After spending several years of life and death without return, today we talk about SIFU; the last work of Sloclap (Absolver).
SIFU It is available for PC, PS4 and PS5.
The classic story of revenge: nothing beats him
Well without a doubt, when we see a martial arts movie or those action tapes from the 80s/90s we would never have been picky about what they were telling us. The story was always similar, a relative was kidnapped, a family member or friend was murdered; or also the excuse of a tournament to measure forces (which very commonly turns into revenge).
With SIFU no twists and turns; although if a hidden mystery. Our protagonist is a young man who witnesses the death of his father at the hands of five villains. The enemies do not want to leave evidence and one cuts off our heads. For some reason, we wake up and come back to life but with a strange talisman. Without many laps, we start training to end each of those responsible for the death of our father.
No place for wimps
SIFU It is a game that on the one hand has a simple construction to explain. There are 5 levels against five final enemies in areas with a lot of movement that go from buildings, museums or nightclubs. Each place has a lot of personality and also logic within the boss that we are going to face. But where does the originality of the game lie?
After a few titles that work as a tutorial and we face each of the bosses (as if it were that easy), we arrive at our base of operations. Here we have our blackboard with all the data and collectibles that we are going to find in each level and where we cross out the villain when we eliminate him.
There is a training area to fight and polish our techniques and a tree that allows us to acquire movements according to our experience points and age.
Finally, there is the table where we select which zone we want to go to.
SIFU start the game with our 20 year old character. With each death our talisman sacrifices a coin (we have a total of five). In this menu we can spend experience points on skills, each one appropriate to our age. Since at first we lose a year when we come back to life, then two, three, four; etc. Until we reach the age of 70 and it’s game over. It also happens if we run out of coins. The logic of all this is that while we are young we have more abilities and we are faster with a higher life bar. The more we grow we move slower but we gain experience and more damage.
Finding balance in this system is part of what makes SIFU one of the most complex games of recent years.
If we think of it as a rogue-like. It is not necessary to finish all five scenarios in one go. But if you are going to be playing the first levels over and over again, why? When we finish a level we go to the next with the age we are. If we remove the game and want to start from the second or third level, we will have the minimum age with which we got there. If you passed the 30 years and you are in the second level; it will be impossible (or very difficult) to finish the whole game.
The devs found the ability for you to go back through the levels, try again and it doesn’t feel repetitive. With shortcuts and secrets as a bonus.
Speaking of the fight itself. SIFU it’s a beat ’em up or me against the neighborhood but in 3D. In each place we arrive there is a certain number of enemies, some weaker and some stronger.
In my experience with the game there are two possibilities to win. One is to hopefully break all the buttons and grind mindlessly. I don’t recommend it. The other is with patience.
Our character has a balance bar and a concentration bar. The balance is what allows us to make a parry or defense. When it breaks is when they hurt us. A well-timed parry results in more damage or a great finisher that looks pretty to look at.
The concentration bar is like a slow motion where the range of special abilities that we unlock opens.
When we overcome an area and the enemies are a little stronger, sometimes they take away a death, they give us a little life and we fill up the concentration bar.
To make it “easier” there are also some figures that allow us to acquire only one reward that translates into greater recovery of life, more damage with weapons; etc.
If you managed to understand everything explained, SIFU it feels so realistic in its movements that it’s the ultimate kung-fu experience in a video game. Between pineapples and kicks, pirouettes over a table and some weapons such as bats, knives, katanas and broken bottles.
Between references and minimalism
SIFU It owes a lot of its history and fights to Asian cinema (obviously). From the Jackie Chan movies where every object was a weapon; even some explicit references to classic scenes like the corridor of «Oldboy». I mention this because you have to recognize the great level design that the game has that makes it feel so good within the action and martial arts genre.
Much of the visual style, minimalist and not very expressive (in the case of faces) comes from Absolve; the previous Sloclap game. Our attention lies in the muscles and the detail of how we feel each blow. There is a very serious research work and surely you will find several analyzes of combat experts that prove it on the internet.
System Requirements
Operating System: Windows 10 (in its 64-bit version) – Processor: Intel Core i5-3470 @ 3.20 GHz or AMD FX-4350 @ 4.20 GHz. – Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce GT 640 or AMD Radeon R7 250. – RAM memory: 8 GB. – Storage: 22 GB of available space.