Hidetaka Miyazaki, director of the critically acclaimed Elden Ring, has been added to Sifu courtesy of a new mod. Miyazaki has been almost synonymous with the FromSoftware name for over a decade now and has been positioned at the helm of Elden Ring's intensive marketing campaign, which has expanded to include live-action trailers featuring stars like Ming-Na Wen.
Sloclap's martial arts-centric action game Sifu came out last month and has earned heaps of praise for its uncompromising game design, brutal difficulty, and highly polished combat mechanics. The game is quite singular in its scope and doesn't offer much in the way of personalization options outside of the preliminary gender choice, but mods have made customization more possible. Thanks to these user-created tweaks, PC players have been able to step into the shoes of beloved characters like Scooby Doo's Shaggy and Marvel's Daredevil while starting down their path of revenge. Unfortunately, many of these skins are not altered by the game's unique aging mechanic. While additional skins have been exclusively available via PC mods, Sloclap has begun adding official outfits to Sifu.
For those looking for something a bit more unorthodox, there is a Sifu mod that lets players engage in kung-fu action as Hidetaka Miyazaki himself. As DualShockers reports, downloading this mod outfits the player character in Miyazaki's typical trappings of eyeglasses and a suit. Gameplay remains unchanged through the integration of this mod, with all animations and combat abilities staying the same. It looks like, just like with most of the other mods of this kind, the game's aging mechanic will not be applied to the Miyazaki skin.
While this mod is purely cosmetic, it is certainly one that many gamers will get a kick out of. It is particularly humorous because, unlike other Sifu mods like the Spider-Man skin, one hardly imagines Miyazaki as being a kung-fu master. The game director is usually seen presenting a mild-mannered, polite disposition, making this mod even more absurd.
The fact that this mod even exists is proof of Miyazaki's icon status within the world of gaming. Along with creators like Hideo Kojima, Neil Druckmann, and Shigeru Miyamoto, Miyazaki is considered to be one of gaming's auteur directors, with many attributing the success of FromSoftware to his involvement. The fact that this Sifu modder chose to make him a playable skin as opposed to one of the countless, more intimidating characters he has created is just further proof of his massive popularity.
Elden Ring is currently available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Source: DualShockers