Competing for high scores in arcade games has become something of a dying diversion. However, that hasn’t stopped Sifu from modernizing the arcade experience through its unique aging mechanic. This cleverly designed feature utilizes arcade-like game design to draw friends together and encourage competition through mastery.
Sifu is a modern 3D beat-em-up akin to the side-scrolling beat-em-ups popularized in the arcade era, like Double Dragon. Stylized after iconic kung fu movies, Sifu aims to capture the frenetic fights found in fast-paced action flicks by utilizing its aging mechanic to encourage mastery of the martial art. By doing so, the game has given players a new method of competing against each other for bragging rights.
Sifu‘s aging mechanic is the equivalent of a lives system. Getting a “game over” in Sifu means becoming too old to fight, and completing levels at a young age is equivalent of a high score. Each time the player’s health is depleted, they stand right back up where they left off with full health but have grown older as a result. Players start the game at 20 and age with every defeat until they reach the end of the line in their 70s. From there, they must restart the level from the age at which they started, losing all the upgrades they’ve earned along the way. It’s one of the few instances in video games where achieving a high score means having the lowest number.
Classic arcade features such as high scores and a lives system combine to create a satisfyingly addictive mechanic designed around the concept of growing old. Completing a level before age 70 isn’t cause for celebration when players have to start the next level at the age at which they completed the last. Just like an arcade game, players’ have a limited number of lives with which to complete the game, so perfecting the early levels through countless replays is vital for surviving the later ones.
The unique challenge of staying young adds thrilling tension to every run, which pays off with worthwhile rewards. Some of the best upgrades are tied to the aging mechanic, which eliminates a number of these if the player is too old to learn them. Despite the levels not changing between runs, finishing them at the youngest age boosts replayability because Sifu‘s depth and variation lie in its gameplay.
Playing alongside friends is where the high score chasing really comes into play, and it’s done without any leaderboards. The reward of beating a difficult level at age 50 is robbed the moment a friend shows off how they can beat the same level at age 23. Friendly competition over who can be the youngest kung fu master pushes players to keep chasing that carrot on the stick beyond just finishing the story. Bragging rights among friends will always remain a desirable reward, just as they were during the heyday of arcade games.
This system also encourages friends to share tips and secrets with each other, which is similar to passing around fighting game knowledge during the arcade days. Sifu‘s main character constantly growing older mirrors the player experience since the more time they spend perfecting the combat, the wiser a kung fu master they become. Being taught how to parry or how to dodge is trivial compared to discovering exactly when to use which move. Sifu withholds much of this information, relying on the player to study the game mechanics firsthand and then pass this wisdom on to friends. Learning about the many different techniques other friends utilize in their playthroughs hearkens back to the friendly conversations had over crowded arcade cabinets.
Much of this competitive discussion can still be found amongst players of other roguelikes or genres such as Soulsborne. However, Sifu manages to accomplish this by building on top of old school arcade design philosophies in an almost unrecognizable fashion. Sadly, many players and developers alike believe that arcade games are a thing of the past, but Sifu proves that the spirit of arcade games can still shine today.
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