Kung Fu brawler Sifu is releasing two weeks earlier than scheduled, now coming out on February 8, 2022. Developer Sloclap also revealed a new trailer showcasing the combat system and aging mechanic. The earlier release means that Sifu will not have to compete with other big-name titles such as Horizon Forbidden West and Elden Ring, or Destiny 2’s new Witch Queen expansion, all of which are releasing at the end of February 2022.
We are approaching Gold Master on Sifu and are happy to announce that we’re moving up the release by two weeks! #SifuGame will be released on February 8th, 2022
Check out our two new gameplay videos on @PlayStation starting at 8:15 AM PT / 5:15 PM CEST pic.twitter.com/2ek2DyPaBz— SifuGame (@SifuGame) November 18, 2021
The announcement comes just a few months after Sloclap announced earlier this Summer that it would delay Sifu to Early 2022. As with many delayed games this year, the main culprit was the issues surrounding remote work during the pandemic. While Sloclap community manager Felix Garczynski offered an apology, he assured fans that the team would strive to make the best game possible. Later, Sloclap also announced an official release date of February 22, 2022 alongside opening preorders.
In addition to the new release date announcement, Sloclap also took to PlayStation Blog to reveal some key film inspirations as well as explain some important gameplay mechanics. In Sifu, players will control a young martial arts student as they investigate the assassination of their family. Equipped with a magical pendant that resurrects them after death at the cost of a year of aging, players will punch their way through seedy clubs and hideouts to find out the truth.
Sloclap explains that players will age according to the number of times they’ve died. The first death will age you one year, the second death two years, and so on. Additionally, players will also have access to shrines where they can add perks to help them in combat. Aging will also reduce your maximum health, but increase the strength of your attacks. Past a certain age, however, players will be unable to keep fighting and resulting in a game over. This will also result in the player losing all of their perks.
Don’t worry, though. At the end of each “chapter”, the game will save your progress and allow you to try again with the age you had when you completed it. This means that players will be able to push themselves to do no-death perfect runs without having to worry about starting from the very beginning.
You can check out the official Sifu release date and combat trailer below:
Sifu launches on February 8, 2022.