New Sifu Update Raises The Bar For All Fighting Game Genres

The final 'Free' Sifu Update is a Tour De Force It is literally a martial arts masterpiece It raises the bar for every kind of fighting game, beat em ups, fighting games, action RPGe whatever.

First the game defies classification. Some would call it a beat-em up. But the extensive move list, the dojo mode, the training mode and the player skill required to play the game places it out of the scope and reach of a typical beat-em up.

Second the Arena mode is a modern day super charged Quest Mode right out of Virtua Fighter. The Arena Mode in Sifu is what Quest Mode would be like if Virtua Fighter EVO were conceived of in 2023 It is the most skill challenging fighting mode I have ever played in any kind of fighting game. And when you score Tiger and now (Dragon) by taking all the medals for an arena its also the most satisfying mode I've ever played in any fighting game. And I've played and "gotten gude" at the best fighting games ever made

Third, the replay editor is the most fun, comprehensive, and flexible replay editor ever put in any fighting game. It allows the player to record any fighting sequence and then replay it, edit it, direct it, study it, resize it, colorize it, massage it, mold it, in any way you see fit. This allows you to study the matches and encounters from any angle, or perspective imaginable

At the very least Sifu has innovated the beat-em up genre But I suspect it has done a lot more. I think SIFU has redefined the Fighting game genre by bridging the gap between beat-em ups and fighting games. And showing the way to the future for all fighting games (regardless of genre) to come.

The Dojo (Training) Mode for Sifu is comprehensive and allows you to setup and practice against all of the match-ups in the game.

The Martial Arts Tutorial takes the player through every kind of offensive attack, defensive move, offensive strategy, and defensive strategy necessary to face the most complex challenges in the game. It teaches the player the basis for all the most effective combos.

The Customization Mode allows the player to customize the move sets of your character, the AI opponents, the Stages, and Arenas. I've never seen anything like it. And I've been playing fighting games of all types for many many moons

The sheer amount of content in this game brings shame to any fighting game that's been released in the last 2 decades (With possibly the exception of the Soul Calibur Series) Most of the Soul Calibur series games have a respectable amount of content for the price you pay. Sifu has gone far above and beyond what any game publisher has done by giving the fans an entire year's worth of free updates and free modes. No charge, No strings attached

Allowing customized move sets in a fighting game is usually reserved for elite fighting games, where the engine is so well understood and balanced, that allowing customized movesets does not ruin the game. Very few fighting games have been able to pull this off. Some of the UFC titles have mastered this feature. SIFU now joins the elite fighting games

And the entire game is just one big love letter to movie martial arts, our kung fu heroes, our favorite fighting scenes, and our inner child desire to be Bruce Lee

Hats off to the producers and managers at SLOCLAP that allowed the developers to do what they've done. Sifu was an amazing game when it was released in February 2022. Since its release every update has just made it even more amazing There is so much in this game, I will be working at mastery for years

Of course, Virtua Fighter is not a beat-em up., BUT! Virtua Fighter 6 or what ever the next Virtua Fighter is going to be called could learn a lot of new $hit from what SIFU has done with

• Dojo Mode
• Martial Arts Tutorial Mode
• Arena Mode
• Replay Editor
• Challenges
• Modifiers
• Skill Level
• Difficulty
• Customizable Move Sets
• Commitment to Martial Arts
• The Short Story Mode

SIFU is a challenging game. I know the players on VFDC could handle SIFU because the VF players on VFDC are some of the best fighters in the world. But I don't think Tekken players, SF players, Guilty Gear players, KOF players could hang. MK players (Maybe)


Seiji Aoki & RGG please grab a copy of SIFU play through the game (as best you can) and take lots of notes. Study this innovative , creative, game changing juggernaut. There is a reason (even though the games is hard) that it has sold millions of copies , has millions of loyal fans, and has hundreds of active streamers