Sifu

A 3D beat 'em up by the developers of Absolver, SIFU is an outstanding action game.

Sifu's a revenge-fueled romp through five spectacular levels combined with a complex and exciting combat system. Just don't get too burned out by the bosses -- they're tough!

“A rewarding experience from its start, Sifu delivers challenge after challenge, all of which are too exciting to turn down.”

No summary available

With that said, it’ll be interesting to see if Sloclap has any grand plans for Sifu as a franchise, or at least some post-launch support. Whereas Absolver, their previous title, had online backing to keep the fun going, Sifu is a single-player only game that doesn’t offer any procedural generated content that it inspires from. Nothing wrong with a single-player focused game, but having cranked over 30-hours into it and achieving the full Platinum trophy, I’m eager to see what exciting content or game the studio has next, and hopefully this isn’t the last we’ll see of Sifu.

Mastering videogame kung fu in a half-remembered dream.

Fans of beat-'em-ups or kung fu movies will instantly fall in love with Sifu. If you can handle replaying levels multiple times, it's a must buy.

With Sifu, developer Sloclap has delivered one of the most striking and original roguelikes we’ve ever had the pleasure of playing. Like the process of actually learning a martial art, this is a game that requires practice and patience – and the rewards speak for themselves. The first time we encountered a key target, for example, we aged so much that we died and had to try again. And when we did finally manage to beat him, we did so at an age in the 50s. But after yet more practice, we later returned to emerge victorious in battle at the fresh age of just 21 years old, which set us up with a ...

Despite a couple of hang-ups, Sifu should be commended for injecting a sense of danger and realism back into the beat ‘em up genre.

Sifu is possibly the best beat ‘em up we’ve played in a long time. It’s a refreshing take on the genre, and in the words of Cobra Kai’s Johnny Lawrence, it will make you feel like a “badass” when the fight is going your way. At the same time, it can be quite ruthless. Either way, you’ll probably be thinking about your next run when you aren't even playing it, which is a sign of just how great it is.

Sifu's incredibly satisfying combat can make you feel like an action-movie hero, but its challenging encounters and roguelike progression could leave less dedicated players feeling defeated.

If you're looking for a real beat'-em-up challenge, Sifu's got it, but it's not as fair as it is tough.