PlayStation's recent State of Play showcases have been stacked with smaller titles, and today's presentation was no different. While there were appearances from some triple-a games, like the upcoming PS5 shooter Deathloop, the show spent most of its time highlighting smaller projects. Sifu is one such project, though the action-packed trailer revealed during the July State of Play presentation did include some unfortunate news.
While it was originally slated for 2021, Sifu's release window has been moved to "early 2022" according to the trailer released today. As with most release windows, it's pretty vague, though it likely won't be as massive of a shift as other recent games have been experienced. While nothing has been confirmed, early 2022 likely means the first quarter or so of the year, which would land somewhere between January to April, assuming it doesn't get pushed further.
It's admittedly disappointing to see the project get pushed back, but delays are never a bad thing. The extra time spent in the oven will likely mean a more polished product when it does finally release, and that's ultimately great for players. In a tweet released after the trailer, developer Sloclap clarified that, in order to release the game this year, it would be necessary to subject the team to a crunch period or sacrifice the quality of the game, neither of which was considered a good option.
It's not all bad news, though. The new trailer gave fans an excellent look at Sifu gameplay and mechanics. Specifically, the trailer features a heavy emphasis on how the character ages, which happens each time they're defeated. It's not entirely clear how aging will affect the experience, though it's the first time players have seen it in action. It might change the abilities that players can use, but fans will have to wait to find out more.
Sifu has been one of the smaller, darling projects of recent State of Play presentations, being heavily featured alongside even some of PlayStation's biggest titles. There's a fair bit of excitement around the project at this point, which is always a good sign when it comes to games of this scope.
That excitement means Sifu's delay will sting a bit, though Sloclap does make some excellent points about why a delay is necessary. Video game industry crunch has been a problem for a long time, and sacrificing quality is never a good thing. The extra wait time is unfortunate, but it should also mean the wait was worth it.
Sifu will release in early 2022 for PC, PS4, and PS5.