Shadow Warrior’s Identity Crisis
When a successful title goes on to spawn multiple sequels and becomes a full-blown series, it generally tries to build upon what worked before with each proceeding entry, moving and improving.
Of course, there a whole bunch of failed sequel cases, either due to failing to live up to their predecessors or simply being bad on their own, but rarely do the supposed follow-ups stray too far away from their origins.
Spin-offs and reboots can get a tad experimental, but the mainline numbered entries are always expected to stick to the core of that very first title and simply expand on it.
The original Shadow Warrior was among the three classic Build Engine titles that followed Doom’s influence back in the day, each paving their own path with a different take on the FPS formula.
With Duke Nukem getting publicly put down and buried with the release of Duke Nukem Forever in 2011 and Blood not having seen a proper sequel since the lackluster Blood II back in 1998, it seemed like the future of the renowned Build Engine trio was to be left in the past.
That is until publisher Devolver Digital acquired the license to Shadow Warrior and decided to give it a comeback in 2013 with Flying Wild Hog in the developer’s seat.
There’s not much to say about the 2013 reboot of Shadow Warrior, as it is by design a simple and straightforward throwback to classic first person shooters with a modern twist.
You go through fairly linear stages with some secrets and mild elements of exploration, blasting hordes of demons in your path and having a damn good time doing so. The weapons are all the standard stuff you’d be accustomed to in a shooter: a revolver, a submachine gun, a shotgun, a rocket launcher, and a flamethrower.
What makes Shadow Warrior stand out, aside from also having a crossbow and alternate firing modes for each weapon, is actually the melee combat.
While the guns are all effective and satisfying to use, it’s the sword that clearly was the focus and got the most attention here.
Aside from it being the driving force of the plot, the Nobitsura Kage is a key component in your arsenal that can be just as efficient in taking out various demonic foes as your means of firepower, with special skills that you get to unlock throughout the course of the campaign that make hacking and slashing a perfectly viable battle strategy.
For a first person shooter, the sword combat is surprisingly fleshed out, and along with unique chi abilities which you could employ during battle such as a makeshift shield, self-healing and a blast wave, the basic gunplay gets a layer of depth and style added which makes Shadow Warrior its own beast.
It’s nothing that will blow your mind nowadays, but keep in mind that this retro FPS throwback came out a year prior to the release of Wolfenstein: The New Order and three whole years before the Doom reboot. Despite originating as a “Doom clone”, it kinda paved the way for this new wave of old-school shooters that we’ve come to relish.
Which makes the odd direction its sequel took all the more puzzling.
Shadow Warrior 2 is a strange sequel, as it’s simultaneously better and worse than its predecessor. For every step forward, it takes a different step back.
The combat for example is significantly improved, everything feels faster and much smoother. The swordplay is even better than before, with some of its more awkward functions like input of skills requiring double tapping a certain direction being streamlined for a less cumbersome user experience. Dashing and movement in general is less restrictive and more free-flowing, and the ridiculous variety of ranged and melee weaponry allows for each player to customize their own personal arsenal to their liking.
However, the levels, while big and open-ended, are much more homogenous and unfocused due to the game’s semi-procedural generation.
You acquire gems with unique stats from almost every chest and enemy you encounter, which while adding to the customization aspect, gets quickly overwhelming and obnoxious. Lo Wang’s douchey nature is dialed up to eleven, rarely getting moments of him being genuine like in the first game, oftentimes coming across insufferable and needlessly meanspirited.
The story as a whole is basically a retread of the first, with Kamiko taking Hoji’s place as the supernatural partner but lacking the chemistry he had with Wang.
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It was hard for me to decide my stance on this game, as I did truly enjoy its moment-to-moment gameplay but groaned whenever the looter-shooter aspect reared its ugly head. It really is just a different game made for a different audience in mind. If you like games like Borderlands and Diablo, you might get a kick out of this one, while if you prefer more linear affairs, you’re probably better off sticking with the first game.
Overall, I’d say Shadow Warrior 2 is a fine title for what it’s trying to be, it’s simply a matter of personal taste that will dictate which direction you connect with more.
But this was not the last genre overhaul in this series, as then came Shadow Warrior 3 to shake things up all over again.
I’ve got no clue as to why Flying Wild Hog is so opposed to settling on an idea that works, as the next installment following Shadow Warrior 2 took the series in a drastically different direction yet again.
On the surface, it seems like they took some of the fans’ reservations with the previous game’s changes to heart and went back to the classic linear design of the first title. That is until you begin to notice the very unsubtle influence of a particularly successful FPS titan all over this game.
Once a Doom clone, always a Doom clone I guess.
To be fair, it isn’t beat for beat Doom Eternal, as there are mechanical differences unique to this title. The “Glory Kill” equivalent for example, is not simply a gory finish you perform on an already near-death stunned enemy, but an insta-kill ability that you need to have charged up to use which then awards you with the targeted enemy’s specific “Gore Weapon” for a limited time. That’s not only a cool spin on the formula, but also a callback to a similar mechanic in the 2013 Shadow Warrior, where a lesser demon had a chance of dropping a heart that could be used as an AOE, and a Demon Warlord’s severed head could be turned into a powerful laser weapon.
Of course, there’s also the sword which functions like Doom Eternal’s chainsaw for obtaining extra ammo from enemies, but is still a viable weapon in its own right as it had been prior.
The transition to this type of frantic arena-based combat broken up by platforming sections is done quite well, especially impressive for a smaller studio.
But as well made and polished as it is, Shadow Warrior 3 can’t help feeling like it lost something along the way. Technically, I consider it the best of the trilogy, but it’s also the least Shadow Warrior.
The sudden cliffhanger the second game abruptly ended on is just waved away, Kamiko doesn’t even get a single mention despite being the cause for the dragon’s awakening. Most of the extended cast dies off-screen, including the ancients despite them being supposedly immortal.
Hoji comes back for whatever reason and seems to have regressed in character, as his mischievous plotting to take over the dragon’s power for himself doesn’t match with his arc in the first game concluding with his selfless sacrifice by willingness to correct his mistakes
Motoko is a new character that was featured in the game’s trailer, so I figured she’d be a close companion, when in reality she only appears twice to do some magic and sits back for the rest of it. She’s more so a convenient plot device to excuse having fan-favorite Hoji back.
The only redeeming parts of the writing are Lo Wang somewhat maturing and Zilla becoming an unlikely ally, although he doesn’t do much either.
Look, it’s not like the previous titles’ storytelling was particularly high-level, but they at least tried. Even Shadow Warrior 2 at least followed up on the fates of familiar characters such as Ameonna, Mezu, Gozu and Xing while introducing new ones into the fold like Kamiko, Smith, Hideo and Larry.
Shadow Warrior 3 just undoes all of that and pretends like none of it ever mattered, which would be fine if it was going for a fresh start, but this is a direct sequel.
Really, as much as I genuinely enjoyed this game and Shadow Warrior 2, I can’t help but look back almost nostalgically on that first title.
It was clunkier and didn’t have the polish and improvements the sequels later implemented, but its identity and focus were clear.
If a Shadow Warrior 4 were to be announced sometime in the future, I hope Flying Wild Hog could look back at the individual strengths of each entry in this series and put them together to form a cohesive whole.
Take 2013’s writing and level design, Shadow Warrior 2’s wide arsenal and melee combat, Shadow Warrior 3’s pacing and gameplay loop, and you’d have a modern FPS title that could properly go toe to toe with Doom.
Or they could just scrap it all and move on to the next shiny idea, top-down twin-stick shooter or 3rd person action-adventure next?
