Girls Gone Grey:
When we age, we carry the experiences, the losses and successes with us that shaped us into who we are. With learning comes knowledge; with every small death comes a newfound experience, molding us into the master of our own craft. Sifu creates a blend between classic martial arts games and stunning visuals to make an impactful mark on the player. The more we die the more we age is also a mechanic that this game was not the first to incorporate but will be by far the most memorable at doing so.
Going from a youthful glow to a slow a steady descent Sifu explores the concept of revenge, and tells a story of a timed, precise, and an emotional battlefield. By the time we’ve gone grey, our regrets should be none and our head clear of fearing choices that once plagued us.
The Fight: Entering into Sifu is like entering into an arena, we don’t know who’s going to make the first hit. This game throws it back to classic martial arts games but with a new twist and art design that is to kill for. The controls are interesting (depending on the system played on it could either be really amazing or really weird.) I started playing on PS4, and then switched to PC. I found that I had a much better time going about this game on PC purely because of the controls and PC is my main way that I play games. I felt that the controls were a bit clunky on the PS4, but smoother on PC. This may differ when it comes to PS5, but I’m not entirely sure. The controls might I add, took me more time to learn in the tutorial phase on PS4 than PC for reasons I’m not sure of. Was it the L3 or R3 buttons? I’m not so sure. But I know it took me at least 20 minutes to get through the tutorial section on PS4, and on PC less than 5 minutes.
Getting the hang of the controls when fighting is simple, it’s a matter of picking a play style and sticking to it for the entirety of the game that way there’s no fumbling around the keyboard/controller and almost dying. The fighting styles are fast past and once gotten the hang of it very satisfying to master.
You Can’t Stop Now: The game moves rather quickly, it has a fast-paced story with amazing cut scenes that take you by surprise because when it’s going to do one thing, it shifts and does something else, especially with the boss fight. The boss fights have two phases to them. Both phases are just as unique with the second phase adding more unique combos and story elements. The fight that captured me the most was The Artist, AKA Kuroki. The entire level leading up to the boss fight was beautiful, spooky and so filled to the brim with artwork and sculptures that screamed to me, pleading with me to not take my eyes away, to keep staring longer. It was a truly wonderful level, and I could have stayed there forever. Going on through each level we get more and more information to lead us to the final part of the game. In the final part it’s obvious that we will be fighting the person that killed our characters father. The fight with Yang eerily mirrors the fight that he had with Sifu.
When the fight ends one of three endings will be achieved. I got the bad one (which I didn’t know was bad until recently; I thought there was only one ending). The first ending of Sifu is a rather abrupt wakeup call to a humanity lost. Our character fought with no remorse or empathy. Apparently, we can spare the lives of the people who wanted our main character killed, which is the best revenge if you ask me!
新的开始 (A New Beginning) At the end of the game, we are brought back right where we started to begin a new round. We have a new strength, a new resilience and a new way to seek vengeance. This game is one that I will remember for a long time. The story, the controls, the art, it was truly a remarkable game that showcased beauty in a simplistic manner. Whether we are starting fresh or old with grey hair gracing the top of our heads, a new beginning for a fresh perspective is never out of reach.
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