Sifu is a 2022 action game created and released by Sloclap. The game takes place in China, and players control the child of a martial arts school's sifu (master). The character seeks revenge against those who caused their father's death. Each time the player's character dies, they are brought back to life using a magical charm and grow older. As they age, they learn stronger attacks but have less health. If the character becomes too old and dies, the player must restart the level from the beginning and begin again at the same age as their first attempt.

Sifu was available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows on February 8, 2022. It was released on Nintendo Switch on November 8, 2022, and on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on March 28, 2023. Critics gave the game mostly positive reviews, praising its fighting system, settings, and story. By May 2025, the game had sold more than 4 million copies. A TV show titled Sifu: It Takes a Life was released on Amazon Prime Video in December 2024.

Gameplay

Sifu is a fast-paced action game played from a third-person view. Inspired by Bak Mei kung fu, the game features more than 150 different attack moves. Players can link basic attacks together, and some combinations allow them to knock enemies down or stun them. Both the main character and enemies have a "structural gauge." When this gauge is full, their defenses break, making them vulnerable to special attacks that give the player more health when the enemy is defeated. Players can block attacks, but this action fills their gauge over time. Alternatively, players can dodge or parry an enemy's attack just before it lands. A successful parry lets the player stun the enemy or push them in a specific direction. The game lets players use the environment creatively, such as kicking enemies off ledges or using objects as weapons. Sometimes, enemies may counter a player's finishing move, becoming more powerful and enraged. Players may also choose dialogue options that could avoid combat entirely, depending on their choices.

If the player dies, they are magically brought back to the spot where they died and age several years. As the character ages, their attacks become stronger, but their health decreases. Eventually, the character will no longer be able to revive because their pendant breaks, and the next death ends the game. Players can visit shrines to heal and unlock new skills. They can also go to the "Wuguan," a kung fu school, to practice between levels. Any abilities lost during death can be permanently unlocked so they are available at the start of each new game. As players complete multiple runs, they can access the "detective board," which stores information from all runs. This board may reveal hidden areas and shortcuts over time.

Plot

On a rainy night, Yang, a former student of a martial arts school in China who was once disgraced, leads an attack on his old school with four other martial artists from the Dawn Group. Fajar "The Botanist" is a strong middle-aged man who uses a machete and does not speak. Sean "The Fighter" is a young man who uses a staff and believes the school's students are weak. Kuroki "The Artist" is a young Japanese woman who uses a staff with three blades. Jinfeng "The CEO" is an elderly woman with one arm who uses a rope dart. After defeating the students, Yang fights the school's sifu, his former teacher, and hits him in the chest, causing him to die from a heart attack. While searching the sifu's belongings, Yang finds the sifu's child hiding nearby and tells Fajar to harm them. Later, the child wakes up and discovers their throat is healed because they hold an ancient pendant that can bring the dead back to life. However, each time the pendant is used, the child ages rapidly until it breaks. Determined to seek revenge on the Dawn Group, the child lives alone for eight years, trains hard, and gathers information about their enemies.

As an adult, the child becomes a skilled but inexperienced martial artist and begins their quest to defeat the Dawn Group. They now carry talismans that give them powers over elements like fire, water, wood, and metal, which they took from the sifu and other guardians during the raid. Yang and the others believed these powers should be shared with others, but over time, they used them for selfish purposes. The child travels to each of the Dawn Group members' locations and defeats them:

• Fajar, who now works with drug traffickers in the slums and uses the Wood talisman to control plants.
• Sean, who runs a harsh martial arts school and underground fight club, using the Fire talisman to scar his students.
• Kuroki, who operates an art gallery that hides criminal activities and uses the Water talisman to create strange battle arenas from her artwork.
• Jinfeng, who is now a wealthy but corrupt businesswoman in a city tower, using the Metal talisman.

The child then confronts Yang at his private sanctuary. Yang reveals he has the Earth talisman, which can bring life back. After a fierce battle, the child hits Yang in the chest, killing him in the same way he killed the sifu. In a vision, the child sees two graves and learns that Yang tried to save his dying wife and daughter with the Earth talisman but was stopped by the sifu, who had expelled him from the school for breaking his oath. The pendant teaches the child about Wude, the moral principles of martial arts.

With this knowledge, the pendant sends the child back in time to the start of their journey. This time, they must defeat the Dawn Group members again but have the choice to spare them. By showing mercy instead of killing, the Dawn Group lose their will to fight.

The game has two endings based on the player's choices:

• If the child kills any of the Dawn Group members, the pendant sends them back in time repeatedly until they learn Wude.
• If the child spares all the members, they allow Yang to take the pendant and kill them, following the principles of Wude. In a vision, Yang sees the two graves and realizes his past mistakes. The child dies from their injuries after defeating Yang but achieves enlightenment because they followed Wude. A post-credits scene shows the child, now a respected teacher, training students at the sifu's former school, suggesting they may have been resurrected by the pendant or Yang seeking redemption.

Development and release

Sifu was created by the French game studio Sloclap, which previously made its first fighting game, Absolver, in 2017. Unlike Absolver, Sifu does not include multiplayer features because the team wanted to focus on improving the gameplay and avoid spending time on systems needed for online play. The combat in the game was inspired by 1970s and 1980s kung fu movies starring Jackie Chan, which often showed Chan’s fast and energetic fighting style against many enemies. The word "sifu" (Chinese: 師父) means "master" in Cantonese, and the Bak Mei kung fu style was used as the foundation for the game’s fighting system. The team worked with Benjamin Colussi, a Bak Mei kung fu master, to design the fight choreography and the main character’s movements. The game highlights the kung fu principle of "mastery through practice," which is shown through the aging system that affects the player’s character. The game is intentionally challenging and has a steep learning curve because the team believed players would not feel a sense of achievement if the gameplay was too simple.

Sloclap officially announced Sifu in February 2021 during Sony’s State of Play livestream. The team originally planned to release the game in 2021, but it was delayed to the next year to improve the game and prevent overworking the team. Sifu was released on February 8, 2022, for Windows via the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Players who bought the Deluxe Edition could play the game 48 hours earlier and received a digital art book and the original soundtrack composed by Howie Lee. A retail version of the game, called Sifu: Vengeance Edition, was released by publisher Microids on May 3, 2022.

In April 2022, Sloclap announced updates to the game. The first update included new outfits, an advanced training mode, and difficulty options. One option, called "Student," made enemies less aggressive and reduced the aging system’s effects. Another option, called "Master" in the game, made the challenge much harder than the original difficulty, which remained in the game as "Disciple." A bonus outfit named "Young Man" was also added for Deluxe Edition owners. This outfit was inspired by the 2003 South Korean film Oldboy.

On August 31, 2022, Sloclap released a free update that added new outfits and a new scoring system. The update also introduced gameplay modifiers, such as infinite health and unbreakable weapons.

Reception

According to Metacritic, a website that collects reviews, the game Sifu received mostly positive feedback from critics on most platforms. However, the PlayStation 4 version received mixed or average reviews.

IGN praised the game for its strong design, storytelling, combat, controller feedback, environments, artificial intelligence, and structure. They noted only small problems with the camera. Destructoid described the game as a difficult but rewarding experience, calling it a story of revenge with some emotional moments. They acknowledged that while the game may not be perfect, it has strong style and action. Game Informer found the game’s structure less enjoyable over time, though they praised its early combat. GameSpot highlighted the game’s two combat styles and a unique aging system, but criticized the camera, weak story, and repetitive investigation tasks. GamesRadar+ appreciated the game’s difficulty, visuals, and replay value but noted its short length and limited enemies. Push Square gave the game eight out of ten stars, praising its combat, visuals, and level design, but pointed out unfair trial-and-error gameplay and camera issues. A Chinese publication, GamerSky, said the game meets the expectations of a kung fu film, especially in action and atmosphere, but noted its high difficulty.

Blake Morse from Shacknews gave a negative review, criticizing the upgrade system and the game’s roguelike structure, which requires players to repeat levels and grind for progress.

The game sold over 500,000 copies in the first 48 hours after its release. By March 2022, sales reached over 1 million units. By February 2024, sales surpassed 3 million units. As of May 2025, the game had sold over 4 million copies.

Adaptations

In December 2022, Story Kitchen formed a partnership with developer Sloclap to create a live-action movie adaptation of the game Sifu.

By February 2025, Netflix secured the rights to produce the film. At that time, 87Eleven Entertainment joined Sloclap and Story Kitchen as a production partner. T. S. Nowlin was named the screenwriter. Dmitri M. Johnson and Michael Lawrence Goldberg of Story Kitchen are executive producers, along with Timothy I. Stevenson and Elena Sandoval. Chad Stahelski and Jason Spitz are producers for 87Eleven Entertainment.

In August 2024, it was announced that Sifu would be adapted as an episode of the video game-themed TV series Secret Level, created by Tim Miller for Amazon Prime Video. The episode, titled Sifu: It Takes a Life, was written by Rich Larson and directed by László Ruska. Digic Pictures animated the episode, which features the voices of Parry Shen, Ping Wu, Lydia Look, Nelson Lee, Feodor Chin, and Rae Lim. The episode was released on December 10, 2024.