Because “less” means “better”?
Nostalgically reviving the retro FPS Shadow Warrior in 2013, Warsaw developers chose a simple formula – recreating the style of classic gameplay in a more modern setting and mechanics, adding to it some original ideas, such as an interesting skill system. When continuing, the creators already had much more ambitious plans. Lo Wang has more abilities and a huge arsenal, introducing looter shooter elements . The initial fun of collecting equipment and upgrading characters, despite the short campaign, was quickly boring, especially in connection with the recycling of stages. In this field, Shadow Warrior 3 tries to return to its roots, as it were, inspired by the success of the last two installmentsDOOM . So we get a linear campaign for about 6-7 hours, with refreshed mechanics, without unnecessary grind and development trees, but again with a few novelties. In a way, the studio took a step back and forth at the same time, with quite successful results, but not without a stumble.
It’s time to save the world once again
The story of Shadow Warrior 3 begins some time after the events of the previous games, but it alludes to them rather loosely and can be easily explored without knowing the series. To a large extent, and because it is very simple and not very interesting from my perspective. Former ninja with a pot-mouthed Lo Wang returns in a refreshed version to gain the power with old friends to defeat a giant ancient dragon that was accidentally released. Only this and so much, because – as it happens in shootings referring to the classics – the stories were by definition measured to be sufficient only as a pretext for the mass extermination of hellish beasts standing on the way to the goal.
Also, apart from the occasional, quite nicely crafted cutscenes, a good deal of the storyline is presented through dialogue throughout the game, and even more Lo Wang will be heard throwing endless one-liners . The distinguishing feature of Shadow Warrior 3 from most shooters is definitely a large amount of very dry humor, often intertwining with pop culture solutions. As far as I did not like this solution, people who liked, for example, Deadpool ‘s film adventures should be satisfied.
Watch out or I’ll blow your brain on the wall
Since the storyline is not the strongest point of the new Shadow Warrior, then one should ask: “How is it played?”. The answer is: most of the time – good, sometimes and very good, however, there are times and much weaker moments. The gameplay scheme is very simple: clear the board of enemies and run forward, which this time is improved by the rope with the hook. In combination with wall running, double jump or charge, it gives Wang a lot of mobility and makes (maybe not too complicated) platform sections really pleasant. Most importantly, the hero’s range of movements turns out to be very useful in direct battles, which are the heart of the game. Although the number of available weapons has been reduced compared to the previous game, individual tools differ significantly in functionality, and their usefulness will also depend on your preferred style of play. In addition, each copy has several degrees of improvements, also modifying the operation. Unfortunately, no element of armament will get anyone off the hook. The classics of the genre were chosen, i.e. revolver, shotgun, grenade launcher or railgun. Fortunately, the creators had a few ideas to diversify the action scenes, opting for a simple but very interesting system for recovering health and ammunition, inspired by the last fewDOOMami . So what will “drop” from the defeated demon depends on the way of defeating the adversary – shots from ranged weapons will ensure the appearance of balls that regenerate Wang’s health, while katana cuts allow you to refill the cartridges. Associations with titles from id software also result in the possibility of producing extremely effective finishers – also providing Wang with an additional weapon for a limited time. Such a combination of elements means that, contrary to appearances, a dynamic and very brutal (in its grotesque way) fight requires a bit of dynamic planning, giving you a lot of satisfaction.
The only problem is the arena structure of the clashes. Most of the places where we will fight are relatively tight, blocking Wang’s mobility potential a bit. Of course, there are also pearls, in which an additional attraction is the possibility of using interactive elements of the environment in battle. Nevertheless, despite the large variety of enemy demons, sometimes the clashes seemed tiring, mainly due to too many opponents at once, when a few more appear to replace the defeated ones for a few minutes. I think the Flying Wild Hog team could still work on the balance – especially in the case of disappointing (due to their small number) boss fights.
A good idea is the non-invasive upgrade system of the Wang and its equipment. Instead of grinding the next experience points, we rely on our own skills to complete the next challenges on the list and find the upgrade orbs scattered throughout the campaign. It is a pity that so far the developers do not allow you to return to the already completed stages without starting the game from scratch, so you have to unlock everything in one go.
In the land of legends
Quite a strange decision was to set the very beginning of the game in a rather dark and not very pretty location, in addition, full of graphic effects, immediately challenging for older computers and forcing you to spend a bit on choosing the optimal settings. I definitely wouldn’t call it a good first impression. Also when it comes to the aesthetic direction, the further into the forest (literally), the better. The artists managed to prepare fairy-tale-colorful, eye-catching areas, the diversity of which, however, could be a bit greater, especially in the second half of the game, when the redundancy is more noticeable. On the other hand, they enjoy the opponents’ projects, often very grotesque and able to surprise you almost to the very end.
However, it is difficult to notice a significant improvement in the visual setting (apart from the part resulting from the color change) compared to Shadow Warrior 2 . Especially that in combination with more extensive maps that did not interfere with the previous part, they work much better. Although the game, especially in the middle of the action, does not look bad, I think it is not the quality to which we have been used to games released in recent years, although the publisher also makes the audience pay a little less than in the case of the largest productions.
Hunting time
Shadow Warrior 3 should satisfy people who like FPS referring to the classics of the genre, as long as they are not allergic to the arena structure. The game could use a bit more polish, maybe a bigger budget, a little more varied content. Nevertheless, in this form it can provide about 8 hours of successful entertainment, more satisfying than in the previous parts, being an interesting proposition to take a break from larger premieres.
