Sifu Reviews
When everything falls into place, and you hit that flow-state mastery of Sifu’s combat, it becomes one of the most unique and refreshing action games that we have seen in a while. Add in some beautiful artwork and great homages to kung fu classics, and this game is a winner. Its challenging and repetitious nature won't be for everybody; however, If you’re in the market for a game with mechanics that you can really sink your teeth into, Sifu is your best bet.
Sifu is surprisingly difficult, at a level that will deter most players. However, getting past that wall will reward you with an amazingly crafted game that stays true to the developer’s vision, one that celebrates kung fu and its core meaning.
Sifu combines precise martial arts combat with a clever aging system, creating a unique beat ’em up experience. Its tough but fair difficulty rewards careful strategy and skill. Sifu’s clean visuals, smooth animation, and immersive soundtrack complement its fast-paced action. If you enjoy challenging combat and learning from your mistakes, Sifu is right for you.
Sifu is an action-heavy roguelite love letter to the kung fu film. But as the characters in those films are plagued by challenge and strife, so too may be the player.
Sifu is a gem of the medium. The team at Sloclap has gifted us a game with a level of gameplay and visual refinement that hasn't been seen in years. It's not a game to play with your brain turned off, but it’s meticulously balanced, and with a bit of effort and patience, you could find yourself experiencing one of the most satisfying gaming experiences of recent years. In a gaming world now saturated with massive productions, works like Sifu—smaller in scope but so precise and refined—are now essential, both for the industry and especially for us gamers.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Sifu will show no mercy. It's a well thought out game, superbly combining an addictive gameplay and a unique combat system, that high challenge and martial arts enthusiasts will enjoy to the fullest.
Sifu is a Kung-fu masterpiece that puts you right in the shoes of a martial arts master. Though you’ll have to put in the hard work to get there, it is a rewarding ride that comes with a real sense of accomplishment when you reach the end. It’s striking art style, fluid animation, brutal combat, combined with it’s unique death & rebirth mechanic comes together to create a game that is truly fun and rewarding to play.
Sifu does two things extremely well. The first of those is its callback to the old school era of Kung Fu movies I grew up on, with the second being delivering a brilliantly crafted and breakneck-paced combat system that manages to be enjoyed long after other elements of the game wear thin.
This is the best beat-’em-up game I’ve played since Streets of Rage 4, and I cheesed through that too.
With an abundance of new content, Sloclap's re-release of Sifu makes this demanding game more approachable and fun without sacrificing its challenging gameplay.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If you’re a huge fan of beat-em-ups or crazy martial arts action Sifu delivers, but you’ll need to work for it!
SIFU is a tough and unforgiving experience, but it's also capable of being highly rewarding. It highlights the authors' love for action movies such as John Wick or The Matrix, thanks also to several references found in the new Arena mode, which further extends an already excellent longevity. If you feel like putting yourself to the test and do not fear a rather high level of challenge, it's definitely recommended.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If you can find a way to break through the difficulty barrier, there's a fantastic brawler on offer here that I definitely think is the template going forward to bring the 2D scrolling beat 'em ups into the 3D world. Where previous efforts like Die Hard Arcade didn't quite stick the landing, SIFU definitely takes home the gold.
Despite the many small criticisms in detail, Sifu is a really good game, but not necessarily aimed at everyone. The target audience should love challenges and be able to handle gaming frustration. The super easy difficulty level should be accessible to more gamers, but honestly didn't really pick me up. You could get through it without having any major problems. The levels are really beautifully designed and the battle system is absolutely successful. It's just incredibly fun to master the buttons and complete sections almost perfectly and destroy the enemies completely. The story is honestly an absolute minor matter, but offers some fun characters and connections. Sifu is a little gem whose color may not appeal to everyone, but is definitely worth a first and second look if you're ever looking for a challenging title for your console.
Review in German | Read full review
Sifu was one of the surprises of the year and now it makes its way to Nintendo Switch in a more than correct version. We have the usual sacrifices in visual quality and performance in exchange for being able to play this demanding beat'em up anywhere. With its interesting playable mechanics and its staging, Sifu has earned the good reviews it has garnered and has become an experience that all beat'em up lovers should enjoy.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Sifu is a competent action game that manages to transport you straight to an old Jackie Chan movie. The fluidity and rhythm dictated by the title are impressive, and the feeling of memorizing combos and moving around the environment destroying hordes of challenging enemies will excite most players from beginning to end. Apart from structural issues such as the high level of difficulty and the constant repetition of similar challenges, unfortunately it is the Nintendo Switch hardware itself that appears as the biggest antagonist. If possible, it's best to opt for a console with fewer performance issues to get the most out of what martial arts has to offer.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Sifu is a great game for those who love fighting games. Lots of combos to learn, and some awesome finishers to go with it. However, the story is a basic revenge story and the levels are very linear. If this doesn't sound like your kind of thing, don't bother. However, if it does, maybe get it on something other than a switch, just a suggestion.
If you can master it, Sifu is every wannabe martial artist’s dream. However, its brutal difficulty can impact the fun factor and will likely force many to give up.
Except for camera problems and the occasional minor bug, I have nothing to complain about the game. Yes, one might argue that the absence of procedurally generated location games is detrimental, but the title with the locations it has worked great as far as possible. Sifu thus takes a recommendation of 9 points out of 10. The difficulty is pleasantly balanced, so the good old statement "git gud" really applies here.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Sifu is the perfect representation of why the martial arts genre is so beloved by many and tackled through various mediums through the years. The amount of detail in the moves shown in this game empowers the player, making you feel like you can take on the world. The difficulty may be a turn-off to some, but the difficulty options added recently make it a more accessible game in comparison to how the game first launched in February, giving a chance for more players to experience how much of a gem this game really is, and how much it can inspire future games aimed at delivering a similar experience.