'Sifu' Physical Edition To Launch On PS4, PS5 In Spring Next Year

"Sifu" physical edition copies will be coming to the PS4 and the PS5 by springtime next year, according to developer SloClap.

GamesRadar reports that the new kung-fu brawler game, which has captivated the minds of gamers and reviewers alike so far, will have physical copies for the Sony consoles by virtue of a partnership between SloClap and publisher Microids.

Here is the official announcement on Twitter:

Aside from the basic "Sifu" physical edition, gamers will also have a choice between a few boxed special editions. While SloClap didn't exactly reveal which goodies will be present in the boxed versions, one might expect they're going to be quite standard-maybe an artbook, a special freebie like a statue, and perhaps access to future DLC.

There's also no indication of the pricing for the "Sifu" physical edition discs. Though SloClap did promise to release more information on the content in these special editions, which will release "soon" as per their Twitter post.

The game gained a fair bit of notoriety when it was first announced way back in February. As an exclusive to the PS4, PS5, and PC, the fighting game wowed audiences and critics with its relatively different approach to fighting gameplay and game difficulty settings.

In another GamesRadar report, this difficulty system was detailed. Developer SloClap said that every time the player character dies, they age. The older the character gets, the harder and stronger they hit-but they're far less durable and will die a lot easier.

Early previews of the game, like that of IGN, praises it for its combat which takes a lot of inspiration from traditional martial arts movies. Various gameplay trailers show how smooth and responsive it looks, though the overall "feel" of the combat remains to be seen as the game won't be out until February 8th.

Here is a fresh 10-minute gameplay clip, so you can judge for yourself:

'Sifu' Physical Edition: What's The Point?

In a gaming world that has been dominated by digital releases, one would ask this same question.

And they'd be right to feel like it's not going to work, because physical game releases have indeed been on the decline. Even current-gen consoles like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S already have all-digital versions with no disc trays.

According to Statista, a massive 83 percent of all game sales were sold in digital format in 2018 alone. You can see this in brick-and-mortar gaming stores these days: even physical game cases don't contain discs anymore, but codes that you need to redeem online to download the game itself.

Fast-forward to this year, and several of the biggest companies in the industry are going all-in on digital. Capcom is a perfect example, saying that around 80% of their total game sales are now in digital download formats.

Still, there are people out there who would love to play video games the old-fashioned way: with actual game discs in their hands.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by RJ Pierce