Sifu - What Kills You Makes You Stronger

We had an off hands preview for Sifu and break down everything you need to know about the upcoming combat game and everything it has to offer from developer Sloclap. Sifu comes out on Playstation 4, Playstation 5, and PC on February 22.

Martial arts action game Sifu is going to test your kung fu skills. In fact, that's the point--developer Sloclap wants Sifu to center on the meaning of kung fu, and the feeling of learning and mastery through practice. Though the game isn't a roguelike, with its levels and encounters hand-crafted, it is a game in which you'll be running through levels over and over again, trying to bring what you learned in your past attempts at gaining your revenge to become a more efficient fighter.

We got a pretty extensive hands-off look at Sifu, in which we learned quite a bit about how the game works and what combat will be like when players actually get their hands on it. The game is all about fighting groups of enemies, where you'll need to rely on combos, blocking, parrying, and smart use of your environment to stay alive and get the upper hand. Improvisation and adaptation are key--but you're still probably going to lose quite a bit.

In Sifu, you play a kung fu student whose family has been murdered, and you set out to take your revenge on the five kung fu bosses responsible. Thanks to a special amulet, if you fall in battle, you don't die--instead, years are taken off your life, causing you to age. We didn't see the aging mechanic in action, but Sloclap co-founder and CEO Pierre Tarno explained a lot about how it'll work, as well as what we can expect from combat, how you'll unlock new moves, and what you can expect as you seek your revenge and discover what it'll cost you. The footage shown is from the previously released Sifu trailers, and any gameplay shown is from a work in progress build.

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