Sifu's summer update will let you kick ass without getting your ass kicked

If you've wanted to try your hand at Sifu but felt put off by its notorious difficulty, the big summer content update might be just what you've been waiting for. Set to go live next week, it will include swanky outfits, a new scoring system, and gameplay modifiers that will make Sifu even harder—or, if you prefer, a whole lot easier.

How much easier? Think Superman throwing hands with your high school bully and you'll have the right idea. Modifiers can be used to enable options including infinite health, weaker enemies, unbreakable weapons, full skill unlocks, and even bullet time, if you really want to lay a brutal beatdown on the bad guys. Conversely, you can turn the experience even more painful for yourself, rather than your foes: Make the enemies tougher, make weapons unusable, and give yourself just one health point if you really want to prove your stuff.

Speaking of which, there's a new scoring system that will track your punches, kicks, sweeps, and finishers, and deliver a ranking for each level based on "smoothness, efficiency, and variety." There's no mention of online leaderboards, which seems like an odd thing to omit when adding a highly-detailed scoring system, but it's not clear whether leaderboards are absent or just not mentioned in the announcement. I've reached out to ask and will update if someone tells me.

As for the new outfits, there will be two added in the update: The Master Hand, a trench coat and stylish hat, will be available to all players, while the Enforcer tactical armor, available in the Wuguan, will be limited to owners of the Sifu deluxe edition.

Sifu's summer update is set to go live on August 31. Sifu itself is currently on sale for $30—25% off the regular price—until September 6 on the Epic Games Store.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.