Martial arts rogue-lite Sifu will now launch two weeks earlier

Over the last year, we’ve gotten so many game delay announcements that it’s hard to keep up. Today’s news regarding Sifu feels refreshing. The martial arts brawler was scheduled to release late February next year. But that’s all changed, and for the better. Sifu will now launch two weeks earlier on PC via the Epic Games Store, heading out the gate on February 8, 2022.

The announcement, though, does read a bit confusing. Developer Sloclap paired the announcement with a new trailer. Its description notes that “Sifu will be released on the PlayStation Store on February 8th, 2022. We have made good progress on getting our game ship-ready and we are excited to be able to launch Sifu two weeks earlier than anticipated.” The words used would suggest that the early launch for Sifu is only for the PlayStation Store. However, the trailer itself includes the new date along with the EGS logo. So, I’m rolling with that for now.

Sifu, for those who don’t know, is a rogue-like coming to us from the makers of Absolver. The latter game blended martial arts with Souls-like elements, and threw in a healthy amount of PvP. You could create your own fighting style as you leveled up in its dreary world. Absolver was well received, and Sloclap is putting what it learned into making Sifu‘s combat even better.

The sound of one hand slowly clapping

Of course, Sifu doesn’t appear to be Souls-ish at all. Instead, the game is a rogue-lite, encouraging replays, and where every death ages your character. Previous trailers have shown him as a young man, but growing more and more aged with every failure. Soon enough, black hair yields to gray. But even as an older master, our hero doesn’t miss a step. The martial arts combat of the game looks highly inspired by movies that have starred such famous figures like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Punches and kicks are one part of your arsenal, but so are objects around the room.

Sifu will now launch on February 8, 2022.