John Wick has consistently surprised moviegoers with every new release, as each film manages to feel fresh and exciting as opposed to repetitive and boring. This is no easy feat for a series of action movies, as fans of the genre will often feel like they have seen all there is to see. However, every John Wick film manages to raise the bar, with the top-down fight scene from John Wick 4 being a perfect reminder of how inventive the franchise can be - and how much it deserves a video game in the same vein as Sifu.
Though John Wick has had a few small-scale video games, none have truly captured the feel of the series. Doing so is no easy task, as the gun-fu featured in the movies will be hard to make satisfying and challenging. However, there is one developer who is up to the task: Sloclap. If it were interested, the studio could use everything it learned from Sifu to deliver a similar style of game that is just as exhilarating as the movies it is based on.
A John Wick Game is Right Up Sloclap’s Alley
In its previous title Absolver and especially Sifu, Sloclap's melee combat felt incredible, with the developer showing its expertise in skill-dependent close quarters combat. While it takes a bit to master kung-fu and all the various combos, parries, and environmental interactions required to perfectly clear stages, connecting with the combat results in a fighting game experience like no other. Because of this, Sifu is able to deliver some sequences very reminiscent of action movies like Old Boy.
Considering how it has embraced these comparisons with the new Sifu Arenas mode, as players can take part in sequences based fully on The Matrix and Kill Bill, Sloclap has clearly looked toward films for some inspiration. Perhaps it could do the same with John Wick, introducing guns into the mix for some gun-fu gameplay in a Sifu spiritual successor. However, it could also go for a full-on John Wick game instead, partnering with Lionsgate for a faithful adaptation.
Players could truly feel like they have become John Wick if the game has some Sifu-like combat, as much of the 2022 release already delivers on the feel of a John Wick film. Sloclap would simply need to shift its focus from Japan to the world of assassination and incorporate handguns, shotguns, and random items like pencils into the mix for some unique kills. Nearly everything else about the John Wick game could remain the same, including its level structure.
In Sifu, players need to clear out waves of enemies as they progress through a stage, with hard encounters spread across the level. After players clear all the enemies, they will be faced with a boss fight, forced to restart if they get too old to keep fighting. While Sifu’s age mechanic would not work in a John Wick-led game, the level structure certainly would, as players could face an expert assassin at the end of each stage that is out to kill Wick. Experienced assassins could even ambush Wick out of nowhere, adding in a surprise boss fight here and there. Perhaps FromSoftware’s invasion mechanic could even make an appearance.
Considering that Keanu Reeves is open to video game roles, as shown by his portrayal of Johnny Silverhand in Cyberpunk 2077, perhaps he would be open to reprising the role of John Wick in this hypothetical Sloclap game. Regardless, Sloclap’s expertise with kung-fu gameplay would translate perfectly to a project focusing on the visually pleasing gun-fu of the “baba yaga.” Though there is nothing indicating that it will actually happen, Sloclap and John Wick feels like a match made in heaven.
Sifu is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
