Sifu’s The Final Title Update adds brand new challenges in Arena mode that will test even the most skilled kung fu practitioners.
The final update for Sifu is an appropriate end in the development of a solid third-person brawler created by an independent game studio. Developed by Slocap and published by Kepler Interactive, Sifu, the third-person kung fu action game, has seen regular updates since it was originally released on February 8, 2022. Sifu The Final Update acts as the game’s latest free expansion, adding a variety of new, highly challenging Arena levels and marking the game’s final version on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles.
Sifu‘s last update caps off the martial arts action game by expanding upon the well-received Arenas update released in March 2023. With the addition of six new Tiger Arenas and a total of nine new Dragon Arenas, there are more than 75 new challenges in the game’s final version. While it may seem unimaginable that difficulty could get any harder in the game, it certainly does, providing a long-lasting challenge to diehard fans and martial arts aficionados.
The Final Update Adds Several New Arenas
While there are additional Modifiers added to the game, like a squeaky duck modifier when hitting enemies and the ability to change the pitch of the voice of enemies in the game, these additional features quickly wear out their novelty when playing in the story mode. The final update for Sifu doesn’t do much to enhance that experience but rather caters to diehard fans of the title by providing elevated challenges in Arenas. In Sifu, Arena mode is a separate game mode that offers unique challenges, enemies, and levels, typically with certain restrictions or buffs given to the character.
Arenas is where Sifu‘s final update really shines. While the additional six new Tiger Arenas were somewhat underwhelming, the Dragon Arenas took the game’s difficulty to the next level. With multiple challenges per tier, there’s so much more to do if players can even manage to get through the first few sets of challenges. For those who thought the story mode was hard, The Dragon Arena challenges will feel nearly impossible.
Some of the most fun missions include instances where special movesets are granted, completely changing the style, flow, and types of combinations used in combat. Sifu‘s final update certainly has this, albeit perhaps a bit less referential than the original Arena update was. What it does do, however, is make the unique characters you play in Arena mode feel unique and continues the standard of introducing unusual new restrictions on each challenge.
Sifu’s Final Update Starts Slow
It feels odd calling anything in Sifu “slow,” but the latest additions to Sifu‘s Arena mode do feel that way to some extent. The update adds 6 new Tiger Arenas and brand new sets of challenges. However, while the initial Arenas update in March 2023 packed each tier of challenges with creative, sometimes cheeky references to other media, including The Raid: Redemption, The Matrix, and Game of Death starring Bruce Lee, finding any such associations within the new 6 levels of the Tiger Arenas in The Final Update are few and far between.
While tying in popular media from other IP isn’t a must, it was somewhat expected, considering that some of the most fun challenges in Arena mode are the Agent Smith missions or the mission inspired by Kill Bill. While the challenges themselves are fairly fun, and one challenge involves throwing snowballs, the update doesn’t lean far enough into new, strange, or referential territory, pointing to a potentially missed opportunity.
While a few environments, including the art museum, felt interesting and new, others felt woefully reused, like the club, garage, and dojo. This gives the challenges a vanilla feel when Arenas is supposed to feel like a separate experience filled with great references. Even the most interesting map, the art museum, was very similar to the museum in the game’s main story mode.
Skilled Kung Fu Practitioners Needed
If there is one thing about the new Arenas in Sifu‘s final update, it’s that they significantly ramped up the difficulty for the latest set of challenges. This will be a mixed bag, depending on familiarity with the game. For those who practiced the different combinations and mastered different movesets, this will be the heightened challenge they’ve likely been looking for, with a huge range of new scenarios with different restrictions to experiment with. With an additional 15 hours of content (if you aren’t dying constantly), there’s enough here to keep a skilled Sifu practitioner busy and happy for quite some time.
However, for those who struggled to defeat Jinfeng or Yang in the story mode or perhaps never acquired enough points to unlock all the challenges in the Tiger Arena, it’s unlikely that The Final Update will be fun, and could become frustrating with its high difficulty level. That being said, the game still possesses the high-octane action that brought the base title so much popularity, so it is possible these elevated challenges may spark the desire to practice and refine the craft of fighting.
Is It Worth Revisiting Sifu For The Final Update?
Yes, it’s worth revising Sifu for the final content update. After all, Sifu The Final Update is a free update that greatly expands a fan-favorite mode in Arenas. The additional Modifiers and the gradual updates that Sloclap has implemented over the past year make Sifu feel like a complete game worth trying for the first time or revisiting for those who have already mastered it. The developers have significantly ramped up the difficulty level on the latest set of challenges within Arenas, which is loaded with new content, maps, and unique restrictions on each encounter.
While The Final Update doesn’t necessarily break new ground for the kung-fu brawler, it certainly punctuates the completion of the game. While previous updates for Sifu may have felt more impactful, Sifu The Final Update provides hours of more difficult content for those skilled enough to take on the challenge.
Sifu The Final Title Update releases on August 7, 2023, for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Screen Rant was provided with a PC Steam code for the purpose of this review.