’re hunting for the ones responsible for their father’s death. And you’re kicking ass in the meantime. However, if there’s a choice to play with a female or a male character, and you know me. I’m gonna pick a lady. Always. I did it with Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (check it out here) and I did it here in Sifu. Oh, and I named her Jackie.
After Jackie Chan haha. But I gotta admit something right in front of this article. This is one tough game. Well, it was for me anyway. It took me a while to get the hang of the mechanics, the camera movement and the fighting altogether. The combat if you will. Granted, in my slightly ignorant way, I thought it would be similar to Tekken (mostly because I have the most experience in Tekken when it comes to fighting games). But oh no. I needed to learn everything the hard way. And I had to start over several times. Which made even the second level a bit of a pickle for me and my nerves. Yes, I did have several fits of rage, don’t judge me.
Sifu Got Better Though…
I promise it did. Once I learned the patterns of my opponents sure. But I did gain some cool skills along the way too. For instance, the Strong Sweep Focus was a great skill to have. And yes. The Charged Backfist too.
But when it comes to the fights there were also a couple that gives me a headache. And a bunch of angrier fits of rage as well. The fight with Kuroki the artist posed a challenge for sure, and so did the fight with Jinfeng. The CEO.
As I said… Things got better for me in Sifu, but before they could get better, they got hella worse.
The Good And The Bad In Sifu
Right off the bat, the intro is one hell of a good intro. You do a bit of shadowboxing with your future opponents. And coincidently you get to practice your moves as well. Which was kinda nice I gotta admit.
Here’s another thing that fascinated me. One district thing about Sifu is the interesting aging process of my protagonist. Every time I died, I got resurrected in the game, I got resurrected and made stronger. However, that came with a cost. I aged progressively with each resurrection, as it added to my age. Sure. My strikes were much more powerful, but I was having the health of my grandma. And I don’t know If I’d characterize this as a bad or a good thing… But it definitely made things difficult for me. Interesting as well, but difficult no doubt. Oh and here’s a thing.
Aging Not Gracefully?
Yup. At the start of playing this game, I took my husband’s advice and deliberately died and died in order to see how I’d look when I was in my 70s. You know just for fun. Well, I looked like a grandma. Started as a 20-year-old… Finished it as a grandma. Albeit ass-kicking, revenge-seeking grandma. But still. A grandma. I had wrinkles and grey hair. Hey, even my clothes changed as I was aging. Started it again and then did my best to stay young, but yeah. That one time was just for fun. Surely I can’t be the only one who tried this? Let me know if you have too.
But what was positive for me was the setting and art direction. At times it gave me Oldboy vibes, and it times the game looked like something of a wacky Tarantino movie. Which again. Isn’t a bad thing. It even had some cool music to complement the whole experience. And I must say…
Sifu Was A Cool Experience For Me
It really was. I had a blast despite the level of difficulty I had with it. I mean, up to this one I was so used to my point and click games, that every single game I play seems way too hard. But among the struggle, I had so much fun. And that’s all that matters.
Sifu and Sifu- Delixe Edition are available for purchase here at IndieGala. Just click here and here.
