Sifu has finally made its way to both PC and Xbox consoles. Initially releasing on PlayStation in February 2022, the title eventually made its way to Switch later in the year alongside a sizable content update and patch that addressed some of the game's known issues. With a unique mechanic that resurrects and ages players to the point of death upon each defeat, Sifu was known for its difficulty. One of the primary changes implemented in Patch 1.009 from May 2022 was two additional difficulty modes - "Student" for those looking for a lighter challenge, and "Master" appealing to players who had already completed Sifu.
The latest release of Sifu on PC and Xbox brings attention back to how developer Sloclap addressed concerns over difficulty and accessibility. When Sifu initially launched on PlayStation, much of the conversation surrounding the game focused on its brutal difficulty. While there were many players able to beat Sifu who thoroughly enjoyed their time doing so, there were plenty of others who were turned off thanks to the perception of a high barrier to entry. When discussing the concept of difficulty in games and how developers should address, it one studio in particular frequently comes to mind that could learn from Sifu: FromSoftware.
Sifu's Implementation of Difficulty Encourages Players to 'Git Gud'
The base difficulty in the 1.0 launch of Sifu was a considerable challenge, but far from impossible for players to overcome given time to study the game and master its systems. The phrase "git gud," a now-common gaming parlance used in reference to how players are expected to progress in the soulsborne genre that FromSoftware helped popularize, could also be used as advice for beating Sifu. Although the phrase can be seen as a jab at players who struggle with the difficulty of the Souls series, there is logic behind it. In order to surpass a game's challenges, players must first respect the intention of the developers.
Similar to how there is little joy to be found in mindlessly button-mashing one's way to victory, an endless series of defeats at the hands of cruel AI opponents often leads to frustration and abandonment of a game. In patching Sifu to include a tiered difficulty system, Sloclap incentivized players to start with the level of challenge that works for their current skill set and play the game with intent, improving as they progress. Giving players multiple options of difficulty and making sure that each one is balanced, thus providing players the practice necessary to master and progress to the next tier, is an oft-requested feature in FromSoftware titles.
Elden Ring Established FromSoft's Willingness to Make Titles More Accessible
Though it didn't offer multiple difficulty modes, FromSoftware helped make Elden Ring more accessible by virtue of its open-world design. Instead of funneling players through a predetermined mostly-linear path with skill blocks and bottlenecks, players were free to tackle The Lands Between as they saw fit. But FromSoftware can still take its approach to difficulty a step further in its next game.
Including difficulty options such as those found in Sifu could be a template that other notoriously difficult games try moving forward, including titles developed by FromSoftware. By providing tiered options that are intended to organically train players in the game's systems, seeing them raise their skill ceiling and moving to higher difficulties as a result, all games become more accessible. Implementation of a similar system in FromSoft games could be the impetus for each of the studio's titles to see the same success as Elden Ring.
Sifu is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
