Shadow Warrior Review

Shadow Warrior
Developed by: Flying Wild Hog
Published by: Devolver Digital
Date of Release: September 26, 2013
Price: $39.99

The year is 1997, it is the past. The badass machismo of Duke Nukem 3D that once ruled the FPS genre with an iron fist is starting to wear thin. The world needs a new hero, and that hero is Lo Wang. Formerly a ninja assassin for the great Zilla corporation, this grizzled and wise ass-kicker had been betrayed by his boss and left for dead. Embarking on a delightfully offensive campaign of bloody revenge, Lo Wang kicked Zilla's ass and chased him back under the rock he slithered out from under. Sadly, much time has passed without a new entry in what started out as a kick-asstastic series, and fans were left to wonder what would become as out hero. Thankfully Flying Wild Hog has come to the rescue, rebooting the series with a swift kick to the family jewels.



The new incarnation of Shadow Warrior starts with a much younger Lo Wang cruising down the road in a slick sportster, singing to the tune of Stan Bush's "The Touch" (many kudos for that!). He is on his way to purchase a rare and valuable sword for his boss, Orochi Zilla. Of course things are bound to go wrong, and our hero finds himself up to his Wang in trouble, kicking things off with a katana-based choreography of carnage that makes the Crazy 88 fight scene in Kill Bill look like a Saturday morning cartoon. And this is where we first meet the true star of this game, Lo Wang's trusty sword. Forget all the fancy firepower the game gives you, why use a gun when you can grab some laser-hardened steel and cut yourself some demon sashimi? The melee combat is so good that it has the unfortunate side effect of completely overshadowing the otherwise excellent gunplay.



Even with all the seemingly overwhelming attention that Flying Wild Hog put into the stunning gameplay mechanics, the rest of the experience does not suffer for it. The graphics are absolutely gorgeous, with near-infinite detail placed into the smallest details of each level. Sakura blossoms sway in the breeze, and koi splash merrily in their ponds, awaiting a shower of demon intestines on which to gorge themselves on. You can even leave bloody trails of footprints snaking through the levels, I definitely haven't seen that level of detail in years. The humor of the original game also has not been diminished over time, this new entry is just as full of snark and wit. Be sure to look for every fortune cookie you can find!



When you add it all together, Shadow Warrior is quite honestly a full product, even with the omission of multiplayer. The massive and rousing single player campaign quite makes up for it. With a multitude of ways to dispatch your demonic nemeses, be it by the blade, the bullet, or by mystic powers, things will never get dull as you carve a bloody swath through the hordes of enemies that await. As with their previous work, Hard Reset, Flying Wild Hog has crafted a fine masterpiece of gaming that utterly should not be missed. So go forth young grasshopper, and kick some ass!