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Sifu breaks you in slowly. A flashback scene sets the stage for this Chinese martial arts-inspired revenge tale. A quick combat tutorial follows. And then you're dropped into The Squats, where you'll immediately scale a fence, take down a couple of thugs, and ascend an apartment block that's seen better days. A small ruckus in a cluttered bedroom ensues before you burst through a door at the opposite end of the room and spill into a narrow corridor. It's here that Sifu kicks off proper, as you're charged by seven enemies with barely enough room to stretch your arms.
But this time something is different. That man in the blue hat leaning against the wall to your left? He's now wearing a black suit and dark glasses. That woman with the lead pole to your right? She's wearing a black suit and dark glasses. The boy in the hoodie? Black suit, dark glasses. The other four foes, yup, black suit and dark glasses. And as this gang of Agent Smiths start towards you – you, dressed as Neo, wearing the same dark glasses and that iconic duster jacket – you can't quite believe how perfectly suited Sifu and The Matrix are, brought together on this occasion by Halfmillz' One Suit Physics mod. "I grew up watching The Matrix. The Matrix Trilogy was my absolute favourite during my childhood," says the mod's creator, "and I love martial arts games. Bringing them together just made sense."
Begin to believe
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After this hallway scene, Sifu really opens up as dozens of enemy types boasting different special abilities line the path to the game's handful of gruelling boss battles. It's not uncommon for players to face several consecutive waves of antagonists before getting a break at any given time, and I for one suffered hand cramps more than once during my own playthrough. Morphing every one of these foes, bosses included, into the form of Agent Smith is a stroke of genius, quite frankly, and while I've always struggled to enjoy any of the video game spin-offs The Matrix has received over the years, Halfmillz' One Suit Physics Sifu mod is wonderful.
"I also grew up watching Asian cinema, and have always been interested in this style of combat," Halfmillz adds. "When I started playing Sifu, I saw a lot of buzz on social media about modding the game, and I discovered a number of character model mods that are really cool. I saw one mod that puts John Wick in the game, for example, and thought it'd be cool if Neo could be put in too."
"At first, I didn't have any intention of making a mod myself, I was just waiting for someone else to make one. And then I came across a YouTube tutorial for player model rigging for Blender. I tried my hand at a Spider-Man model mod, and then I reached out to modder huckleberrypie for advice. He was great, and helped me import that Spider-Man mod into Sifu. Which gave me the confidence to then work on Neo and Agent Smith."
"I love superhero movies and my next plan is to make a Batman villains mod pack to replace all of Sifu's bosses"
Halfmillz, mod creator
Halfmillz says after plenty of practice on 3D and animation software suites, he then found open-source character models that had been exported from the 2005 action-adventure game and movie tie-in, The Matrix: Path of Neo, which helped make the One Suit Physics mod possible. So far, the feedback from players has been great, especially among Matrix fans who might not otherwise have played Sifu were it not for the chance to don Neo's likewise and kick ass in his signature trench coat.
Halfmillz adds: "I'm very happy from the very good, and unexpected, feedback from The Matrix fans. Ultimately, they love the idea of getting to play as Neo in such a combat-heavy, fast-paced action-fighting game. They've told me they love the clothes physics and how they behave in-game, and also how realistic everything is compared to the source material."
"Someone told me: 'I might purchase Sifu now, just to play this', which I thought was amazing, and made me feel really good about my work too."
No half-measures
In practice, it's not difficult to see why players are enjoying Halfmillz' work, especially when it effortlessly combines two forms of entertainment with such aplomb. Well, I say effortlessly simply because the end product feels so fluid and seamless. Halfmillz might feel differently, especially given the fact each individual stock enemy type had to be given an Agent Smith makeover on an individual basis. And there's no red or blue pill that can make that process less arduous.
With Spider-Man, Neo and a gang of Agent Smiths under his belt, you might wonder what's next for Halfmillz. I asked him the same question, and while he was able to tell me his next mod project will return to Sifu, he said he's keeping the specifics under his cape for now.
"I love superhero movies and my next plan is to make a Batman villains mod pack to replace all of Sifu's bosses. As for which villains exactly, well," Halfmillz laughs, "that's a secret for the next release. Stay tuned to my Nexus Mods page!"
Struggling with SloClap's kung-fu fighter? Check out our Sifu tips on your quest for revenge.
