There are distinct eras of first-person shooters: the Doom clone era, the Halo-inspired era, and most recently the Doom 2016 era inspiring games such as Necromunda: Hired Gun. The Shadow Warrior series was actually rebooted before Doom 2016, but the sequels definitely took cues from Id’s masterpiece and Shadow Warrior 3 falls squarely in this realm. That’s not a bad thing though, as Lo Wang’s newest adventure manages to capture what makes the Doom-style of FPS so fun and engaging.
Shadow Warrior 3 takes place after the conclusion of the second game’s story, but players coming in expecting a deep narrative are definitely in the wrong place. Shadow Warrior is a series that does not take itself seriously and is full of irreverent humour and banter between characters. The game is an example of pure escapism and embraces the concept fully, with a noticeable tongue-in-cheek narrative.
Shadow Warrior 3 may not be the best for storytelling, but Lo Wang and his friends all have excellent dialogue. From touching on the wyvern vs dragon debate to just bickering over the smallest things encountered, Shadow Warrior 3 manages to put a grin on your face with its irreverence. This is a story that could only work with these characters and any changes to the cast would simply come off as bland and generic.
The story is less important than gameplay here however and gameplay is where Shadow Warrior 3 shines brightly. Shadow Warrior 3 overpowers players with abilities such as Lo Wang’s Chi and a massive arsenal but still manages to preserve a good sense of challenge. New additions such as the grappling line give the game more of a feeling of freedom as well, especially with how they open up new possibilities in combat. Lo Wang’s Chi abilities make a return here, albeit they feel de-emphasized at times compared to previous games.
Platforming sections were limited in the last two games, but Shadow Warrior 3 expands on them with new jump mechanics, new airborne enemies, and the use of the grappling line. Lo Wang uses the grapple to reach new areas as well as swinging around rooms in order to navigate around enemies for better attack vantage points. Of course, you can always just go in guns blazing and swords slashing, but that certainly ignores the potential of the new additions!
On a personal note, I played Shadow Warrior 3 on a brand-new HP Victus Gaming Laptop, and while the game looked gorgeous for the most part, I did run into one significant issue. The text size was too small at times, especially when the game was giving directions on what inputs to use for Lo Wang’s abilities. After reaching out to Flying Wild Hog, I was told to use an Xbox controller which actually improved the gameplay and fixed issues with the text.
Shadow Warrior 3 takes a bit of inspiration from Doom 2016 in another area as well, implementing a glory kill system via a meter that must be built up. Glory killing enemies will often grant new one-time weapons including clubs, explosives and more, and it’s all wildly over-the-top. Health and ammunition can also be gained from defeating enemies but be aware that health is gained from melee attacks with the sword while ammo is gained from ranged attacks with guns.
As previously mentioned, Shadow Warrior 3 is a truly gorgeous game. The visuals pop off the screen beautifully and the well-designed areas, fast-paced music and over-the-top flashy visuals never outstay their welcome. The entire atmosphere of the game has you constantly pumped while you’re playing and it’s a glorious slaughter. Shadow Warrior 3 takes full advantage of new technology on an audio/visual level as well, and thanks to diverse level design, the entire experience feels suitably next generation.
Each of the game’s locations feels meticulously designed, and whether it is climbing a mountain to get to the dragon at the start, or taking on enemies invading a temple, it all feels like every aspect is rendered in full detail. The music helps a lot as well, as Shadow Warrior has always been known for its callbacks to classic rock, but this third entry goes in its own direction with a soundtrack that feels evocative of classic Hong Kong Cinema at times while keeping the rock ‘n roll theme along with a dose of hip hop. It gives Shadow Warrior 3 its own identity in terms of music compared to the first two games and that is something that ends up helping the game stand out more.
Shadow Warrior 3 may not radically change the series, but it didn’t really need to. The new gameplay tweaks add new possibilities, the visuals are noticeably improved, and the whole game just feels cranked to the max. Ultimately, Shadow Warrior 3 builds on the lineage of the series and does so in the best way possible, earning a strong recommendation. This is a gory, high-octane experience that is a hell of a lot of fun to play and well worth your time!
Disclaimer: A review key was provided.