The latest State of Play from Sony revisited a lot of games that Sony fans already knew about, providing some updates here and there. However, sprinkled throughout the event was newer information, including the announcement of Sifu. Although not a lot was revealed about Sifu, its identity was made clear. This game is all about martial arts, as an unidentified protagonist slowly masters Kung fu and rapidly ages instead of dying when attacked, thanks to an amulet he wears. It's an interesting narrative, but it's not the only martial arts game on the market. Biomutant is coming out soon, and martial arts are central to its gameplay as well.
Biomutant is certainly a very different take on the martial arts genre than Sifu is. The game's customizable protagonist is a mutant in the far future who will learn all kinds of martial arts techniques to fight other mutants and protect the Tree of Life. However, there might still be some elements of gameplay in common between Biomutant and Sifu. In general, it's striking that 2021 already has two martial arts games coming up. This used to be a much more popular kind of media, but fell out of favor with most people. With the advent of Sifu, maybe the martial arts genre is making a comeback.
The Return of Martial Arts
Sifu is being developed by a Parisian studio called Sloclap. Sloclap's biggest claim to fame before Sifu was Absolver, a PvP game that was also based on martial arts. In Absolver, players could customize their character's fighting style via a deck building mechanic, using cards representing different techniques to develop their own fighting style. It was a unique take on the martial arts genre that was also fairly realistic, introducing nuance to combat like the ability to make enemies drop their weapons, giving someone else the chance to take them. Aside from the supernatural amulet, it looks like Sifu's combat will rely heavily on real Kung fu techniques as well.
Biomutant offers a look at the opposite end of the spectrum of martial arts games. It's a fantastical and colorful sci-fi experience set in the distant apocalypse. Although the fighting techniques that Biomutant's protagonist learns will probably be inspired in some ways by real martial arts, they'll probably be fictionalized in many ways. After all, the fighting styles have to find ways to incorporate Biomutant's broad range of guns and melee weapons. Even so, the game will surely be full of references, themes, and homages to traditional martial arts media.
Expanding the Genre
If these two games are to be the faces of a new generation of martial arts games, it's a good thing. Sifu and Biomutant represent two ends of a spectrum of possible martial arts game. One the one hand, there's Sifu, which leans heavily on realism and seems interested in representing real-life disciplines. On the other hand, there's Biomutant, which is more interested in capturing the spirit of martial arts games and movies while pushing the boundaries of what martial arts media can look like. There's so much room to be explored in between these two.
Sifu looks pretty compelling in its own right. Although its specific release date is unknown for now, fans can put some faith in Sloclap's experience with Absolver. It'll probably prove invaluable in designing another game of the same kind. In the meantime, fans can look to Sifu's distant cousin Biomutant, with a release on the horizon. If these two games both do well for themselves, odds are other developers will consider getting back into the genre. Sifu's early comparisons to Jackie Chan movies are certainly favorable publicity for martial arts entertainment. Maybe this genre is ready to make an unexpected comeback.
Sifu releases in 2021 for PC, PS4, and PS5.
