![]() ![]() The problem, however, with only distilling Sifu purely down to its mechanics and systems, is that criticism from the cultural or socioeconomic perspective has long been overlooked, as if these are less important aspects of the game that don’t deserve as much attention. I love a good, hearty game that would get my adrenaline pumping, and there are more than a dozen writers and content creators covering the game from this angle that you can look to for reviews. This is the stereotypical power fantasy that video games have long been peddling, and let’s be clear here: I don’t think this motivation is intrinsically wrong. Sifu has the potential for immense splendour, and as I’ve mentioned in my previous piece on Sifu, it’s clear that at least some level of care has been invested into the game and all its set dressings.īut do all these conversations about race, culture, and appropriation truly matter? It may not, to some players, who just want to play a nifty game about an East Asian fighter punching the bejeezus out of other fighters, and to feel pretty darn good about themselves while doing it, like Jackie Chan from his portfolio of action movies. ![]() Then there are the Museum levels, which are adorned with both traditional and modern art. The Club levels, for instance, are reminiscent of the bustling nightlife in China-a side of the country that’s rarely seen, if any at all, in contemporary games and popular media, where depictions of the country are more or less depicted as pastoral scenes of rural countryside during imperial China, occupied by poor facsimiles of people with mock Chinese accents. Anything else, really.įor all the cliches and relentless borrowing of Chinese motifs, there are other aspects of Sifu I adored, such as its environments and spaces. ![]() Playing through Sifu can also feel like being forced to finish your chores when you don’t feel like it-and I certainly felt like I needed to walk away from the game several times to do something else. But it’s also needlessly arduous with its ageing mechanic, with Sifu severely punishing you for any mistakes committed, and the system underlying the game frustratingly obtuse. I, too, had fun with Sifu at times the fights are brutal, and its combat pulses harmoniously to the beat of the game’s backing tracks, especially when you manage to execute your punches and parries well. Instead, Chineseness in Sifu is reduced to a mere palette swap you can easily replace the protagonist with, say, John Wick, and Sifu will still be the same fighting game underneath it all.īut is Sifu fun? Is the game mechanically sound? Do the punches feel weighty and good, and will you feel like a badass taking down dozens of Chinese mobsters in a tight corridor, à la the much-talked about fight scene from action thriller Oldboy? Does the game challenge you to be a more skilled Gamer? In my colleague George Foster’s in-depth review of the game’s mechanics and playability, he found himself loving it, which is brilliant. Nor is it Shadowrun: Hong Kong, one of the best cyberpunk games that takes into consideration the socioeconomic circumstances in the country that it took liberal cues from. That’s because the revenge tale that Sifu is weaving isn’t intrinsically Chinese, unlike that of The Legend of Tianding, which is about the exploits of Taiwanese folk hero Liao Tianding. Take away all these motifs and Chinese vignettes-the distinctly Chinese backdrop, the training hall, the Chinese words and even the mahjong tiles littered around-and the core of the game will still be the same. ![]() Then there’s the option for you to return to what the game refers to as your 'wuguan'-the training hall where you return to in between levels-which is odd because you can simply just say ‘training hall’ rather than ‘wuguan’. Then there are the game’s menus, with UI design choices that are wildly inconsistent some buttons and words are accompanied by a sometimes incorrectly translated Chinese phrase, and some without (the word ‘loading’ by the Chinese equivalent, but the word ‘start' is not). It’s a pretty frivolous use of the stamp, given that these seals are typically etched with personal names rather than titles, and used as signatures to sign off personal or official documents. Fun fact: ‘sifu’, as in '师傅', can also be used to address cab drivers, skilled tradespeople, monks and priests). I can name a few examples of the game’s egregious use of Chinese signifiers: take for instance the game’s icon, a replica of a red stamp that is imprinted with a Chinese seal, which is inscribed with the Chinese characters 'sifu' (if you have, till now, no idea what ‘sifu’, as in '师父', is, it means ‘teacher’ or ‘master’. Make no mistake such emblems and other icons of Chinese culture are merely an aesthetic in Sifu, used to pepper in a little flair, and to sprinkle a little bit of exoticism in this kungfu brawler. ![]()
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