One talented modder has replaced Sifu‘s main protagonist with John Wick, giving players a chance to take on the role of the popular fictional assassin and allowing them to reenact the well-known Club scene from the original movie. Despite being a movie icon, John Wick‘s popularity led to the character receiving several video game spin-offs and a handful of features in other titles. The character made an explosive introduction in an exclusive heist expansion for Payday 2 before making his way to Epic Games’ popular battle royale, Fortnite. In Fortnite, players could purchase and play with a John Wick outfit and participate in a limited game mode titled “Wick’s Bounty” that featured its own John Wick-themed challenges and rewards.
Sifu is the first title released by Slocap since its debut martial arts-themed action roleplaying video game Absolver almost four years ago. Known as one of the most anticipated games of 2022, Sifu drops players into a playable martial arts flick, blending cinematic, quick-hitting, hand-to-hand combat with a unique, roguelike aging mechanic that heightens the challenge and keeps the action interesting. Sifu also attempts to capture the profound narrative of Chinese martial arts films. Players take the role of a Kung Fu student tasked with taking revenge by eliminating five martial arts masters who murdered their father years prior. This conflict forms the basis of Sifu‘s unique structure.
Fans are once again showing their love for John Wick, as one modder has swapped out Sifu‘s protagonist with the legendary assassin to make way for some stylish combat and action. YouTuber Dan Allen Gaming posted a clip of Sifu‘s John Wick reskin, created by modder THE BEYONDERS. During the clip, the player reenacts the popular scene from the original John Wick movie where the assassin shoots and fist-fights his way out of a neon-lit nightclub. Played out in the game’s early Club dance floor area, the scene is highly reminiscent of the movie, with close-quarters combat, neon lighting, and music blaring while enemies are taken down one by one.
John Wick is known for its fast-paced, hand-to-hand combat mixed with stylishly executed Gun-fu fight scenes. Although Sifu is entirely composed of difficult, close-quarters-combat with no gunplay, the similarities are clear, and the game’s numerous takedown animations perfectly fit the assassin. More interestingly, the reskin’s character model and art design are identical to Sifu’s, seeming more like hidden in-game content or DLC rather than a fan-made mod. This makes the mod an ideal addition for any PC player who is looking to roleplay.
John Wick’s popularity with the gaming community is perpetual, and the character’s reskin could offer a taste of the many mods fans will create for Sloclap’s acclaimed title in the future. While the game is only several days old, plans for post-launch Sifu DLC have been announced, so players could see more official, new player character skins soon.
Sifu is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via the Epic Game Store.
