Sifu producer confirms no difficulty options at launch Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Sifu producer confirms no difficulty options at launch Death and aging mechanics detailed. News by Ed Nightingale News reporter Updated on 25 Nov 2021 42 comments Sifu producer Pierre Tarno has confirmed the game won't include difficulty options at launch, following details of its unique aging mechanic. A twist on roguelike gameplay, the player character will age each time they die which will affect abilities. Speaking to MP1st, Tarno was asked if the game can be completed without ever aging: yes! However, there won't initially be difficulty options as developer Sloclap wants players to learn and adapt over the course of the game. Watch on YouTube "We want Sifu to challenge players and to encourage them to learn, improve and adapt," said Tarno. "The ability to rise up from death will help new players by allowing them to fail and try again multiple times when they face difficulty. But the price of mistakes will rapidly increase, and in order to fully complete the game they will have to master the combat system." MP1st does confirm that while no difficulty options will be included at launch, this may be implemented later. A recent PlayStation Blog gives details on Sifu's unique mechanics. The player character holds an ancient pendant that can heal them back to life, but each time they're revived they age. With age comes increased offensive power in exchange for health. The more the player dies, the more they age: beginning with one year, the second death will bring a two year age gap and so on. What's more, revival is a limited resource. Eventually your character will die and reach a definitive game over, forcing a restart of the chapter. While intriguing, these mechanics have brought the game's difficulty into question. It seems Slocap is set on establishing the difficulty curve without options. It's a similar situation to Returnal, another PlayStation exclusive roguelike that was criticised for not including a save function which artificially increased the game's difficulty. That has since been rectified in a recent update. Sifu is due for release across PlayStation consoles and PC two weeks earlier than expected on 8th February. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Atari will hold RollerCoaster Tycoon rights for another decade Ups and downs. 7 Lady Dimitrescu will be a tad smaller in Resident Evil Village's Mercenaries DLC Level the playing field. 1 Overwatch 2 suffers another DDoS attack and character roster bugs Mei Mei. 13 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 4 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store