Shadow Warrior 3. More simple fun from Lo Wang

From the very get go Shadow Warrior 3 feels just like its predecessors. Lo Wang is wandering around a broken-down building in dirty underwear and only dirty underwear throwing obscenities at a massive dragon flying around outside the window. I had a small slither of concern that this next instalment in the Shadow Warrior franchise would lose some of that tongue in cheek simple humour that has made me laugh for so long now and straight away all those concerns were washed away. 

We are at a time in gaming where a lot of first-person shooters all borrow something from one another. Shadow Warrior 3 feels a lot like old school DOOM but ramped up on meth and god knows what else. There is a story here, but not long into it you realise it is second fiddle to doing what Shadow Warrior does best, killing demons. 

For a quick breakdown. An ancient dragon has awakened all be it accidentally and Lo Wang must recover from his self-loathing and stop it from destroying the world. To do so he needs to get some help from friends, recover his mojo and fight off wave after wave of demons trying to stop him. 

Shadow Warrior 3 incorporates the frantic shots and katana swipes into movement that rewards speed and maneuverability. Double jump above enemies’ heads or dash out of the way, grapple your way across the battle arena to get up close and personal with another. All while spouting Lo Wang’s trade mark quips that would make Deadpool proud.  

Between each encounter is spent running, to the next encounter, yet Flying Wild Hog have crafted a decent way to break up the traversal with some more challenging environmental areas. These areas require you to use a grappling hook, jump and dash in different combinations to get to the next stage. While relatively easy it is a nice break from just running to the next bit. 

Unfortunately, what Shadow Warrior 3 has in fun, it also has in repetitiveness. For some the constant moving from one encounter to the next only to be met with similar baddies spawning in your way can get a little frustrating. But let’s be honest here, has there ever been a reason to not switch off and watch demons explode on the end of your gun? 

Gun play is broken up by the types of guns you have your ammo stocks and where abouts in the encounter your enemies are. You need to get the feel of which weapon works best for which enemy and also where that enemy is. When all else fails get up close and hack away with your trusty katana. Do enough damage and you can perform a takedown and while cool, there are far too few variances and I found myself forgetting they were there after only a short while. 

Shadow Warrior 3 does exactly what I needed it too. It doesn’t take itself to seriously, looks fantastic, runs well on my PC and was respective of my time clocking in at about five hours to burst through. If Lo Wang’s quips and forth wall breaking moments weren’t there it would be a lot more of a stale experience but I was laughing like a fool all the way through. 

Shadow Warrior 3 is out now on Steam, Playstation and Xbox.

A big thanks to Devolver Digital for letting me have an early look and be sure to check out the AGExp Show for more on my thoughts. 

Reviewed on: PC

Reviewed by: Patrick Clifford (Snoogs)