Sifu is now ready to arrive, and for the occasion here is a guide on what you need to know before starting to play this intriguing title that follows the style of martial arts films
By now Sifu is almost on the home straight. The new title of sloclap, already authors of the interesting action game always based on martial arts The Absolver. The new title of the independent software house will arrive next 8 February, its PS5 e PS4 exclusively on console, while it will also arrive on PC exclusively onEpic Game Store. This interesting indie has amazed a lot since its announcement during Sony's State of Play exactly one year ago, in February 2021, and with each new trailer it has intrigued audiences more and more with its spectacular action scenes in full style. martial arts movies. While waiting for Sifu to arrive, in this guide we will tell you what you need to know about Sloclap's title.
An interactive martial arts film
It is no mystery that Sifu is inspired by classic martial arts films, and the settings and atmospheres seem clearly inspired by these historical films, going to mention great classics such as the films of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and even some specific sequences, such as one reminiscent of the Old Boy movie. The experience, from what has been shown so far, is based almost entirely on intense clashes with multiple opponents, until the inevitable end-of-level boss battle arrives.
The fights they are fast and more technical than it seems. The player will have four different types of defensive maneuvers, between the standard parry, the dodge, the counterattack made at the last second and a maneuver that allows you to dodge with precision shots from above or below in order to respond immediately. They will not fail then special techniques which will allow you to inflict penalties on opponents or knock them out in one hit. In fact, the enemies will have a pose bar, similar to that seen in Sekiro, which once broken by dint of blows allows you to finish the opponents in one move and also recover health.
Between roguelike and soulslike - Sifu: what to know before starting to play
One thing you need to know about Sifu is that it's not an easy game at all. Normal enemy hits will also be very harmful, and just a few unguarded punches and kicks will be enough to knock us out. The only way to recover health is to execute executions from what we know at the moment. Defeating the enemies will in fact be essential to survive the battles, not counting the fearsome battles with the bosses. As if that were not enough, always in the style of a martial arts film, it will happen that the last normal enemy left in a level gets a sudden power up to simulate a sort of mini boss battle that is to be interpreted as the spectacular closure of a martial arts choreography that leaves the strongest opponent for last.
Death, however, will not be the end of the adventure, in fact at every defeat we will be able to rise again with the malus of 'advancing age. Obviously we will not be able to resurrect indefinitely and when we reach a certain age it will be game over and we will have to start over either from the beginning of the current level, or we can choose to start the game over as if it were a kind of roguelike.
Sifu does not seem to be a very long game experience, but completing the title once will not be enough to discover all the secrets: the developers have in fact hinted that by finishing it several times with different ages of the character, it will be possible to obtain new rewards and probably some difference too at the end. Obviously one of the things that will push players to replay Sifu over and over again will be the challenge of being able to finish him at an ever younger age.
Not just fights - Sifu: what to know before starting to play
Sifu's focus is obviously on combat, but there will also be gods elements related to the investigation. In fact, in the levels there will be several possible paths to take, but not all of them will be accessible right away. By exploring the levels and questioning the defeated enemies, it will be possible to discover new paths and useful information that will be added to a special agenda called The Detective Board. One way to get information will be to take out enemies so quickly that the last one left will be intimidated and spill the beans.
Among the information we will find there will be shortcuts and precise locations of certain enemies that can then be used for speed up other runs in the future. For example, we will be able to cut the path towards the end of a level avoiding several enemies, and therefore limiting the risk of dying, so as to be able to reach the goal as soon as possible. In this way, in addition to having a bit of variety to replay levels already seen, you will be able to speed up the completion of the game after the first run.
The room is a weapon - Sifu: what to know before starting to play
To stay in theme with the great classics of the martial arts genre, in Sifu we will not fight only with our punches and kicks, but every element of the environment will be a weapon. In the game we will be able to obtain different weapons within the levels or by stealing them from enemies. In fact, we will find knives, sticks, swords and much more. These weapons will obviously make fighting much easier for us, but these will have a level of durability and after a few hits they will be unusable. It will therefore be necessary to measure the use of each instrument of death that we will find for the most difficult enemies.
In addition to actual weapons, we will be able to use any object in the levels against the enemies, and indeed you will have to use the environment to your advantage in any way. In some videos, for example, it is possible to see how in the level set in a night club, our protagonist cornered by some enemies climbs on the wall to reposition himself on the upper floor. At this point the enemies chase him through the stairs, but the player throws at them objects found in the level to injure them, managing to knock one down on the stairs and reversing the disadvantage. It will be interesting to see how varied the situations will be within Sifu.
From disciple to teacher - Sifu: what to know before starting to play
We already know that the levels within Sifu there will be a total of 5, each inspired by five Chinese elements: water, fire, earth, wood and metal. The esoteric elements inspired by the oriental world will be different within the game, such as for example the amulet inherited from our protagonist from his teacher who will allow him to get up and grow old instead of dying after each defeat. Aging will have advantages and disadvantages: with increasing age the experience of the protagonist will grow, which in the game will result in the possibility of obtaining new skills, while the health bar will decrease to simulate a physique no longer at the top of form as it is natural that it happens in old age.
In the game it will be possible to obtain different skills through one skill tree, but these, once unlocked, won't permanently enter our moveset. If we don't train ourselves enough in a relative skill this will be lost at the game over, while once trained properly it will be possible to maintain a skill even after being defeated, and indeed it can also be maintained in other runs of the game.
The wait for the battle
Come to the conclusion of this guide on what to know about Sifu remember that the title will be an exclusive console for PS4 and PS5 and on PC it will only arrive on the Epic Games Store. However, the developers have confirmed that the game will run at 60 FPS on both PS4 and PS5, and the latter will also run in 4K resolution.
Let us know in the comments what you think of the Sloclap game, and as always don't forget to follow {marca_origen} for more guides, news and much more from the world of video games. Also, consult the Instant Gaming catalog for always discounted games.
