Fire developer Sloclap announced his next game, Sifu, on Thursday at PlayStation’s State of Play event. Billed as “an artful and truthful Kung Fu game exploring themes of vengeance and redemption”, Sifu is scheduled for release this fall on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC (via the Epic Games Store), Sloclap said in a press release.
The trailer for Sifu reveals the protagonist, a muscular kung fu student, bending and stretching in front of an altar. Then it turns into non-stop action sequences showing the martial artist working his way and kicking through a corridor full of opponents.
Sifu seems to combine challenging martial arts fights with the themes and style of classic kung fu movies in a single-player game that tells a story of revenge: the student “trained all his life for a day of reckoning after the brutal murder of their entire family by a mysterious murder crew ”, according to the press release.
Here’s more from Sloclap’s description:
SifuIts unique gameplay is at the crossroads of two established and popular genres, combining the intensity and timeless excitement of beat-em-ups with the gripping design of 3D character action games. Set against a detailed backdrop of a fictional Chinese city, you will discover an ancient mystery through a series of challenging confrontations that will test your skills to the limit. To overcome the odds that come your way, you must rely on your mastery of Kung Fu and a magical pendant that will revive you after death. The cost of magic is expensive, however, and you will age significantly every time you come back to life: time is the price you pay for your revenge.
Both the hand-drawn art style and the combat showcased in the trailer resemble the Parisian indie studio’s first project, Fire, which was released in 2017. Sloclap’s first game gave the Dark Souls formula a martial arts flair. Sifu is one of the many games supported by investment fund Kowloon Nights.