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.

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!

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.

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

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.

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.

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

After much consideration:

I liked it.

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."

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.