Sifu Reviews
It all meshes together into a game that's far too difficult and without the satisfaction that comes from making progress in a difficult game. It's like bashing your head against the wall, and unlike other games with this approach, the wall isn't starting to crumble. The wall has grown a smug, laughing face as it prepares to take away one of your character's most important abilities, just in time for the final boss battle.
Though Sifu features a few dialogue choices and scenes throughout its campaign where you don’t have to fight anyone, its surface-level engagement with martial arts film iconography betrays a lack of humanity that feels typical of works created well outside of the culture that they intend to depict. The game’s story grouses about the downsides of seeking vengeance, but this is plainly the work of people who like to fast forward to the fight scenes.
I played the 2nd level of Sifu so many damn times trying to grind my way through unlocking more moves that I’m sick of it. I get that there’s a grind to it, but I think most games like this put a carrot on the end of the stick. Grinding through Sifu felt like just being beaten with a stick. I think it's also worth noting that Sifu was developed by an all-white European development team and some aspects of the game do come off as culturally tone-deaf. I suggest checking out this article by Khee Hoon Chan for more about that aspect of Sifu. There are so many games out there that do what Sifu does only better. Honestly, if you want a punishing grind where your efforts will actually pay off you’re probably better off just taking a Kung-Fu class in real life.
Sifu is a game that I wanted to love. I had high hopes for it being one of my game of the year contenders, but it left me feeling intensely deflated instead. It's a game that confuses the precise mechanical difficulty of Sekiro with a forced difficulty brought on by simply giving bosses armour. I find myself irrationally angry with Sifu. Sifu is a game that had exceptional potential, but squandered it on the wrong lessons.
Sifu is a game that could have been something amazing, with its fascinating premise and superbly crafted and fluid combat mechanics and animations. However, the game’s frustrating need to make the gameplay ridiculously hard just left me tired and annoyed. Sloclap really needs to think about how they can make this game more accessible, possibly by including more shortcuts, an adjustable difficulty setting, or just lowering the impact of health lost from fighting your average foe. Hopefully they will bring in some patches that will address these issues, but as it stands, I’d wait before investing time in the world of Sifu.
Arenas is more geared towards those who like to challenge hunt and make completionist runs on games.
A demanding combat system makes Sifu incredibly satisfying to play, but the game’s haphazard homage to Asian culture is filled with flaws.
If Sloclap wanted to make Sifu hard, they could have done it without making players have to re-do most of the game from the beginning. Earning and keeping shortcuts should feel rewarding, but in Sifu it only seems like it is a solution to a problem the developers created.
When taken as but a sampling of the entire experience, there does still linger some joy to savor in the combat and manner of challenge posed in Sifu. Set-pieces that unashamedly kick off with questions being asked and players put on the back-foot, even if said sequences never evolve beyond such basic a pitch as clearing out groups of foes.
But it didn't and despite my efforts, Sifu constantly met me with a passing disinterest in its subjects and a reckless deployment of imagery it didn't seem to entirely understand, all the while passing itself off as admiration. Its weak writing and poor characterization strips the game's characters and settings of tension and texture and the lens of the game's creators seems to forget the people and culture at the heart of the movies they love to invoke. I don't think I can square that away and I'm not sure anyone should have to.
Sifu is one of those games that sounds amazing in concept but is flawed in its execution. Playing as the unnamed martial arts master feels badass when it works, but once those deaths start to pile up, Sifu becomes such a punishing game that, more often than not, it will see you rage quitting the game for something more balanced and refined.
Spectacular gain is preceded by drawn-out pain in this martial arts adventure where fighting prowess is the carrot and ageing is the stick
As a straight action game the core combat is elegant and original but the roguelite structure makes the already mountainous difficulty just too much to bear.
While The Final Update doesn't necessarily break new ground for the kung-fu brawler, it certainly punctuates the completion of the game. While previous updates for Sifu may have felt more impactful, Sifu The Final Update provides hours of more difficult content for those skilled enough to take on the challenge.
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.
Sifu is a complex, albeit rewarding action game that packs one mean punch. It’s a little too hard for its own good at times, but taking the time to overcome its challenges can be pretty fulfilling. That said, the game is grossly drenched in exoticism, which kind of puts a damper on things.
If you're looking for a real beat'-em-up challenge, Sifu's got it, but it's not as fair as it is tough.
When it comes to judging the Switch version of Sifu, things get a little tricky. At its core, it is still the same Sifu, and it's coming with all the extra content that has been pushed out since release, so fans and newcomers alike will still have the same great experience getting to grips with its frantic and reactive combat, but is it the best version of Sifu? Not really. If you've played Sifu on PlayStation or PC, there are a few noticeable differences that do detract from the experience and demote this version to last place. All things considered, it is still the same Sifu, and playing it in the palm of your hand is a satisfying and powerful experience that shouldn't be ignored if you have not played Sifu before.
Earlier impressions on Sifu’s camera issues have not been resolved either, and getting cornered by enemies would be less punishing with a more sensibly directed viewable angle. For beat ’em up fans starved for new games to play, Sifu remains an obvious recommendation. Even those taken by its copious charms will want for more after they’ve seen it all, however.