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Sifu - Official Review Thread
- Thread starter Elder Legend
- Start date
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"Between the astonishing aesthetic paired with remarkable sound direction, Sifu is a presentational marvel. But unfortunately, punishing gameplay and overly-complex systems make for an inaccessible and overwhelmingly difficult experience."
Elder Legend
Banned
Clearly, they can't play games that are slightly challengingLogin to your Podbean Account | Podbean
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"Between the astonishing aesthetic paired with remarkable sound direction, Sifu is a presentational marvel. But unfortunately, punishing gameplay and overly-complex systems make for an inaccessible and overwhelmingly difficult experience."
I would not take someone seriously who do not understand game mechanics and simple parries and dodges.
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Bartski
Gold Member
lol yeah, mumblings here and there among folks that got the game about it likely getting mixed reviews due to being... inaccessible and difficult. Gotta love the "press"Login to your Podbean Account | Podbean
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"Between the astonishing aesthetic paired with remarkable sound direction, Sifu is a presentational marvel. But unfortunately, punishing gameplay and overly-complex systems make for an inaccessible and overwhelmingly difficult experience."
Listening to the podcast, these guys actually really love it & enjoyed a lot of the challenge, but can't recommend it to everyone because of that.Clearly, they can't play games that are slightly challenging
Elder Legend
Banned
Ahh i see. Well that's a bit more fair then. Yeah, it is not for everyone.
Elog
Member
Loved listening to the podcast. Seems like a game for me! Happy man!
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Punished Miku
Gold Member
5 stages. 5-20 min a stage depending on shortcuts. Then stretch that to a 12 hr completion time because of harsh roguelike elements.
Heisenberg007
Gold Journalism
True. This has been the norm in recent times. From Jeff Grubb giving Returnal a 6/10 (because he couldn't clear the second biome) to this. I think a fairer way is to review and appreciate the game for what it is, alongside sharing a warning for casual gamers that this might not be a game for them because it's relatively more challenging.
That's fine. Difficult games aren't for most people -- especially casuals. But that shouldn't reflect in the review score, otherwise we will end up promoting only a similar type of game that only appeals to casual gamers.
And I'm saying this as someone who can't/doesn't play Souls games. There is still a place for these games, and that should be encouraged.
Punished Miku
Gold Member
Im not casual but I think roguelikes are awful and a cynical way to extend playtime for teams with limited resources. Ninja Gaiden Black isn't casual. You have actual balanced difficulty and can play through new content for 10+ hours.
Here the content is about 1 hr and 1 of the people talking on that podcast basically can't beat stage 2. And he didn't sound casual either.
Just sounds like busted balancing that gets forgiven because everyone calls you casual if you criticize it.
ChoosableOne
ChoosableAll
I'm expecting a Metacritic score around 75. Anything above that depends on the story. I got a little bored while watching the similar looking combos against endless enemies. I hope it's more fun while playing it.
TrebleShot
Member
Ffs if this is another “let’s make this stupidly hard cos people love that right?” Kind of game I’ve wasted my money, I have no time or patience for games that think being convoluted and artificially long is somehow a badge of honour.
Bartski
Gold Member
META: 75 79 81 , OC 82
www.metacritic.com
opencritic.com
lmao HARD GAME BAD
Checkpoint Gaming - 60
Sifu is a game that could have been something amazing, with its fascinating premise and superbly crafted and fluid combat mechanics and animations. However, the game’s frustrating need to make the gameplay ridiculously hard just left me tired and annoyed. Sloclap really needs to think about how they can make this game more accessible, possibly by including more shortcuts, an adjustable difficulty setting, or just lowering the impact of health lost from fighting your average foe. Hopefully they will bring in some patches that will address these issues, but as it stands, I’d wait before investing time in the world of Sifu.
Dexerto - 60
Sifu offers plenty of unique promise, but it's no kung-fu master yet. The difficulty spikes will be off-putting for some, but others may enjoy the challenge, but the way it stacks the odds against a player is more frustrating than fun…And yet, players looking for a new challenge might want to pick up Sifu.
GameByte - 70
Despite an excellent combat system and intriguing world design, Sifu falls too short of its premise. Regardless of whether you’re playing it casually or going harder, the death mechanic is simply too punishing to be enjoyable. Perhaps with a fairer system, this would make for a better game.
SIFU critic reviews
Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.
www.metacritic.com
Sifu Reviews
Sifu is rated 'Strong' after being reviewed by 166 critics, with an overall average score of 81. It's ranked in the top 17% of games and recommended by 85% of critics.
opencritic.com
lmao HARD GAME BAD
Checkpoint Gaming - 60
Sifu is a game that could have been something amazing, with its fascinating premise and superbly crafted and fluid combat mechanics and animations. However, the game’s frustrating need to make the gameplay ridiculously hard just left me tired and annoyed. Sloclap really needs to think about how they can make this game more accessible, possibly by including more shortcuts, an adjustable difficulty setting, or just lowering the impact of health lost from fighting your average foe. Hopefully they will bring in some patches that will address these issues, but as it stands, I’d wait before investing time in the world of Sifu.
Dexerto - 60
Sifu offers plenty of unique promise, but it's no kung-fu master yet. The difficulty spikes will be off-putting for some, but others may enjoy the challenge, but the way it stacks the odds against a player is more frustrating than fun…And yet, players looking for a new challenge might want to pick up Sifu.
GameByte - 70
Despite an excellent combat system and intriguing world design, Sifu falls too short of its premise. Regardless of whether you’re playing it casually or going harder, the death mechanic is simply too punishing to be enjoyable. Perhaps with a fairer system, this would make for a better game.
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Elog
Member
Amazing how reviews end up in two rather clean camps - 'love it' or 'the difficulty is stupid'.META: 75
SIFU critic reviews
Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.
My take: If you love challenging games based on skill-moves (e.g. Sekiro) - you will most likely love the game.
Will leave some impressions once the PS store actually starts to allow downloads...14min late now. Weird.
Beelzebubs
Member
IGN gave it a 9. Whilst it is IGN and therefore could be a terrible review, they acknowledge the difficulty but say how amazing the gameplay is.
Kokoloko85
Member
Yeah it was meant to auto download on the 4th for me and still no download….
TrebleShot
Member
I think difficulty is a absolutely a fair measure for your review.
ManaByte
Gold Member
META: 75
SIFU critic reviews
Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.
lmao HARD GAME BAD
Checkpoint Gaming - 60
Sifu is a game that could have been something amazing, with its fascinating premise and superbly crafted and fluid combat mechanics and animations. However, the game’s frustrating need to make the gameplay ridiculously hard just left me tired and annoyed. Sloclap really needs to think about how they can make this game more accessible, possibly by including more shortcuts, an adjustable difficulty setting, or just lowering the impact of health lost from fighting your average foe. Hopefully they will bring in some patches that will address these issues, but as it stands, I’d wait before investing time in the world of Sifu.
Dexerto - 60
Sifu offers plenty of unique promise, but it's no kung-fu master yet. The difficulty spikes will be off-putting for some, but others may enjoy the challenge, but the way it stacks the odds against a player is more frustrating than fun…And yet, players looking for a new challenge might want to pick up Sifu.
GameByte - 70
Despite an excellent combat system and intriguing world design, Sifu falls too short of its premise. Regardless of whether you’re playing it casually or going harder, the death mechanic is simply too punishing to be enjoyable. Perhaps with a fairer system, this would make for a better game.
Seems like it suffers from the same thing Kena did: An indie dev who wanted to be From Software and court the Souls fans with crushing difficulty spikes. Kena was MUCH better when you lowered the difficulty due to those boss battle difficulty spikes.
SLB1904
Banned
That's why is important to read the review instead of going into an arbitrary number.
I mean one review gave 4/10 at first glance you would think is a broken game, but nah too difficult lol
Bartski
Gold Member
actually, Kena was MUCH better on expert and claims about "crushing difficulty spikes" in it are all bullshit IMO but to each of their own.
Bartski
Gold Member
Sifu’s Kungfu Brawling Is Made By A Studio Of White Developers
Sifu looks good, but it's a pity there are no Asian studio leads for the game.
www.thegamer.com
Ezquimacore
Banned
Looks like good mindless fun, perfect game to play while drinking whiskey and spank some hoes.
Lupin25
Member
Being 2-3 hrs. HAS to mean this game is brutal, with every encounter being a soulslike/boss-type experience.
It’s sad how many points you lose for inaccessibility nowadays (not every game is for everyone anyways). This game clearly wasn’t made with a casual, light-hearted approach.
It’s sad how many points you lose for inaccessibility nowadays (not every game is for everyone anyways). This game clearly wasn’t made with a casual, light-hearted approach.
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Miles708
Member
Most importantly: is the difficulty supported by a deep combat system and satisfying animation?
Elder Legend
Banned
Here is ours (updating thread now, was asleep)
https://www.gaminginstincts.com/review/sifu-review-like-living-your-favorite-kung-fu-flick/ (NOT REVIEWED BY ME)
Score 9/10
Videos
https://www.gaminginstincts.com/review/sifu-review-like-living-your-favorite-kung-fu-flick/ (NOT REVIEWED BY ME)
Score 9/10
Videos
Reviews are subjective pieces of information so I wouldn't worry about scores. Either find reviewers whom align with your tastes or don't worry about scores/metacritic ratings would be my suggestion.
cormack12
Gold Member
Please remove this person from the internet and may all their opinions be burned.
Punished Miku
Gold Member
Sekiro is sitting at MC 90. But you don't grind and replay the same tiny amount of content over and over again. This doesn't even mix it up with procedural generation.
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Lupin25
Member
If so, I’m in.
Otherwise, difficulty alone simply won’t do it for me. I need balance.
I admit, inaccessibility shouldn’t be much a factor when scoring games (why if they’re intended that way lol?)
Sitting through each level for hours, though… trying to replicate the perfect sequence seems like “controller-breaking” fun.
I don’t know if my $40-50 is ready just yet.
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Hobbygaming
has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
I'm cool with a difficult game. If I like it enough, I'll practice and become good at it just like with Returnal
Draugoth
Gold Member
- ZGTD: 9.0/10.0
- Cultured Vultures: 9.0/10.0
- COGConnected: 8.8/10.0
- VGC: 8.0/10.0
- PushSquare: 8.0/10.0
- Hey Poor Player: 8.0/10.0
- gameInformer: 7.3/10.0
- Gamebyte: 7.0/10.0
- Screenrant: 7.0/1.0
- Gamespressure: 6.5/10.0
- Dexerto: 6.0/10.0
- Inverse: 6.0/10.0
- Checkpointgaming: 5.0/10.0
- Slant Megazine: 4.0/10.0
Punished Miku
Gold Member
Sounds like most of the upgrade moves are optional attacks but not really required. Would be a nice way to mix up the repetition while grinding, except you apparently have to buy each move 6x to keep it, even though it doesn't really give you much advantage in combat.
I want to love this game but some of these design decisions are just not my favorite.
I want to love this game but some of these design decisions are just not my favorite.
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TidusYuna
Member
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ManaByte
Gold Member
Good review by Gene Park:
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
That's a uh .. diverse line up of scores.
Will check this out on PS4 when discounted. Doesn't feel like a launch day purchase to me.
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Elder Legend
Banned
Thread updated as much as possible. Going back to sleep!
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SLB1904
Banned
More diverse than developer's
ImmersiveProjection
Banned
I wonder if this game will be available to play on GeForce Now.
ChoosableOne
ChoosableAll
I was going to buy it after this review, but I couldn't find any other game to fill my Epic Coupon, I bought most of the big ones recently so... I will wait for a sale.