Sifu is a 2022 martial-arts action game from Sloclap. You play a young kung fu student hunting the five people responsible for your father's murder. Its central idea is aging: when you die, a pendant brings you back on the spot, but you come back older. You start at age 20, and once the pendant can no longer sustain you, your next death ends the run. Older characters deal more damage but have less health, so every fight is a trade-off.
The game came out on PS4, PS5 and Windows (Epic Games Store) on 8 February 2022, on Nintendo Switch on 8 November 2022 and on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on 28 March 2023 (the Steam version arrived the same month). It is built around close-quarters fighting: strikes, parries, dodges, grabs and picked-up objects, with a Structure meter that decides when you or an enemy is open to a finishing attack.
The story is five levels, each ending in a boss: The Squats (Fajar, "The Botanist"), The Club (Sean, "The Fighter"), The Museum (Kuroki, "The Artist"), The Tower (Jinfeng, "The CEO") and The Sanctuary (Yang, "The Leader"). Killing a target sends you back in time to repeat the fights in a loop until you learn Wude; sparing all five leads to the enlightenment ending.
Each death adds to a death counter and you age by that many years when you rise. Age trades maximum health for damage, and one guide states that a death at age 70 or above ends the run.
Light and heavy strikes, parries, dodges, grabs and environmental weapons, built around a Structure meter that opens enemies to finishers.
The Squats, The Club, The Museum, The Tower and The Sanctuary. Every level has at least one shortcut, unlocked by beating a mini-boss.
Replaying earlier levels lets you finish them at a younger age. A free Arenas update (28 March 2023) added challenge maps and extra modes.
Release facts, mechanics and boss details on this page were checked against these sources on 12 October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us.