Old Boy, John Wick, Sifu: The design of a Pak Mei master

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In just seven years and two games, Sloclap has minted a name for itself as a studio that manages to almost magically capture the flow and essence of hand-to-hand combat in a video game.

Absolver, released in 2017, delivered poetic, fluid, dynamic choreography in the studio’s debut effort, making good on the game’s taglines that combat is a dance and movement is your weapon.

In Sifu, Sloclap’s much-anticipated second title, the choreographic combat of Absolver is honed through the mastery of the real-world techniques of Pak Mei kung fu, and the game is given both a compelling revenge storyline and creative aging mechanic that balances out that liquid-smooth combat with a compelling cost to in-game failure.

The result is a game steeped in praise, earning near-perfect review scores from a plethora of publications. We chatted with the Paris-based development team about the game’s inspiration, the evolution of the studio’s praise-worthy combat system, and its many influences from movies to video games.

To read the rest of this story, which first ran on March 30, 2022, visit UnrealEngine.com.