#sifu age
Bread’s Game Journal 04/25/22: I’ve Beaten Sifu Six Times And I Can’t Stop.
Sifu is an obsession with me, at this point. What started out as a game I was immediately interested in from the reviews, has turned into a game that stands no chance of losing the top spot in my personal GOTY rankings this year. There’s so many things to talk about it in regards to why I feel this way, but the number one reason is always just going to come down to how much of a joy it is just to play.
Maybe I shouldn’t even really be surprised by that, when I think about it. The game is built around the concept of playing levels over and over again until you can get through them without a flaw, after all. I guess I just didn’t expect for it to get it’s hooks in me quite as deep as it actually did! I can reliably beat the first three bosses without taking any deaths, and the thugs they employ between me and them don’t even stand a chance! It all feels fantastic to play.
For so long I’ve wanted a game like this, and before now I got versions of it that we’re halfway there, but never quite what I needed. The Batman Arkham games, are good examples, the free flow of those games combat was always the best feeling Kung-Fu style gameplay in the business. Sleeping Dogs, as well, deserves a mention here, for the way it blended more brawler style gameplay in with the type of flowing combat found in Batman, but again, doesn’t match what Sifu now brings to the table.
I know Sloclap has made combat focused games before, but I desperately hope the keep up this level of quality in the future of their dev. A bright future, I might predict. Every fiber of my being hopes they release some kind of expansion, or a level randomizer, or anything. Just something to give me an excuse to keep playing Sifu! Not that I really need one right now anyway! Playthrough number seven is already underway, and none of you can stop me.
Bread’s Game Journal 02/22/22: In Sifu, Mercy is The Coolest Feeling In The World.
*Spoilers for Sifu*
There’s something truly unique about the way Sifu handles the idea of a New Game Plus that leads to a secret ending. Unlike a lot of other games that go with this setup, it doesn’t take all that long. Nor is achieving the proverbial “True” ending actually all that difficult. A statement that sounds bizarre when you consider how difficult the game itself has been up to this point, but then, that’s just the thing.
As a reminder, the only way to get the true ending in Sifu is to understand that vengeance won’t solve anything, and exploit the hidden mercy mechanic in each of the boss fights. Essentially via letting all the bosses know that you can easily kill them, but are choosing not to, by breaking their structure meter twice in one fight. Doing so sounds like it’s going to be a hassle, some of these bosses are a huge pain to beat at all, let alone beating in a specific way that requires you to be actively careful not to kill them.
The thing is though, it isn’t. By the point in the game that you’re going back to fight all these bosses again, if you’re anything like me, they don’t stand a chance. Fajar becomes utterly predictable and can be beaten flawlessly before he even really has a chance to gain the upper hand. Shaun, a total nightmare when you first fight him, has become a big predictable lug who will fall victim to your kidney punch stuns over and over until the battle is over. Even Kuriko, who’s extreme speed and difficult to predict patterns can’t stand up to you after you’ve fought her a dozen times trying to get your age down for the next run during your first playthrough.
This new lack of difficulty from a previously brutally difficult game makes you, the player, feel just as you should in these mercy giving situations. In the story of the game, the lead character wants these kung-fu masters to know that he’s easily beaten them, and that they have to live with that knowledge. A feeling that translates perfectly to the player when you just trounced a boss that used to kick your ass up and down the room.
I’ll be real, there’s a not insignificant chance that Sifu is my game of the year. Still too early to completely tell, but I doubt I’m going to feel the same things I felt playing this game again. I urge anyone who likes action games to give it a try.
