Objects lighter than a bed frame come into play, too. (Looking back now, daydreaming about how good contextual finishing moves would be in the future was extremely nerdy of me.) It's genuinely what I imagined the videogames of the future would be like back when characters still clipped through every piece of geometry that dared enter their airspace. Sloclap's inspirations come from all kinds of martial arts movies, but the name I've heard most often is Jackie Chan's.ĭuring the demonstration, for example, the protagonist finished an opponent by kicking him in the knee and dropping him into a kneel at the foot of a metal bed frame, and then kicking him again in the back, smashing his forehead into the bars-without it going through the bars or otherwise looking ridiculous. It's not a cutting edge SIGRAPPH (opens in new tab) machine learning animation demo or anything, but it does seem to effectively generate the kung fu movie choreography feeling Sloclap is going for. I didn't catch much in the way of obvious animation cheating-slippy-slidey footwork, sudden camera changes-to bring level geometry into the fight like that. Sifu did surprise me, however, whenever the protagonist threw an enemy into a wall or over a railing. The finishing moves (which aren't included in that tally of 150 attacks) look cooler than landing a regular punch that happens to be the knockout blow, but the concept isn't novel. The combat basics look fun to master, though not especially surprising after playing Absolver and other fighting games and brawlers that involve blocking until the 'you can't block anymore' meter fills up or empties, whichever one means you're in trouble. There's also a focus mode that slows down time Max Payne style (but without the dual Berettas, because there are no guns in Sifu) and presents opportunities for special moves and damage bonuses-you can see it the fighting ring clip lower in this article. You don't see those prompts in any of these clips, because Sloclap doesn't want to show the temporary UI, but whenever the protagonist takes someone out with a flashy move, imagine that a pair of buttons appeared on their chest first. When you fill an enemy's guard meter, an on-screen prompt displays which two buttons to press to perform a finishing takedown, which restores a little of your health (and empties theirs). It's genuinely what I imagined the videogames of the future would be like. (The possibilities here might be underexplored given how many fighting games include multiplayer.) As just an observer right now, I love the way the protagonist leaves ghost trails as he slips and rolls under and around punches and kicks it's not one animation. My hope is that finesse feels even better in Sifu where there are no networking or PvP balance concerns to get in the way of whatever feels best. Sifu reminds me most of Absolver when an incoming strike is evaded and turns into wind. On defense, the right trigger is bound to dodge, while the left trigger parries attacks when timed correctly, or can be held down to block incoming attacks until a meter fills and your guard is broken. ![]() ![]() During a combo, you can bounce between opponents without breaking the chain of attacks, moving on from enemies you've stunned and then coming back to them when they regain consciousness, like spinning plates but with punching. I'll miss Absolver's drunken-style Stagger combos, which I doubt the real life Pak Mei school endorses, but it looks like we'll still have the opportunity to develop a personal fighting style in Sifu.Īnother way to deal with multiple enemies is to take advantage of each combo's "tactical opportunities" such as knockdown, pushback, and stun effects. A few of the skills I saw were Pushback Cancel, which introduces a way to negate shoves, Crooked Foot, which adds the option to perform a throw after a successful parry, and Rush Slide Kick, which is what it sounds like. Sifu does include "over 150 attacks" to work with, though, and a lot of the moves will be unlocked as you play through the campaign. ![]() All of Sifu's moves are inspired by Pak Mei Kung Fu, which its creative director personally practices. Absolver's combat involves a cool moveset customization menu where players mix-and-match combat styles and build combos that flow between multiple stances, and Sifu doesn't have an equivalent. ![]() Sifu looks and sounds similar to Absolver (opens in new tab), Sloclap's previous game-those thwap thwap thwap hit effects are still super satisfying-but its fighting system isn't a copy. It's like spinning plates but with punching.
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