How a cult classic from 2006 inspired Sifu's newest and coolest feature

gamesradar.com:

Sifu grabbed me with both hands and didn't let go when I first played it earlier this year. It slapped me about, left me for dead, and, by way of its unique aging mechanic, demanded that I immediately get back onto my feet and go again. What began with me shuffling off this mortal coil at the age of 75, battered and bruised, halfway through its nightclub second level, ended with me whipping the final boss's ass in its fifth and final stage as a late 30-something-year-old Chinese martial arts expert. Fighting its hordes of faceless baddies, five charismatic end-of-zone champions, and, of course, the merciless hands of time in Sifu is addictive. And while I've since managed to pry myself from Sloclap's alluring action fighter, I'm now ready to return as a direct result of its newest feature: hats. 

Anyone familiar with Sifu's busy modding scene will already know it's brimming with unofficial cosmetic overhauls, but this one is different. By choosing to equip a hat before battle, the player will hold onto their headgear until they sustain their first hit. Once they get hit, it falls off in a move that's a visual badge for only the most skilled of fighters – simple, yet effective; a playful rebuttal of Git Gud culture, while simultaneously embracing it. 

"We knew we had the technology to lose items when you get hit, because we already had enemies doing this," says the game's producer Edward Sananikone. "So from there, everything just fell into place. Technically, it's a little bit harder to implement, but, ostensibly, the creative director was inspired to add hats in this way by one of their favorite video games, we realized it was possible, and then added the feature into the game."

Sifu is a game that's underpinned by fast