10 Absurdly Hard DLC Modes You Never Beat

One of the most stylish games released in recent years, Sifu is as punishing as it is moreish. It’s the kind of game you can easily fall in love with, but it absolutely will struggle to love you back with its crushing - but rewarding - difficulty.

Thanks to the free Arenas update, players who have mastered the base game have a chance to prove their mettle in 45 challenge maps.

Some of the highlights of the mode are the overt references to cinema throughout. Where the original game was comparatively more subtle about tipping its cap to action and martial arts classics, Sifu’s DLC isn’t shy about it. In an ode to The Matrix, players take on a wave of suited sunglasses-wearing men in the rain. In another bout, they don a yellow jumpsuit in the game’s take on Kill Bill. Elsewhere there are challenges inspired by Drive, Oldboy and so on.

What’s unfortunate is that you’re likely to never see all of these loving homages yourself as they’re broken into chapters and players need to score a certain number of stars to unlock the next set. Almost every challenge in the DLC is harder than anything the main game has to offer, and they only get sequentially more difficult. 

There’s no point booting Arenas unless you believe you've completely conquered the game's combat as the challenges require you to beat tough high scores, finish in under a certain time or avoid as many hits as possible. Even then, Arenas seems specifically designed to humble even the most hardened kung-fu master.