![]() This is the most self-aware the reboot series has ever gotten and it works well in the game’s favour. However, that Shadow Warrior 3 doesn’t commit the grave crime of taking itself seriously. That’s basically the plot of the game and while there are some reveals and twists along the way, the story ultimately ends up being your typical save-the-day boogaloo. Lo Wang teams up with occasional bad guy and millionaire Orochi Zilla and his witch mistress to kill the dragon and save the day. So what does an avid fan of the original think of this reboot threequel?įollowing the events of Shadow Warrior 2, the world as we know it is coming to an end thanks to the dragon that was released at the end of the last game. Shadow Warrior 3 brings back Lo Wang with a terrible new hairdo, new weapons, enemies and for the third time, a major shake-up in gameplay. Under the guidance of the mighty Devolver Digital, Flying Wild Hog is once again back with another Shadow Warrior sequel. Shadow Warrior 2013 was a repetitive but welcome revival of the IP with an interesting story, while Shadow Warrior 2 was a messy sequel where you spent the most time looking at the upgrade menu rather than slicing and dicing ugly demons. Sure, under the changing political climate, the developers had to settle for a more ‘safe’ version of Wang and substantially shake up the gameplay formula of the original in favour of skill trees and combos. The same Wang who was once described as acting like “a masturbating chimp” by a ‘veteran video game journalist’ (ah the wonderful world of video game journalism). While one hero from the holy trinity of Build Engine games was left behind in the annals of time, and the other squeezed under the greasy palms of the world’s greatest CEO, these guys brought Lo Wang back. Movement, weapons and well-designed arenas are the centre marks for this experience, an experience that would be enjoyed best over a day or a weekend.Have to give it up to Flying Wild Hog. Other than that, there is nothing I disliked about my time with Shadow Warrior 3. Lo Wang's return is a joy to play, with all the systems combining seamlessly. The frantic pace the game keeps up is because there is no fat to trim, with you swinging from set piece to set piece, arena to arena in ways that make it hard to put down. Of course, the game's length is not entirely a negative point. I finished my playthrough at just under 6 hours, and I wanted more opportunities to play around in the arenas and the world that Flying Wild Hog has created. The only real complaint I have to level at Shadow Warrior 3 was its length. The overall story is as crazy as ever but largely acts as a set dressing for the vibrant locales to be visited. Lo Wang is written with the same irreverence and sarcasm, mouthing off and making jokes about the demons he has just sliced through, and the new voice actor for Lo Wang might speak with a different cadence to what we are used to, but I think he does a great job embodying Wang. There are more cutscenes to delve into than in previous entries, and Lo Wang is out of mojo after essentially causing the apocalypse and must regain it while saving the world. The story in Shadow Warrior 3 retakes centre stage due to the linearity of the game's structure. It is equal parts chaotic, fast, meaty whilst also offering plenty of versatility in approaching an arena. And that is the magic of Shadow Warrior 3. I merrily grappled around, raining hell from above and activating the trap door when enough enemies had unsuspectingly stepped on it. One of my favourite arenas was a trap door (leading to deadly blades) with two platforms on either side with a grapple point in the centre. More elaborate traps involve you activating whirling blades to carve anyone caught in their wake. Some surprises are as simple as spikes on a wall, which you can Chi Blast a smaller enemy into for an instant kill. I have already touched on how the arenas are crafted for you to speed around gracefully, but they are also designed for you to be paying attention to barrels and other traps around, offering further flexibility in how you deal with the demons. They are part of another of the big changes in Shadow Warrior 3 from previous entries, the focus on using the environment. These are mostly barrels scattered around the arenas to be shot strategically or flung at enemies with the Chi Blast. They do offer some smart combos, whether you need a little explosion or a way to slow down the enemies bearing down on you through an electric stun or freezing them completely. Something that has made the leap from SW2 to Shadow Warrior 3 is elemental effects.
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