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[CGiRanger]

Yeah, you'd think after Ghosts of Tsushima this would have been universally scorned, but nope, games journos gotta keep at it:

Paste

Down to the not-so-fun fact that Sifu’s cultural consultant and inspiration for the “movement” of the main character is none other than a white man, (who’s a distinguished Pak Mei master, but a white man nonetheless) and the fact that Howie Lee’s score—a bit of a saving grace—seems like one of the only aspects of the game that was meaningfully worked on by someone who’s of Asian descent, it becomes clear that a particularly alien lens was deployed in the construction of this game. Sloclap, a team made based out of France and composed of mostly white people, tries to honor Chinese culture with Sifu and display a level of admiration for it in the oddest way possible: erecting its own monument in the very image of the people that inspired the game, meanwhile erasing them from most steps of its creation. The result is a wildly uneven commodification of a people, place, their history and their art.

Shack News

I think it's also worth noting that Sifu was developed by an all-white European development team and some aspects of the game do come off as culturally tone-deaf. I suggest checking out this article by Khee Hoon Chan for more about that aspect of Sifu. There are so many games out there that do what Sifu does only better. Honestly, if you want a punishing grind where your efforts will actually pay off you’re probably better off just taking a Kung-Fu class in real life.

fanbyte

While I like Sifu‘s gameplay a lot, I’ve also been deeply unimpressed with its setting and aesthetic. The protagonist and (almost) all other characters are Chinese — but as pointed out by Features Editor Khee Hoon Chan at The Gamer, the Parisian development team at Sloclap is almost entirely white (other than composer Howie Lee) and has no connection to the cultures they’ve dedicated their whole game to. Now, I’m not Asian. I don’t go here. But seeing white people rip other cultures as wallpaper for their creations, no matter how much research is done, is cringy. I’m here for representation, but I’m also a believer that you should write what you know. If Sloclap wanted to tell a Chinese story based in China, they should’ve hired more Chinese staffers to help with writing, development, and production.

While playing through Sifu, it’s hard not to think about its development team being white. It frustrates me because from a gameplay perspective, Sifu is phenomenal. But for the life of me, I don’t understand why this group of people chose to tell this story. There were myriad other avenues available.

Gamebyte

Strictly speaking, the game’s treatment of Chinese culture seems to pull mostly from more modern Asian action cinema and misses the broader context of it. Sifu’s obsession with China “as an aesthetic” highlights some of the problems with modern game development. It might have been better had Sloclap included educational resources that seek to teach players about the history of martial arts, or maybe hired more developers who were Chinese.

And this is an important bit of context – I am white. I do not claim to be an expert on this aspect of the game, nor am I going to say you should take my word for it. Please read criticism on this game from Chinese writers, I will update this review as articles on this subject are published.

This is the new standard for what passes for game coverage now. Apparently if you want to tell a story you have to make absolutely sure now you have "consultants/experts" on your story to makes sure its safe for the wokesters.

Funny though, the "expert" cited in two of those articles above, Khee Hoon Chan, apparently has some interesting takes:



Or you can always expect a Kotaku "expert" to chime in with valuable insight too...

 

[Skifi28]

I just hope the team doesn't apologize.......

 

[Abriael_GN]

People should learn from the Japanese reaction to Ghost of Tsushima.

Japan: Oh, western weeb love our culture? Yay! Awesome.

I've been writing a novel. Imagine if I was allowed to include only white Italian dudes in it because that's what I am.

 

[kadab]

Ghost of Tsushima was made in Murica by white Muricans. where was the outcry?

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

never heard of those websites, do we really have to signal boost ignorance?

 

[crozier]

Woke is the reason I play more Japanese games nowadays.

 

[CGiRanger]

I just hope the team doesn't apologize.......

Remember they did consult an expert too. But this expert had the wrong colored skin, even though he studied in Japan for years and achieved a Master rank in his field of kung fu. But of course, that doesn't matter. The same thing happened to that Shamisen player at the Sony Conference for Ghosts of Tsushima because he was also White despite being another master who studied the culture.

But of course, having the right skin color and name is what matters most in "knowing" culture of course to these people.

 

[Jennings]

It's 2022, you'd think these studios would have someone on hand that could help navigate these minefields.

 

[DragoonKain]

Mental illness

 

[anthony2690]

I haven't played sifu, but I am a little confused why people are acting angry or offended that a bunch of white dudes made a Chinese themed Kung Fu game? :S

Am I missing something or is this just people acting offended on behalf off others again, over essentially nothing?

 

[TintoConCasera]

Just nuke Twitter already.

 

[Abriael_GN]

Ghost of Tsushima was made in Murica by white Muricans. where was the outcry?

Unfortunately, there was. But it was from other westerners or other non-Japanese. The Japanese audience proved as usual that Japan is the best by embracing any celebration of their culture, no matter who makes it. They had tons of articles and even TV shows celebrating the game. Some of the developers of Ghost of Tsushima have been officially named ambassadors of the island.

 

[Nikana]

I am sorry I am white. I will try to do better.

 

[JerryinSoCal]

Ghost of Tsushima was made in Murica by white Muricans. where was the outcry?

Some tried it just didn't take, hell it started with the guy playing that flute or whatever it was being white during the E3 presser until it was pointed out that he's one of the best in the world at doing it and only a few people are at his level.

 

[K' Dash]

there's a company full of Japanese people that made a game about an Italian plumber, its about fucking time this ends.

 

[tommib]

Just ignore it. The news cycle will wash this away. Just like with GOT.

 

[Ballthyrm]

Next up, only criminals should be able to develop grand theft auto.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

After Trevor Noah's "Africa won the world cup for France" I thought American outlets are forever banned from voicing their opinions on race? We get it, you self-hate due to your hatreds of blacks and indigenous people. We will be over there eating kebab.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I am sorry I am white. I will try to do better.

My white ass will be there:

 

[Bragr]

Isn't it be possible to ban people like that from Twitter and most social media websites? when they openly state they hate white people and that white people should not be able to make games of non-whites, they are going too far. You can't defend this shit.

And besides, this is mostly a few hundred radical people who have no voice and we shouldn't give it to them, they live off people getting angry when they post absurd shit.

These websites should be blacklisted on any credible gaming aggregator.

 

[{insert code here}]

99% of the people who view the world through the same lens as these writers NGMI. Have fun staying poor y'all.

 

[Roxkis_ii]

I was already going to buy this game, but now I'm going to do it with my middle finger in the air. I will probably be alone and no one will see it, but it will be in the air.

 

[Bragr]

there's a company full of Japanese people that made a game about an Italian plumber, its about fucking time this ends.

Pretty much every Japanese RPG is white teenagers, not asians ones, for some reason.

 

[ZywyPL]

Calling out white people for being white is actually racism in purest form. Would be nice if the devvs sued those trash twitter journo-wannabes.

 

[Zeroing]

I haven't played sifu, but I am a little confused why people are acting angry or offended that a bunch of white dudes made a Chinese themed Kung Fu game? :S

Am I missing something or is this just people acting offended on behalf off others again?

I think a lot of people skipped history lessons and forgot the difference between culture appropriation and enjoyment/showcase of a different culture… yeah there was a time where things got distorted/ racist for lack of understanding a different culture but come on we are past that era. People are mad thinking that is the case!

We are now in a histeria time.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

So in other words:

1. Not a single chinese person got offended
2. White woke journous got offended instead
3. Not a single chinese person got offended
4. White woke journos demand chinese people representation in the dev team
5. Not a single chinese person got offended

 

[MrA]

The whiner can go pound sand

 

[Plantoid]

I'm not shocked, actually it's expected

It's 2022, this shit is going since 2000s

 

[Stuart360]

I know these loons pick on the dumbest of shit but this is ridiculous even by their standards. So they are upset because a studio made up of mostly white people made a kung fu game?.
I mean wtf?, just get a fucking life.

 

[M1chl]

The desperation for clicks

 

[Portugeezer]

Sad wastes of human potential.

No joy. Just resentment.

 

[Denton]

"You should write what you know"

Goes to write a book filled by people of his - caucasian - ethnicity, without any blacks or asians in it.

"Your book is racist!"

 

[a multicultural team of v]

Please read criticism on this game from Chinese writers, I will update this review as articles on this subject are published.

"As a white person I took great offense on behalf of another race, but unfortunately nobody that is actually Chinese has complained yet, but I just know someone will some day, I hope, so I'm going to make sure I update this to let you know when it happens."

 

[tommib]

I know these loons pick on the dumbest of shit but this is ridiculous even by their standards. So they are upset because a studio made up of mostly white people made a kung fu game?.
I mean wtf?, just get a fucking life.

They push for diversity and representation and when they get it out of pure respect and fascination from devs it it’s still wrong. Not holy enough.

 

[DenchDeckard]

When does the great reset happen? It’s got to be within our life times, surely.

 

[Decontamination Silo]

Ghost of Tsushima was made in Murica by white Muricans. where was the outcry?

Well it's a Sony game with very little difficulty. Sifu is giving these journos flashback to when they tried to playthrough Dark Souls 3, failed, and had to base their "reviews" off gameplay videos.

 

[rickybooby87]

Did they disparage Asian people in Sifu? Serious question.

 

[AJUMP23]

Can you play the game if you are white? How can a white person understand being a kingfu master in their whiteness. It isn’t even right to play if white. White people using their imaginations to culturally appropriate the gaming space.

If you are white you also can’t review.

 

[Panajev2001a]

Yeah, you'd think after Ghosts of Tsushima this would have been universally scorned, but nope, games journos gotta keep at it:

Paste


Shack News


fanbyte



Gamebyte


This is the new standard for what passes for game coverage now. Apparently if you want to tell a story you have to make absolutely sure now you have "consultants/experts" on your story to makes sure its safe for the wokesters.

Funny though, the "expert" cited in two of those articles above, Khee Hoon Chan, apparently has some interesting takes:



Or you can always expect a Kotaku "expert" to chime in with valuable insight too...

Thanks, I will dip as many times as I am allowed, I only wanted to get a single copy and now I will purchase one for each console it comes out.

The game is kick ass and well, thanks for motivating me to purchase it more.

So if they made a game with white protagonists they are racists, if they have a diverse cast they are racist unless they hire possibly the people the journalists tell them to hire exactly in an unspecified quota, etc… .

 

[SJRB]

A potent mix of rageclick baiting and legit mentally troubled individuals.

If your livelihood is dependent on how many clicks you can gather, you move to more and more extremes. Selling your soul and integrity for a few dollars.

It's pathetic, really. Bottom feeders, talentless hacks.

 

[Cert.in.Death]

 

[Danjin44]

Just nuke Twitter already.

 

[Danteyke223]

So stunning and brave you cannot comment under their twitter feeds unless you are friends with em

 

[Stitch]

Keanu Reeves made a Kung Fu movie. Time to cancel him.

 

[tommib]

Can you play the game if you are white? How can a white person understand being a kingfu master in their whiteness. It isn’t even right to play if white. White people using their imaginations to culturally appropriate the gaming space.

If you are white you also can’t review.

 

[mansoor1980]

 

[Eron]

I am sorry I am white. I will try to do better.

Me too.

 

[AJUMP23]

Amazing Jackie Chan gif.

 

[Danjin44]

Does that mean Japanese developers are racist for making Resident Evil game that has American characters?

 

[SJRB]

Does that mean Japanese developers are racist for making Resident Evil game that has American characters?

No dummie, this only applies when white people do it. Only white people can be and definitely are all racist, after all.