'Sifu': Everything To Know About Singleplayer Kung Fu Game From 'Absolver' Devs

Developers of the cult-classic martial arts game “Absolver” revealed their latest project during the Sony State of Play conference, and things are looking good.

The Sloclap team released the first trailer for “Sifu,” a Kung fu-centric brawler game for both PS4 and PS5. In “Sifu,” gamers will play as a young student of a Pak-Mei Kung Fu school who is on a path of revenge against assassins who killed his family.

“Sifu” will give players an immersive hand-to-hand combat experience featuring an actual kung fu discipline. The game will take players across multiple locations such as an apartment complex and a nightclub, where they will face off against multiple henchmen at once unlike the concentrated duels in “Absolver.”

Sloclap promises that the combat in “Sifu” will have “unprecedented authenticity” born out of the team’s love for martial arts. This will manifest in-game through the realistic combat moves, fighting styles and the concept of “mastery through practice.”

Apart from hand-to-hand fighting, players will be able to use the environment and makeshift weapons to their advantage in a style that’s similar to 2012’s “Sleeping Dogs.”

The combat in “Sifu” will be deep and challenging, as per the developers. “Sifu” executive producer Pierre Tarno told PC Gamer that they wanted to capture the “Jackie Chan movie fantasy where it’s one versus many.”

This statement is reflected in the game’s cinematic presentation that takes cues from other martial arts films like “Oldboy” and “The Raid.”

The game’s progression also appears to be tied to defeat. Instead of dying, the player character grows older. Tarno said that the player gets stronger every time they are knocked down, reflecting the “with age comes experience” adage.

“Sifu” will strictly be a single-player experience unlike “Absolver,” and only one school of martial arts will be featured. Sloclap’s creative director Jordan Layani is a student of Pak-Mei Kung Fu, according to PC Gamer, and the game draws heavily from Layani’s real-life experience with the discipline.

The game will release in 2021 for PS4, PS5 and PC via the Epic Games Store. More information about “Sifu’s” gameplay and plot will be revealed in the coming weeks.