Sifu review — Age before wisdom

I’m no stranger to difficult games. Back in my halcyon days, I cut my teeth playing 8- and 16-bit titles that lasted an hour but demanded at least a week or two to beat. I’ve finished Dark Souls and its brethren, and I’m proud to say that I’m one of few video game journalists who managed to complete the Cuphead tutorial. But pride, as they say, comes before the fall. Like a master before a pupil, Sifu managed to humble me often. It’s a hard game, but the challenge came in ways I didn’t often foresee. Sifu is your classic martial arts tale of vengeance, and doesn’t strive for much else. Your character, who can be your choice of male or female, sets out on a path of revenge after being left for dead by five former students of your master and father. The story is just the framework, in the end. Sifu, at its core, is a third-person beat ’em up. You use your mastery of kung fu to dispatch dozens of enemies using fast fists, flying feet, and…