Review: Sifu

destructoid.com:

Vengeance is at the core of Sifu. Behind the style, the music, the action and the fists, Sifu is a story of revenge. It is a climb up a mountain, as you climb higher and get kicked back down. Finishing Sifu means not just mastering its systems, but becoming so attuned with them that you stop thinking so darn much. The reward, thankfully, is worth it.

Sifu is the story of a young student, who sees their master cut down by a gang of five intruders before them. After training for years, the student embarks on a simple quest: cross five names off a list, and avenge your master. Each boss has their own level, themed and built around them, and filled with dozens upon dozens of goons to beat up.

Sifu (PC [reviewed], PS4, PS5)Developer: SloclapPublisher: SloclapReleased: February 8, 2022MSRP: $39.99

Developer Sloclap has already tackled the 3D martial arts brawler to some success with its previous game, Absolver. But where Absolver was a fantasy world of deck-building brawling, Sifu is focused; the move set is light and strong strikes, dodging, and parrying. Different combinations open up, but this isn’t the complex stance system.

The difficulty comes in just how easily you can die. It is so, so easy to get surrounded and suffer an unstoppable onslaught of fists and feet until you perish. Luckily, you have more than just martial arts on your side. Your family’s medallion allows you to recover and get back up, at the cost of time. Every time the student falls, they can get back up by foregoing years of their life.

It starts out easy enough: die at 20, your death counter goes up to one, and you rise at age 21. The next fall will up your death counter, and thus add more years to your penance. Soon, you’re not losing a year on each