Some of you may remember Sloclap from their 2017 release Absolver.
It was a martial arts ARPG with a distinctly "Soulslike" feel that centered around building a fighting style for your character and testing it in one on one combat both off and online.
Despite a unique and interesting premise and some nice animation, the game didn't do very well. Even giving it away free on consoles want enough to gather a player base outside of a limited cult following.
The game just felt unfinished, bland and lacked a genuinely good combat control system at it's core.
Well, it seems that the folks at Sloclap are obsessed with martial arts games and are determined to keep releasing them until we like them.
Unfortunately Sifu just isn't that likeable release.
They're has been so much hype and showcasing around this release I'm sure everyone is well aware of it's premise.
Avenge your master, roguelike, if you die you get older, blah, blah, blah...
As with Absolver the premise is really the only positive aspect I can find in this game, the execution is excruciatingly lackluster.
It shares a lot of DNA with Absolver and that's really the start of it's issues. It really didn't do very well so to seemingly use it as a foundation for Sifu leads to an inevitable poor construct.
The graphics look awful, whether it's a design choice or Sloclap just don't know how to apply textures etc. I really don't know, everything looks a bit Sega Saturn Virtual Fighter.
The initial setup asked me if I wanted DLSS Quality for maximum fidelity and FPS. It looks like it would run well on a smartwatch to be fair. It certainly didn't feel next gen or to warrant DLSS reverb being mentioned.
Aesthetics aside, poor design choices could be overlooked if the gameplay itself was tight but again, disappointment.
Combat is frustrating at best, but mostly confounding. The parry seems completely arbitrary, used at exactly the same timing, against the same move, by the same opponents, sometimes it will be effective other times will fail. It's a combat lottery!
You are also, literally, your own worst enemy; the camera angle puts your body between your view of the action and your adversaries obstructing everything important. By the time you effect a clear line of sight you're usually being pummeled by a group of borderline racist stereotype fist fodder.
I get that it's supposed to be tough, but it's just not that kinda "Souls tough" .
If I die in a From software game it's because I did something wrong, I can "git gud", learn from my mistakes and prevail
Half the time in Sifu I'm dying to glitchy camera angles or unfathomable mechanics happening under the surface.
It's just not a fun experience or a game that makes me want to "git gud" and overcome. It doesn't value my time and it doesn't fight fair.
This is unfortunately, another release that had lofty aspirations but delivers meager morsels.
I'll warrant this will be on 50% discount within 6 months and probably a PS Plus title before the end of the year. So unless you're dead set, I'd wait until then to try it for .
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