Review: 'Sifu' a fun video fight game

Three and a Half out of Five Stars

By Michael Leek
Sports Editor

If you are looking for a short single-player fighting game with amazing mechanics, Sifu might be up your alley.

Released on May 3, 2021, Sifu is a fun indie game developed by Sloclap and H2 Interactive. It follows a simple revenge story of a kid growing up who, at 20 years old, sets out to find his father’s killers and get revenge.

The one interesting mechanic in the game that I have not seen in others surrounds the game-over feature. Every time you lose in game you have a chance to respawn where you are, but every time you revive you get a year older. If you die twice, you will age two years, and so on.

Starting at 20 years old up to 70 years old, you watch the character you play as you age into an older man or woman.

It is level-based, and every time you beat the boss at the end of a level you will move onto the next.

The fighting in the game is where it truly shines. Dodging, parrying and knocking enemies out is satisfying from beginning to end; it does not get old.

Multiple mechanics in this game can change the way you fight in certain situations. Picking up and throwing weapons, for example, can give you a wider range of attacks, or the ability to stun enemies.

A variety of enemies will attack you within the unique levels. Aesthetically, the game looks nice, with visuals that help make the game pop.

The boss fights are amazing as well. They really make you get the timing down to a tee and push you to learn the attack patterns of the bosses.

With around an eight-hour run time to finish the story, Sifu is on the shorter side of games. But because it was created by indie developers, there are no complaints.

Sifu costs $39.99, making it more affordable than triple-A titles being behind a $70 paywall.  This makes the shorter play time of the game even more acceptable.

I would rate this game a 3.5 out of 5 stars because the story did not keep me invested at all, only the gameplay. Having such an underwhelming story also takes away some of the replay value of the game.