14 DAY TRIAL // Slocap, the developer behind Absolver, announced that its next game, Sifu will now be released in early 2022. The artful kung-fu game was initially slated for a fall 2021 release, but the developer announced last week at Sony State of Play that it needs more time to finish the game.
Releasing Sifu this year would have compromised the quality and have the team crunch for many months, neither of which acceptable solutions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, game development has been a massive challenge for everyone at Slocap.
Although the studio still felt earlier this year that it could make its original planned launch date, as the deadline grew closer, it became clear that it would not be able to do so without putting the quality of the game at risk or creating huge pressure on the people working on Sifu.
Along with the new launch window, Slocap unveiled a brand-new trailer that offers players a short glimpse of Sifu's aging mechanic in an all-new environment. The game's main character starts in a nightclub and will soon find themselves in an underground fight club where he will have to prevail through combat in order to reach their target. As players manage to win more fights, the surroundings will evolve and they get deeper into the hideouts of the enemies.
For those who haven't heard about Sifu, this is a game about mastering the art of Kung Fu. The aging mechanic and death are some of the main concepts of the game and both inspire the main character's drive and philosophy.
In Sifu, players will be able to restart instantly where they died and keep going forward. However, the protagonist can't age forever, so they will eventually become too old and have to start their path again.
It's also important to mention that aging in Sifu doesn't make your character weaker. Instead, like the old masters of classic Kung Fu movies, as the main character becomes older, they have more experience, skills, and knowledge to use in battle. Although you might be losing some speed as you age, you'll gain new, better skills.
Sifu will come to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC (via the Epic Games Store) in early 2022.