History VideoGame / Sifu

* ArtifactOfPower: Each of the five bosses wield an artifact that gifts them incredible magical powers. Fajar has the sand that gives him a GreenThumb, while Sean has his pole which gives him increased durability and [[PlayingWithFire control over flame]] at the cost of burning his flesh. Once the bosses are backed into a corner, they seem to pull the Student into a MentalWorld of sorts where their powers are greatly amplified.
* BadassNormal: Compared to the other four bosses, Yang doesn't wield any sort of special transformative powers. He simply fights using [[MirrorBoss a similar fighting style to the protagonist.]]

* ArcWords: Sifu, referring to the one in the prologue, as well as the various other "masters" found in the game.

* KickChick: A recurring fighting style used by female minibosses is one focused heavily on swift, hard-hitting kicks, with their most notable move being a devastating axe-kick that deals a colossal amount of damage.

*** Each of the major EliteMook subtypes are introduced alone before you're required to handle them in pair or with flunkies, even though realistically any of them could have yelled for reinforcements. The trope is most obviously played straight on the dance floor in The Club: you incapacitate perhaps a dozen standard enemies before a cutscene triggers and the local miniboss who's been lounging around watching you fight finally decides she needs to deal with you personally.

** [[BloodKnight Sean]] is a prime example of this, often appearing before the student and teasing him by promptly leaving before the big fight. Several of his silhouettes are prominent throughout the club, and one of them is a BaitAndSwitchSilhouette where you fight one of Sean's disciples armed with a staff instead.

* AnAesop: [[spoiler:Nothing good ever comes out of revenge. Learn to forgive, move on, and be the better person, or you will destroy yourself and countless others along the way, to an ultimate goal that may just leave you feeling worse and emptier than ever before.]]

The central mechanic of the game is resurrection related to the aforementioned talisman where if you die, you age by a certain number of years, the number of which increases when you die (for instance, when you die the first time, you will be resurrected, but aged by one year, the second time, by two years and so on), and the game ends if you get too old; only upon death, save a few circumstances, can you upgrade a skill either temporarily or permanently for future runs, making gameplay akin to a roguelike.

** One type of mook you'll run into are Juggernauts, the big bulky guys who pack a lot of HP, deal tons of damage, and have a unique grapple move where they rush you down and slam you into the ground.

You play as the child of a Kung Fu master whose school was massacred one night by a group of martial artists with their father killed by Yang, their leader and [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil his former pupil turned to evil]]. They are then killed by one of his compatriots, before being resurrected by a magical talisman. They proceed to train for several years for the day they will take revenge on Yang and his team.

** Owning the ''[[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition Deluxe Edition]]'' entitles you to the [[BadassInANiceSuit "Young Man" outfit]] which is a sly reference to ''[[Film/Oldboy2003 Oldboy]]''.

* MagicalRealism: ''Sifu'' is about a young martial artists beating down everyone on their RoaringRampageofRevenge. They just happen to be backed up by a magic talisman that revives them from death, while the targets inexplicably possess magic powers that shape the environment in ways that are more symbolic than anything, and are mostly treated as an afterthought.

* AndYourRewardIsClothes: Beating the game by [[spoiler:killing Yang]] unlocks the Vengeance outfit, while beating the game by [[spoiler:sparing Yang]] unlocks the Wude outfit.

** Owning the ''[[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition Deluxe Edition]]'' entitles you to the "Young Man" outfit which is a sly reference to ''[[Film/Oldboy2003 Oldboy]]''.

* ActionGirl: The Student, as well as most of the enemies.

* GiantMook: One type of mook you'll run into are Juggernauts, the big bulky guys who pack a lot of HP, deal tons of damage, and have a unique grapple move where they rush you down and slam you into the ground.

* RapidFireFisticuffs: Used a lot of the times. Justified, as those with "Hands that go out like lightning" causes the enemy to not want to fight anymore, as well as the martial arts being practiced by the Student uses a lot of rapid punches.

** [[BloodKnight Sean]] is a prime example of this, often appearing before the student and teasing him by promptly leaving before the big fight. Several of his silhouettes are prominent throughout the club, and one of them is a BaitAndSwitchSilhouette where you fight one of Sean's disciples instead.

* FakeSpecialAttack: The Calbot focus move, named after a JokeCharacter deck in VideoGame/{{Absolver}}, is simply a humorous DopeSlap that does nothing (unless you use it to taunt your opponents). [[LampshadeHanging Its description even just says Calbot,]] and combined with its unconventional name compared to the more practical titles of the other focus moves alludes to its joke status.

* {{Determinator}}: The Student is so focused on taking their revenge, nothing dissuades them, from the small armies of {{Mooks}} they have to fight through, to the target's own formidable skills, to the targets manifesting elemental abilities out of nowhere to gain a combat advantage over them. [[spoiler:Their determination is so strong, it basically turns the third and final stage of Yang's boss fight into a HopelessBossFight against ''the Student''. After taking the same lethal blow to the heart that Yang used to kill their Sifu in the past, the Student rises to their feet again and proceeds to fight Yang to a standstill, their health bar gone entirely, until they successfully break yang's structure and almost hit him with the same attack, staying their hand at the last second as a lesson to Yang of the true meaning of Wude before collapsing dead from his prior blow, having fought and defeated Yang despite technically being [[YouAreAlreadyDead dead already]]]].

* {{Acrofatic}}: Some of the largest, most bulky, and muscular of the enemies(known as Juggernauts in the End Credits) are just as fast and deadly as the rest, with the added danger of being able to grab you and bodyslam you much more easily and with devastating force.