Sifu is a game in the beat ’em up genre developed by Sloclap. The game’s title, “sifu”, is a Chinese word that can be translated as “skillful person”, “teacher”, or “master”. That should give a hint about the game’s setting – yes, it is all about martial arts. Set in modern China, the game tells a story about a son of a martial arts school’s sifu. Said sifu has been killed, and now it’s up to his son to avenge him. The next eight years of his life are spent rigorously training, and then, the game begins.
The game is played from a 3rd person view, and allows the player to perform a range of different moves. Obviously, there are attacks, but there’s also blocking, evading, and parrying. The attacks can also be chained to perform a “combo attack”. Combo attacks change depending on what moves were chained, and, owing to this, the game boasts more than 150 different attacks. There are many different combinations possible, after all. Sifu received much praise from the critics – evidently, the game’s intense combat, sense of aesthetics, and the narrative have made an impression. So it only makes sense that people want to play it themselves, too. But there’s a slight problem with that. The game is only available on Windows, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5, so a Mac owner would not be able to play the game… without our guide that is. Read the article below to learn how to play Sifu on Mac despite the lack of a port.
Play Sifu on Mac with Parallels
Sifu requires lots of PC resources, but if you have a powerful Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro) Parallels Desktop can be a solution. This is an application that allows for Windows virtualization on Mac with the full support of DirectX and GPUs. In simpler terms, what this means is that it allows you to install Windows 10 on Mac with just a couple of clicks and switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. So you will be able to run Windows, install Steam, and enjoy the Sifu game on Mac just like on a regular PC.
Note: Recommended devices to run resource-demanding games: MacBook Pro (models with an Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 GB of RAM or more), iMac (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 GB of RAM or more), iMac Pro (all models are suitable), Mac Pro (all models are suitable). Parallels on Mac computers with M1 (M1 Pro, M1 Max) chips may not support recent games. Games that require DirectX 12 and later are currently not supported by Parallels. AppsOnMac recommends using Parallels’ free trial feature to determine whether you can run the game or not if you’re uncertain.
Play Sifu on Mac with cloud gaming services
If you have an old Mac, or it cannot satisfy the Sifu game system requirements, there is an easy solution. Cloud gaming services will be happy to provide you with sufficient computing power – though not for free, of course. All you need is a browser or a small client program and a good internet connection starting from 15 MBit/s. There are several great platforms that provide these services, among the best are Boosteroid, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Nvidia GeForce Now. Boosteroid has Sifu in its game library, and, thus, is the most important one on the list when it comes to this article.
Play Sifu on Mac with BootCamp
Note: Mac computers with new Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3 Pro, or M1, M2, M3 Max) currently do not support BootCamp. In this case, please, use the options above to run Sifu on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all the system requirements above, you can play Sifu on Mac by installing Windows. You need to set up a dual boot of Windows and Mac via BootCamp. This is an application that allows users to choose the system to work in on startup, however, you won’t be able to switch between systems like in Parallels. You will need to reboot your machine every time you want to switch from Mac to Windows and vice versa. Remember that Mac is just a computer, in the end. And while newer Macs have their own special Apple Silicon chips that cannot run Windows, older Macs are very much similar to computers that run Windows, they have Intel processors, compatible RAM, disks, and other components. So you can install Windows on an older Mac by allocating no less than 64 GB of disk space (to be able to run Windows and a couple of games) and following these steps:
For OS X El Capitan 10.11 and older
For MacOS versions prior to OS X El Capitan 10.11 you will need to create a bootable Windows USB.
- Download this Windows ISO file.
- Open Boot Camp Assistant (Go to Applications > Utilities).
- Define the Windows partition size and choose the Windows ISO file you’ve downloaded.
- Format the Windows partition and go through all Windows installation steps.
- When Windows boots for the first time, follow on-screen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers)