Sifu is satisfying as it is unforgiving. The difficulty may deter impatient players like myself, but what lies past the difficulty curve it is a very satifsying game that makes me feel like the kung fu master as portrayed in movies I love such as Enter the Dragon.

It took me an entire playthrough on student mode to practice the timing of the gameplay, but once it clicked, I was able to weather the storms of the standard difficulty and survive this journey. I would love a martial arts hack and slash, but the experience I got with the relentlessness of this game was very much enlightening.

Mi mejor amigo a la edad de 7, me contó que había monjes que pegaban pequeños pero rápidos puñetazos a un muro durante años. Esto, que a priori no es más que una curiosidad y parece un sacrificio de fakir en vez de un entrenamiento, resulta que les endurece de manera extrema los nudillos y en combate les hace demoledores.

Demoledor es perder a alguien que representa un pilar en tu vida.

Me imagino al personaje protagonista de SIFU aprendiendo toda esa sabiduría de su padre/sensei/sifu y albergando en sí todos esos recuerdos magníficos que calan hondo y utilizándolos como leña que aviva el fuego de la venganza.

Si tuviera que idear un videojuego a medida para nuestros yos (de mi amigo y yo mismo) de hace 22 años , los que se apuntaron a judo y karate respectivamente, es probable que fuera similar a este. En su momento, lo que encontramos fue tekken 5 y dragon ball budokai (tenkaichi) 3. En tekken veíamos (o eso creíamos) reflejados algunos movimientos de los artes marciales que habíamos aprendido y nos movia la espectacularidad, el amor por el combate y el enfrentamiento competitivo (sin toxicidad).

Por otro lado ambos amábamos tanto dragon ball z que nos pasábamos el día simulando peleas de la serie o simplemente luchando con la espectacularidad (siempre en nuestra mente) de la misma.

Hablo de todo esto porque al igual que nosotros generamos algo maravilloso (nuestra amistad) motivado por el amor al combate y las peleas, SIFU despega y va hasta el infinito en el momento que calmamos nuestra ira y nos equilibramos, nos templamos y conseguimos perdonar. El fuerte posee el puño para enseñar al oponente que no debe usarse.

A pesar de toda la vorágine de hostias, mamporros, tortas y mecos, SIFU consigue en su verdadero final, la paz. Y aunque en el audiovisual siempre se nos haya contado la misma historia de venganza como algo tremendamente estético y atractivo, sabemos que lo que realmente reconforta es una palmada en la espalda, una conversación y el sosiego.

Hace tiempo que no veo a mi amigo. Ojalá darle un abrazo.

Sifu is cool. A martial arts revenge story where your character ages as they die is a dope idea on paper and, for the most part, Slocap is able to make a fun and interesting game.

At the same time, Sifu doesn't feel like a game that reaches its full potential. While Sifu is good for the most part, camera issues, a lack of enemy diversity, and difficulty that will turn many away leaves the experience a bit of a disappointment, despite some of the fun I had with it.

While luckily after some patches, the difficulty issues aren't as bad as they were at launch, it is still a game that is a chore to get through at times. For me, the enemies all felt like damage sponges. Even as you die and reach ages where you're supposed to be stronger, it never really feels like that much of a difference.

The camera also didn't help with this. I constantly found myself in a position where the camera was cutting off my full vision of whomever I was fighting, unable to fully see if they were attacking. For a game with difficulty like Sifu's, having these technical issues possibly be the thing that causes me to die or shift the fight to where I'm suddenly on the ropes or near death is super frustrating.

I also had some issues with the auto targeting from time to time where I'd go to attack someone, only for the game to try and attack someone nearby instead. Normally these would be smaller issues but since the game is asking for near flawlessness in order to survive, these things can shift your playthrough in seconds and turn a solid run into something where you're now having to restart completely.

Luckily, one of the things this game does provide is level shortcuts that you can unlock by exploring areas and finding keys to help unlock alternate paths. Once you find these keys, they stay with you forever, so if you've beaten a level but want to lower your age, you can restart with the items you've obtained and cut through some of the enemies. I wish some of these short cuts were more even though as some will push you right to the boss of a level while others will leave you having to push through a decent amount of enemies still before arriving to the boss.

The story, while really solid at first, tends to fade into the background pretty quickly. It makes sticking with it, through the constant trial and error, that much more difficult when the things you're learning and the story unfolding isn't all that interesting.

Despite all of my complaints though, when the gameplay lines up and you get a little luck on your side or you learn the trick to giving yourself the advantage against a boss or a stage area, the game play can get really satisfying and cool. It's those moments though that make the grind and frustrating parts that much more frustrating because they can flip in an instant.

If you enjoy a tough game, Sifu might be just for you. The game can be incredibly satisfying. For me though, those frustrations just held back the incredible potential this game possesses.

Sifu is the newest game from the studio that brought you Absolver, and it is a high octane, quick paced Kung-Fu action film akin to the works of John Woo, or Wilson Yip in video game form. The story follows our protagonist who witnesses the murder of his father/master at the hands of a former student. Now it is up to him to claim his revenge on those who sought to bring an end to his family with the help of his magical pendants which allow him to survive guaranteed death at the cost of aging one year at a time. The game is a third person over the shoulder Kung-Fu simulator where you have to choreograph your moves in real time whether it's light attacks, heavy attacks, dodges, parries, and blocks which is easy to learn, but hard to master. However once you master the base mechanics that this game has to offer you will be flying through enemies and levels at a breakneck pace in the most satisfying way possible. You will be clearing rooms as a one man army, and it will leave you feeling not only badass, but invincible. I highly recommend Sifu to anyone who is a fan of quick paced action games as there are tons of fun combos, and new skills to learn to become the ultimate Kung-Fu master.

This game was more frustrating than satisfying for me.
The Difficulty is all over the place. I've spent around 1 hour just on the 3rd boss. The 2nd phase is actually my favourite from this game, because you can actually predict its attacks. But the 1st phase is awful.
I feel like I've beaten the final boss more by luck than skill. I can't react fast enough to his attacks, it's difficult for me to tell what he is going to do.
Punches feel kind of weak. Controls are a bit stiff. Parry timing is very strict.
Maybe I'm just bad at the game, but I didn't have that much fun with it and I don't feel the need to keep playing to improve my scores/finish at a younger age.

Un muy buen juego que si te gustan las artes marciales lo vas a flipar mucho.

Eso sí, aclarar que precisamente lo que menos me ha gustado es su mecánica principal del envejecimiento del personaje. El castigo es demasiado para un juego que es muy difícil y necesita del continuo ensayo y error para dominar sus mecánicas. Eso provoca que esté alargado artificialmente para su corta duración.

De hecho, cuando más lo he disfrutado ha sido jugándolo en “fácil” porque ha permitido que me flipe con el combate y afronte cada situación de manera que quisiera y más divertida a mi gusto.

Now that's a game, even Switch's limiting hardware can't malign the breathtaking experience that is sifu.

The gameplay is versatile enough to accommodate a few different playstyles, which disregards the lack of enemy variety. The gameplay loop is extremely rewarding for what it is. I like how small scaled and well packaged it is. Perfectly bite-sized.

Let the flames of aggression burn with wude!