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Sifu is about the pursuit of a moment. For its nameless protagonist, that moment is the vengeance that lies at the end of a road paved with bodies. For the player, that moment can come in a number of forms throughout the game – parrying and weaving between attacks, firing off a vicious-looking combo, or downing an especially tough enemy.
Specifically, it’s the moment when all of the mechanics that developer Sloclap has meticulously fitted together click for the player. Here, the combat system from games like the Batman Arkham series has been honed to produce choreographed fight scenes. Players will be required to juggle combat inputs to gain experience and score to unlock more skills.
Much like actual fight scene choreography, however, Sifu’s moments of mastery require time. Visually illustrating this is the game’s other main mechanic: the Death Counter system. Any character in Sifu is capable of laying out the unwary player, so deaths can quickly stack up. The player can immediately rise again from being struck down, but at the cost of their own life span.
As the character visibly ages from their 20’s into their 70’s, each decade before death holds the promise of dealing and absorbing more damage. The Structure meter is this in microcosm. Echoing the Sekiro’s ‘poise’ mechanic, Structure keeps track of how long your blocking ability can hold out under an onslaught of enemy attacks.
These distinctive choices separate Sifu from its roguelite contemporaries. Unfortunately, the quest for vengeance isn’t the only thing wearing on the player character. As exciting as the promise of playing the hallway fight from Oldboy can be, the white elephant in the room needs to be discussed.
Sloclap is a white French game studio, publishing a game that centers Asians without any direct input from the culture they’ve chosen to represent. What’s more unsurprising is how consistently the appropriation of culture as costume keeps happening. Biomutant’s (2021) Orientalism, Ghost of Tsushima’s (2020) cherry-picking appropriation – the list continues.
Sure, Sloclap may not have Sucker Punch money, but the Chinese aspects of Sifu makes it feel like getting a tattoo in a language you can’t read…or Gordon Ramsey being a little enthusiastic about opening a Chinese restaurant. For a game so good at asking its players to do better, surely its developers can take their own advice?
8 Fists of Fury
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The post ‘Sifu’ Gets the Slow Clap (And a Side-Eye…) appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
Sifu is about the pursuit of a moment. For its nameless protagonist, that moment is the vengeance that lies at the end of a road paved with bodies. For the player, that moment can come in a number of forms throughout the game – parrying and weaving between attacks, firing off a vicious-looking combo, or downing an especially tough enemy.
Specifically, it’s the moment when all of the mechanics that developer Sloclap has meticulously fitted together click for the player. Here, the combat system from games like the Batman Arkham series has been honed to produce choreographed fight scenes. Players will be required to juggle combat inputs to gain experience and score to unlock more skills.
Much like actual fight scene choreography, however, Sifu’s moments of mastery require time. Visually illustrating this is the game’s other main mechanic: the Death Counter system. Any character in Sifu is capable of laying out the unwary player, so deaths can quickly stack up. The player can immediately rise again from being struck down, but at the cost of their own life span.
As the character visibly ages from their 20’s into their 70’s, each decade before death holds the promise of dealing and absorbing more damage. The Structure meter is this in microcosm. Echoing the Sekiro’s ‘poise’ mechanic, Structure keeps track of how long your blocking ability can hold out under an onslaught of enemy attacks.
These distinctive choices separate Sifu from its roguelite contemporaries. Unfortunately, the quest for vengeance isn’t the only thing wearing on the player character. As exciting as the promise of playing the hallway fight from Oldboy can be, the white elephant in the room needs to be discussed.
Sloclap is a white French game studio, publishing a game that centers Asians without any direct input from the culture they’ve chosen to represent. What’s more unsurprising is how consistently the appropriation of culture as costume keeps happening. Biomutant’s (2021) Orientalism, Ghost of Tsushima’s (2020) cherry-picking appropriation – the list continues.
Sure, Sloclap may not have Sucker Punch money, but the Chinese aspects of Sifu makes it feel like getting a tattoo in a language you can’t read…or Gordon Ramsey being a little enthusiastic about opening a Chinese restaurant. For a game so good at asking its players to do better, surely its developers can take their own advice?
8 Fists of Fury
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram!
The post ‘Sifu’ Gets the Slow Clap (And a Side-Eye…) appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.
We need to talk about S.W.O.R.D. and the Benedict Arnold flow that Al Ewing and other Marvel writers have been hitting us with left and right. It’s hard to summarize because the final issues of S.W.O.R D. (#s 10 & #11) have felt like a wild DBZ fusion dance of Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning’s greatest hits with Abigail Brand and Whiz Kid going into deep cover to get ahead of the Orchis thorn in mutantdom’s side.
Beast’s Betrayal
Back tracking a bit, this next level espionage, double agent storyline should come as no surprise after we uncovered the appalling levels of savagery that Beast was willing to go to “for the sake of Krakoa.” He spied on the mutants of his nation, had plans to round up all mutants with Russian ties, and parade and shame them publicly to instill fear into anyone that may have traitorous thoughts on their mind. Some real Third Reich, GoT walk of shame shit. He was able to straight up (with the help of Sage…although she didn’t know the extent of his Big Brother ways) institute a fungal spyware network and used teleflornics to develop some low-key control over Terra Verde, a small nation.
Except it all backfired, got hacked, might’ve blown up in his face and exposed Krakoa as an aggressive nation that couldn’t be trusted if Emma Frost, Professor X, and the Council didn’t put the kibosh on the whole operation the night of the Hellfire Gala. Will we ever see the end of Illuminati x Age of Apoc Beast and the return of warm, kind, X-Men TAS Hank McCoy?
The True Traitor
I give you all that to say, Abigail Brand shit’s in Beast’s cereal and calls it the prize at the bottom of the box. She has catapulted herself into Cruella de Vil territory and I can’t wait to see how it all blows up in her face, or if she’ll live long enough to be one of the main wheels in the cog that lead to the end of mutantdom. In S.W.O.R.D. #10, we find out that Wiz Kid is kind of a spy for Orchis. He’s been giving Henry Gyrich intel about the mutants and their new nation. We also find out that he’s only been feeding them the info that they need to get Gyrich to trust Takeshi Matsuya.
Of course, he double crosses the Gyrich and helps Brand infiltrate Orchis with the help of Pym particles. But as much of a genius that Whiz Kid is, he has no chance of predicting what Brand has up her sleeve, and apparently, neither does the entire nation of mutants. We see where her loyalties lie in S.W.O.R.D. #11, and while I can’t say that I blame her, I can still be as disgusted by her as Madara was at the entire 4th Ninja War army when he was bussin they ass.
Backstabbing Brand: It’s a Brand Name
Brand’s treachery is devious on so many levels. The entire nation entrusted her to monitor the threats in the stars and that approach planet Earth, so it’s particularly disrespectful she can even think about treating them as such cannon fodder in her sadistically splendid schemes. But splendid they are indeed.
Part of me has a feeling she may play some role in the future breeding pits of Mars we found out about wayyy back in Powers of X #1. Part of me wants her to be playing a different long game; one that doesn’t include sacrificing this glorious age of Krakoa. There were so many other candidates to be the big traitor of the X-Men – Fabian Cortez, Omega Red, Havok, Psylocke, Legion, and the list goes on. But no, the head of the X-Men’s space operations is the culprit as she continues to slither through the grass. I’ll tell you one thing though! I’ll be keeping up with Brand’s schemes in X-Men Red dropping in April.
Enjoying S.W.O.R.D.? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.
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“See, I believe in money, power, respect. First, you get the money,
then you get the mutha fucking power. After you get the fucking power, muthafuckas will respect you” – Lil Kim
Forget a crown! Forget flowers! Forget a homage! Goat this woman Ali Wong right the fuck now! I got no other way I could possibly start this review aside from saying Ali Wong is a greatest of all time. Fight me. Ali’s third stand-up special Don Wong is the perfect dismount for her stand-up trilogy. Ali Wong’s body of work not only stands the test of time but expands continuously with her growth as a person as well. Ali Wong’s stand-up trilogy is Die Hard strong. I’m talking. Lord of the Ring Strong. This is Captain America Trilogy level strength (Yes, I’m putting Captain America’s trilogy in this analogy over Batman’s.) Baby Cobra introduced to how real rap raw Ali Wong is. Hard Knock Wife showed us ain’t shit change but the dot on the range. Ali was still as raw as ever. In Don Wong, Ali solidifies that when she drops a comedy special, everyone gotta come kiss the ring.
Let’s be honest, there’s always a worry if a performer’s work will be as good as their past special, album, or movie. That shit’s real hard on comedians too cause at times with success sometimes the material don’t hit. Now, look at ya girl Ali Wong. Fam, Ali got a hit book out called Dear Girls, she gave us an incredible movie with Always Be My Maybe. Ali Wong is successful as fuck… but this woman is built entirely different cause that don’t mean a damn thing to her. Ali doesn’t lose a step and comes out like a prizefighter. Ain’t no thanking the crowd for their applause. No settling them down. Ali comes out walks with the red frames and matching leopard print shirt and keeps it beast mode the entire time. What made me an Ali Wong fan from the jump is just how gutter and with the shits she keeps it. It may feel weird to say but if there was a baton pass for the Kings of Comedy, Ali Wong would be the trusted anchor leg to take it to the finish line.
Ali Wong gets her special jumping by talking about how no man in the building ever had their dick sucked by a woman that makes more than them. Just like that, Ali invites us right back into her world and how her mind works. Ali explores the bullshit discrepancies and double standards between men and women, especially when money, power, and respect are involved as only she can. The way she breaks these tropes and situations down is nothing short of TedTalk genius mixed with the realest talk possible. This woman said she prefers to get busted on the face cause it’s easier than sucking dick. She then proceeded to break down the tiresome task of sucking dick. There are comedians that do it but the way Ali Wong fucking just keeps it so real rap raw is what makes her stand out. From the double-handed “pepper grinder motion” to telling the lies about how, “It’s soooo big! It’s the biggest dick I ever had in my mouth.” Ladies, you gotta tell the lie so they come faster.” Genius. Fucking Genius.
Ali then gets into how absurd the motion of a guy coming on a woman’s face especially from the woman’s point of view. She gives a spot-on re-enactment of a dude’s oh face and jerking motion, and I was fucking floored man. She talks about wanting to cheat on her husband, the woes of monogamy, and how society is more forgiving of men that cheat when they have money, power, and respect. Money, power, and respect become a continuous refrain Ali references throughout her Don Wong special to show the discrepancies between men and women.
Ali wants us all to know that she’s a shit person, so we aren’t surprised by the TMZ report of her cheating on her husband with Michael B. Jordan. She then proceeds to call Michael B. Jordan’s V-cut his “cum gutters” then tells a story about the attractive food consultant from Always Be My Maybe showing her how to cut chicken, noticing his erection (which was fine), then getting home and seeing that her underwear “looked like the bottom of a birdcage.”
*grabs camera* This is why I love Ali Wong. Who the fuck comes up with cum gutters as a description for a V-Cut? Who thinks of pussy juice looking like the bottom of a birdcage? Your girl is operating on a different level of funny. She even talks about needing to buy new underwear if she’s going to cheat cause the panties she rocking now looks is worn from being married. The way my wife was laughing so hard that she couldn’t make a sound from lack of breath. Ali knows how to take the personal things we think only we notice universal. I love artists that can take something so personal and show that it’s something everyone can relate to.
Through the entirety of Don Wong, Ali Wong moves around stage as this apex predator. She’s selective when she uses physical comedy but when she goes all in, it’s always worth it. The majority of Ali’s power comes from her facial expressions, voice, speech pattern, and cadence. Ali Wong just sounds so unique on the mic. No one: man, woman, or person sounds or moves like Ali Wong. They don’t make pop culture references like Ali. They don’t swim in the gutta like Ali. They don’t bring shit back around full circle like Ali Wong, man. I truly believe this woman is in a league of her own. It has been a joy to see Ali Wong comeback better than before for three specials in a row. Ali has an uncanny ability to describe whatever nasty shit she’s talking about to a primal degree while at the same time never letting the audience forget the hoops society makes women jump through.
Look, I’ma tell you like this Don Wong Netflix special told me. Ali Wong is the most dynamic and dangerous comedian on the mic. She isn’t here for just a good time. It’s safe to say her prime is here to stay for a long time. All hail Ali Wong from the southside Water Tribe.
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