Shadow Warrior 3 Review – Straightforward Furious Tango

In 2013, the Polish developer division Flying Wild Hog, with the help of publishing company Devolver Digital, brought us the rebirth of the Shadow Warrior brand, following the path of Lo Wang, who had to hide behind and cut through a horde of demons. to get the legendary sword – Nobitsura Kage. It was a straightforward and pretty crazy affair that turned out to be so successful that we also saw the second part, which came out in 2016. But things took a slightly different turn when it introduced looter shooter elements, collaboration, and more open levels. But now we have the third part, which is a bit different, where the supporters of the previous games (particularly doubles) may not be completely turned on, but others should definitely escalate.

• Platform: PC (peer-reviewed version), PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
• Publication date: 1. 3. 2022
• Developer: Flying wild boar
• Genre: FPS
• Czech location: Not
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 24 GB
• Game time: 5 o’clock
• Sales version: Digital
• Price: €44.99 on Steam / 1,319 kr on PS Store / 1,429 kr on Microsoft Store

Continuation? Rethinking? Both?

Shadow Warrior 3 actually goes for that from the very beginning, and more than a sequel, I would rather consider it a definite reinvention, although here we are working with characters and some story elements that we know from the past. This is also helped by the fact that individual heroes have received a relatively significant facelift, their behavior has changed, and some events have been somewhat ignored. However, by virtue of this fact, it does not matter much that the main character changed the dubbing (although the reasons were superfluous) when Jason Liebrecht was replaced by Mike Mohs (Bruce Lee from “Then in Hollywood”), whose acting and parodic accent suited me relatively quickly.

The third part I would call rather a rethinking.

As you’d expect from a story standpoint, it’s going to be a really simple story where all the local events, communicated through action cutscenes or conversations between characters, revolve around what Vanga wants to stop. an ancient dragon that he accidentally released into the world, with hordes of yokai demons coming with it. However, this simplicity does not matter much, because at the very beginning you are clearly told that this is by no means taken seriously and you are bombarded with one message or humorous dialogue after another. This is of course very childish and stupid, but if you look like an overgrown child who can turn off the brain and go with the flow with a wave of pleasant infantilism, then this will be just right for you. We don’t have to deal with existential problems all the time, do we?

“Fofklachek” ultra

Moreover, you most likely won’t even be able to think about such topics, because the title will start at the very beginning with a really killer speed, which it successfully maintains throughout its duration, and you will have nothing to breathe. . Something is constantly happening, explosive, explosive and to some extent stylish. However, this also brings us to perhaps the only major issue – game time. You can pass the title without any difficulties, or in this case you can really run, in just 5 hours. If you try really hard, maybe less.

You will pass the title in just 5 hours, but you will have nothing to breathe.

This is a strictly linear issue, with no added value. This means you won’t find New Game+, extra modes, or hidden rooms of any kind here. So the last one is here, but in the form of very short turns, where you will find plows, the function of which we will explain later. This is where the imaginary bread will break, since the game is not the cheapest (you will pay over a thousand for it at full price), so you will have to decide for yourself if it is enough for the price / performance. ratio. But personally, I would definitely give money for something that will entertain me for 5 hours, than gosh, than take on some flimsy title for 50+ hours. We used to fight about it, but now I honestly miss him a lot. But if it seems too much to you, just wait for the discount.

Unleash Hell!

In any case, this breakneck speed and relentless pace is perfectly underlined by some really great action. God forbid the looter shooter mechanic from the second part does not return and this is a purebred and straightforward action game. In fact, the game is best described as a combination of two works: my favorite Bulletstorm (color, perspective and linearity) and DOOM Eternal. And the latter manifests itself mainly in the action itself, which means that the battles with enemies will take place in separate beautifully designed arenas, in which I praise the inclusion of crushing traps, where you need to eliminate all the juices in order to continue. In the whirlwind of duels, you then need to stay on the move all the time, so you’ll still be using your double jump or quick tilts while mostly keeping your finger on the trigger. And I’m really surprised at how developers can still make you feel like you’re in control. However, the creative team also drew inspiration from DOOM with the so-called “gore kills”, which are very powerful executions where you explicitly take down enemies. However, you won’t be using them as often here, since you can only do them after the pointer is full. In addition, during the execution, you literally snatch a piece of his body from the poor enemy, which can be used as a separate weapon (each enemy offers a different weapon). Stylish! I’m just sorry we only saw two boss fights, which are enjoyable in their own right, but for my taste, it’s pretty damn bad.

Marauder gunner mechanics don’t pay off.

However, if you do not use the mentioned stylish performances, annoying demons will help to remove seven types of weapons, which at first glance may not seem like much, but due to brevity, the number is sufficient. Favorites include a special shotgun, a powerful revolver or a shuriken brush, where every single detail will very soon become a natural extension of your body, and you will enjoy using the services of each of them. But the traditional katana should not be missing either. This time it works as a secondary weapon that can be used with the right mouse button all the time. And this helps to make the action more or less continuous, connecting and combining all kinds of attacks. But the authors have to be reprimanded for the fact that they may have simplified the control of the katana too much. In the spirit of combat, this probably doesn’t matter much, but something more difficult will do. In any case, all weapons offer three additional upgrades that change their behavior and destructive power. You can then unlock these upgrades with the already mentioned orbs that you find on the map, or you can get them for completing special objectives. You can also upgrade the character itself, whether it’s your only active ability (Chi Burst) or improving the rate at which resources drop from killed enemies.

Journey to fabulous Asia

And to make sure DOOM Eternal inspiration isn’t enough, we’ll also find platform sequences here, where you’ll also make extensive use of the novelty launcher (it will also be used in battles). It’s clear to me that many of you may have been intimidated at this point as it was probably the worst element in DOOM. However, this didn’t bother me at all. These sequences do not require millimeter precision and are bell-shaped enough that unpopular feelings of disappointment will never arise. In addition, during this bounce you will have the opportunity to appreciate the beautiful and especially volatile environment. In fact, each level offers different scenery that changes at such a speed that you definitely won’t have time to make out. But they all stick to what the creators call neo-feudal Japan, using traditional, modern and imaginary elements. Plays with many colors, cheerful, despite its brutality, and definitely looks very good on her. As well as the design of the enemies, with which the creators clearly won a lot.

It is necessary to appreciate the magnificent and changing environment.

It’s also great that he moves very well. On the RTX 3060, I basically had a stable 72 FPS for the whole time I played in FullHD (I do not have a monitor with a high refresh rate, but after disabling the limits it went through the roof of 100 FPS at maximum setting), when only one breath escaped when the game was recorded on the roller (these are locked at 60 FPS, which can cause trouble). But if there are any problems, you will find support for various technologies such as Nvidia DLSS or AMD FidelityFX that can help you with this. And I have not seen any annoying bugs. The worst violation in this area was one jump of textures and their random interlacing, but you don’t even notice it, or you wave your hand.

Wu Wan clan

So it’s clear to me that the new antics of the crazy Lo Wang will definitely not be to everyone’s taste, especially if you are one of the fans of the second part, the mechanics of which are completely thrown into the trash here. And it’s also understandable that many players won’t be willing to give that much money for a title with such a short playing time. But if your life lacks a straightforward linear shooter with an almost insane pace, childish humor and fun action, you definitely should not miss Shadow Warrior 3, as you are sure to have royal fun. At least I had so much fun.