Asked for a review code for this and was shocked to get one- couldn't be happier this was the stupid-ass game I attempted to gain some professional credibility on. A tremendous experience.

After much consideration:

I liked it.

Honestly, I could've filled out the list with some of the older games I returned to this year: got a 1CC in ZeroRanger, gained a deeper appreciation for Wild Guns, and finally saw the vision for this- give Bot Vice a chance, and it reveals itself to be one of the most densely-packed arcade games of the past few years. Great stages and pacing, and a surprising willingness to bring up new ideas, all the way up to the very end!

One of the biggest pleasures of the year has been participating in the Beach-Gen Game Club, and one of my biggest regrets has been not talking enough while on it- would have been worth articulating how cohesive I ended up finding this. Distinctly un-Nintendo-like in its hostility on both a thematic and mechanical level, and deeply admirable from Miyamoto:



"I get pissed when I see something that underestimates children. Kids aren't stupid. They may not understand everything in the world, but it's obvious to me that they are intelligent."

Kamiya cites it as an inspiration, and that probably makes it worth a playthrough for any long-time fans of his- a familiar mix of deceptively strong fundamentals, gonzo setpieces, and an earnest story that manages to hit all its melodramatic notes.

Deeply flawed, but feels like a sign of the times- a skeleton crew of developers successfully managing to make the kind of big, immersive single-player journey that used to be solely the realm of AAA studios. A newfound appreciation for Doom's bestiary has made the shortcomings with its enemy roster more noticeable in comparison, especially in Afterglow, but I think the combined effect is still pretty remarkable.

Steam says I only played this for a few hours, but it managed to stay in my mind far longer than I would've expected. Really playful premise and surprising reactivity to your choices- only managed to find one route to a clean getaway during my time with it. One to revisit in 2024, I think.

https://youtu.be/fSqh_oUCRIE?si=J3yJtlAmi6TxbnjG

Loved it. Genuine shame PixelArts never worked on anything else, but their sole release comes is shockingly close to perfect.

I've tried to find a balance between personal enjoyment and some kind of objective metric for any game I'd rate 5 stars, and Sifu feels like a prime example of that. As much I value it for its structure and arcade focus (which I think it excels at), the other half of its lasting appeal has come from the fact that it got me back into marital arts after a decade of inactivity. Couldn't ask for more from a game.