With the launch of Elden Ring the discussion of video game difficulty has once again bubbled to the surface. Challenge in its own right can be a source of fun and the success of the Soulsborne series proves the market is there. Conquering a challenge is a triumph that feels amazing to pull off and difficulty in video game is a huge part of what makes it satisfying to overcome. For that satisfaction to occur, danger, risk, and challenge must be present and to truly appreciate victory it must be earned through player skill. If a player feels powerless to prevent their own doom overcoming the challenge has no satisfaction and will not successfully drive a player to seek out victory. Earning that satisfaction is a large part of what makes it feel good, so for that to happen failure must be a mechanic that is built around just as the player must have control over their own success in an impactful way. Dying in Elden Ring is a common occurrence and the game iconically built its systems around overcoming its challenge. Sifu took a similar approach.

Sifu is a beat um’ up action adventure game from Sloclap, the creators of Absolver that came out a little over two weeks before Elden Ring. Sifu uses its difficulty and challenge as a story telling element that narratively reflects the players skill by tweaking the appearance of the protagonist as they age. Challenge is a large part of the game and failure is part of learning

Lets Get Down to Business

Sifu leverages its difficulty with player skill allowing the player to go insane and take down an entire room without getting hit and looking super cool doing it, but playing at that level is not easy and must be learned and practiced which is what the game is built around.

The player character starts at age 20 with each segment of 10 years represented by a medallion on your belt. The objective of the game is to defeat all the people who were a part of your fathers murder before you’re too old to keep fighting by completing all five levels before you reach and die at the age of 70.

Death

In Sifu the revive mechanic is at the core of its challenge. Death isn’t uncommon, enemies can overwhelm and deal a lot of damage fast. With the only healing is by being offensive its essential to think on your feat, but never stop fighting as always being out numbered means being progressive in a fight is crucial. Its easy to take some deaths as you play through as a one mistake can snowball into death with hordes of enemies surrounding you.

Perks

The player is judged on three things:

• Age (avoiding death)
• Score (not getting hit)
• XP (from defeated enemies)

Each level has three shrines, at these shrines the player can choose perks from one of three trees. These judgments are divided into three categories with three perks within them.

Exploring levels will lead to useful things like key cards, information about the target, or something for a needed for a different level, as well as other lore that you add to your detective board. There is also a basic dialogue wheel that gives the player options to what they want to say in certain situations.

The Fights

Fighting is the gameplay in Sifu as well as its most enjoyable aspect. At the beginning its blocks, hits, and finishers. As the player gets more moves and playtime the combat begins to morph into something much more involved. Combat turns to dodges, throws, trips, punishes, parries, target swapping, getting weapons out of the opponents hands, ducking under bat swings so enemies hit their allies, throwing people into walls to break their structure, using the environment as a weapon, and managing a large crowd as the player will almost always be out numbered. Always outnumbered by enemies that can easily rack up cheap hits that deal massive damage, the use of the environment in each fight is crucial to survival. Fighting dirty is important to keeping the fight fair ironically enough, throwing bottles, kicking chairs to trip, throwing bottles, weapons, or throwing enemies off ledges are all options to thin the horde.

Branching level paths, and the ability to permanently unlock moves for your repertoire rests at the core if its rouge-lite identity. Playing levels multiple times doesn’t feel like a slog, but rather attempting mastery as the player grows familiar with each level and encounter within. Because the combat is so satisfying and doing better makes life easier in the long run there are plenty of incentives to go back and play early levels again. Players who want to speed through and minimize deaths can use unlocked shortcuts to avoid tough fights, or sometimes skip lots of fights in favor of one harder one, and players who want to power up can choose the appropriate route with the most XP to gain.

The game is challenging but the player is always encouraged to improve even if it is a small amount. Less deaths, better score to get good perks, and looking cooler while fighting are all ways to improve.

This improvement is further encouraged by the game saving your best attempt for each level so going back to the start to try and do better, grind out some moves, or just for fun never costs overall progress. This is one of it’s most unique and forgiving mechanics that really reinforce the notion of improvement as one of the games core themes. The challenge of beating the game at as young an age as possible is made easier with each attempt as you permanently learn everything in your arsenal, level layouts, enemy placements, the environments, and further mastery of the combat and bosses. There is a power increase alongside the players knowledge increase leading to a gradual improvement of skill and power that is reflected by the players performance.

Death in Sifu is a double-edged sword with age changing the players appearance, decreasing health, decreasing the amount of moves that can be unlocked, while raising damage. This means back to back deaths will rapidly add on years, while a few deaths here and there aren’t anything punishing. Each death adds to the death counter and the death counter is added to your age each death. Defeating tough or empowered enemies will bring this counter down.

Devil in the Details

The environmental storytelling that goes on in each level are also a way the player gets to learn about the boss of each level. The Botanist for example, the first level boss having sealed off an entire area for his operation, thugs talking about drug deals or knocking on doors to shake people down at their homes, and people sleeping off the effects of drugs scattered about, locked doors and armed guards who tell you no one is allowed to meet with him. Without even realizing it, all these details are telling the player details about each character with very little dialogue happening. Contrast this with The Club’s dream-like city on fire segments. People training to become fighters worthy of passing the trials so they can serve the boss under the guise of a dance club. This is taken further as the second phase of most bosses takes a lore related turn in scenery.

The art style is simple yet vibrant, the combat looks, feels, and sounds amazing, and the environments are varied and fun to fight in. The environments actively shape each brawl so much more than as just a backdrop for the fights. Rather, they play a major role in how the player can approach a fight with pieces of the environments being tools that can drastically change a fight for either side. Weapons, chairs, tables, walls, are all important factors the player can leverage against foes, but enemies can do the same so being conscious of the surroundings is as important as blocking.

Starting off the player will be sloppy and possess only a basic move set. The more you play the more moves and options that are gained, the more experience you gain, the more you master the system. Each level is a test and it is up to the player to decide what a passing grade is. Winning that game at a young age, or at all are both impressive but what will keep players coming back is improvement and the satisfying nature of mastering the combat and doing better.

Sifu is a good challenge without feeling too punishing. However, while I think this game is awesome, it may not be worth its $40 price point for some people as there is only five levels. If mastering a games combat and flawlessly clearing levels sounds like a fun challenge this game is definitely for you. However, waiting for a sale is not a bad idea either.

If you enjoyed reading this, consider my other reviews, and if you don’t see anything you like consider requesting a game!