Sifu Mod Turns Shaggy From Scooby-Doo Into A Kung-Fu Master
One Sifu mod is giving the players the chance to take out their enemies as Shaggy from Scooby-Doo, and videos show it working surprisingly well.
A mod for the brutally difficult martial arts brawler Sifu is giving the players the chance to take out their enemies as Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. This mod plays into the long-running absurdist meme about the lackadaisical character's hidden, cosmic power.
Sifu came out earlier this month and has been earning plenty of praise from fans of challenging, complex fighting games and beat-em-ups. Players assume the role of an unnamed protagonist as they hunt down individual members of the gang that killed their father in a Kill Bill-style quest for revenge. One of the things that sets Sifu apart from other games of this ilk is its aging mechanic: each time the protagonist dies, they can be resurrected as an older version of themselves. Complete immortality doesn't exist in this world, though, so it is game over if Sifu's protagonist dies in their seventies. This will force the player to start the level over from scratch with the occasional help of a few shortcuts and unlockables. While cosmetics and other personalization options are not currently available in Sifu, the player character's model does change its appearance to correspond with its age.
Slowly but surely, mods for Sifu are coming out to remedy this lack of customization options and, as reported by GameSpot, a Shaggy from Scooby-Doo skin is one of the latest. A video of the skin in action shows that Shaggy appears in his iconic purple pants and green V-neck outfit and that the original Sifu animations remain intact. It would also appear that Shaggy will not age with death in the way that the vanilla character model does, so fans hoping to take down enemies as old man Shaggy might be out of luck. Check out the Sifu mod in action below:
Click here to watch the original video on YouTube.
Shaggy's Scooby-Doo look fits surprisingly well with Sifu's art style, as the model maintains the same minimal, smooth aesthetic as the rest of the characters. There is some very minor clipping with Shaggy's shirt in the gameplay video, but that doesn't look to be too much of a persistent issue. The fact that this new model works so well with the game's original animation is a testament to the quality present in both the mod and in Sifu itself.
Sifu is a highly stylized game with a story that takes a backseat to the gameplay and art design. Having said that, playing as a goofy character like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo could potentially take some players out of the intense, serious experience. Then again, other fans might welcome the addition of such a silly element to a game that otherwise lacks such humor.
Sifu is currently available on PS4, PS5, and PC.
Source: GameSpot, misternoobie/YouTube