{"id":17377,"date":"2022-02-28T14:20:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T14:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/28\/shadow-warrior-3-is-a-disappointing-relic-of-the-xbox-360-era\/"},"modified":"2022-02-28T14:20:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T14:20:06","slug":"shadow-warrior-3-is-a-disappointing-relic-of-the-xbox-360-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/28\/shadow-warrior-3-is-a-disappointing-relic-of-the-xbox-360-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Shadow Warrior 3 is a disappointing relic of the Xbox 360 era"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Shadow Warrior 3<\/em> isn\u2019t a breath of fresh air for first-person shooters. It\u2019s just passing wind. And that stinks.<\/p>\n

The latest game from Flying Wild Hog feels like a title from the Xbox 360 era \u2014 and not for the better. But if you\u2019re interested in Shadow Warrior 3<\/em>, it could be worth a buy.<\/p>\n

On sale. After some patches \u2014 maybe.<\/p>\n

The story so far<\/h2>\n

Shadow Warrior 3<\/em> takes place months after the events of the second game. The dragon that was unleashed upon the world has wiped out most of the population and Lo Wang is the only person who can stop it. The problem is, he\u2019s lost his mojo.<\/p>\n

Knowing that he\u2019s their only chance for survival, Wang\u2019s former employer and rival, Zilla, has come to beg Wang to help him stop the dragon. And that\u2019s all you get. If you were hoping for answers to the massive cliffhangers from the previous game, you\u2019re out of luck.<\/p>\n

The story in Shadow Warrior 3<\/em> \u2014 to put it kindly \u2014 is sparse. There\u2019s very little in the way of motivation for what you\u2019re doing and that leads to forgettable moments throughout its campaign.<\/p>\n

Instead of offering new content, the writers chose to rehash moments from prior entries. Hoji is back, and while it\u2019s great to hear that iconic voice again, it doesn\u2019t feel like his return was earned. You\u2019ll see every twist coming from a kilometre away. That\u2019s a saying, right? No? We\u2019re a Canadian site, let me have this one.<\/p>\n

\"Shadow<\/p>\n

Fans of the previous games will notice that the voices of Lo Wang and Zilla have changed. Devolver Digital and Flying Wild Hog decided to recast the characters to be played by Asian actors. But the execution misses the mark.<\/p>\n

Mike Moh, the actor behind Lo Wang, takes a while to settle into the role. His performance at the beginning of the game feels forced with even the best jokes falling flat due to his performance. Throughout the game, the performance improves drastically, to the point that I eventually forgot about the change altogether. And Moh\u2019s acting shines in more dramatic moments, selling Wang\u2019s frustration and fear in a way that felt far more genuine than in past games. SungWon Cho does a great job as Zilla, but he isn\u2019t given enough material to make Zilla feel like an essential part of the story.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing special here, but the story is serviceable enough to get you from point A to B. If you found the humour from the previous games to be up your alley, you\u2019ll still find lines to love here. They throw so many jokes at the wall that a few are bound to stick. Just don\u2019t expect to be laughing consistently. Or at all, depending on your tolerance for fart jokes and pop culture references.<\/p>\n

It would all be more tolerable if the game didn\u2019t rely on calling out its own poor mechanics so often. Being self-aware can only excuse so many problems.<\/p>\n

A dull blade<\/h2>\n

Shadow Warrior<\/em> made its name in part thanks to its over-the-top writing, but also thanks to its excellent combat. This entry manages to have some of the series\u2019 best gunplay to date thanks to its incredible speed. But this comes at the cost of its swordplay and depth.<\/p>\n

While Shadow Warrior 2<\/em> might have gone overboard with its weapon levels and customization, 3<\/em> boils its combat down to the basics. If you loved the swordplay in past games as much as I did, you\u2019ll be sorely disappointed here. Gone are the sword combos and abilities, instead replaced by a single button that delivers the same three animations. Slashing your sword is no longer a viable way to wipe out hordes of enemies. Your sword is used almost exclusively to replenish your ammo.<\/p>\n

The team at Flying Wild Hog has clearly been influenced by Doom<\/em> when it comes to Shadow Warrior<\/em>\u2018s\u00a0combat loop. You\u2019ll need to use your arsenal of guns to take down enemies, but to refill your ammo, you\u2019ll need to either pick up blue ammo packs or slash enemies with your sword. I appreciate the way this keeps you in the action at all times, but it comes at the expense of depth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

With each enemy killed, you\u2019ll gather finisher orbs, allowing you to build up to a Gore Kill. Each Gore Kill fills your health and gives you the unique Gore Weapon of the enemy you used it on. The weapons range from bombs that freeze the field of enemies to deadly swords.<\/p>\n

This loop gives each encounter a particular rhythm. You\u2019ll dance between enemies, leaving explosions in your wake. But it\u2019s a very different approach from the developer\u2019s past efforts, something that may not sit well with fans. More importantly, it pales in comparison to its contemporaries.<\/p>\n

Gore Kills \u2014 a play on Glory Kills from Doom<\/em> \u2014 may serve a purpose to the loop, but the animations pause combat for far too long, interrupting the flow entirely. They don\u2019t feel satisfying, nor do the abilities they offer.<\/p>\n

The abilities feel unbalanced, with some feeling completely broken, while others offer no value in combat. The Hattori Sword can take down the strongest enemy in the game in a matter of blows before automatically targeting the next. It makes even the most challenging encounters too easy. By contrast, the Oni Hanma hammer does very little damage and feels weightless in your hand despite its enormous size.<\/p>\n

This same inconsistency applies to the weapons in your arsenal. Some weapons feel satisfying to use, while others lack the appropriate level of kick. I believe the technical term is \u201coomph.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For example, the riot gun finally makes its return to the series, but it feels much weaker than previous iterations. If you upgrade it to its full potential, it can deal devastating damage at close range. Even so, the sound design and animation doesn\u2019t give the weapon the heft it deserves. The pistol by comparison feels great from beginning to end, though it won\u2019t be levelling enemies in the same way.<\/p>\n

When constantly swapping between the weapons, the arsenal offers just enough variety to keep things entertaining, but there aren\u2019t any weapons that stand out from the crowd. You have your standard array of pistol, shotgun, grenade launcher, and rifle. For a game that\u2019s so creative when it comes to describing human anatomy, I\u2019d have hoped that the arsenal would reflect that same level of creativity.<\/p>\n

The movement is fast and fluid though, and the controls are responsive. This helps to stave off the shooting fatigue, even if it can\u2019t overcome it.<\/p>\n

Repetition, repetition, repetition<\/h2>\n

The bigger problem is with the repetitive enemy and level design.<\/p>\n

New enemies are introduced every few levels. Each enemy brings with it a unique challenge. But even with new enemies being introduced at regular intervals, they quickly grow tiresome.<\/p>\n

Every encounter includes all of the enemies you\u2019ve met up until that point. By the end of the game, you\u2019ll have faced the same enemies \u2014 and combination of enemies \u2014 time and time again. There\u2019s no variety.<\/p>\n

And the enemy types aren\u2019t unique enough to save these encounters. Despite different attack patterns and barriers, you can often brute force your way through every encounter.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The arenas occasionally offer interesting ways to approach them, such as using taking out enemies with traps, or hiding health packs on platforms only reachable by wall running, but these are few and far between.<\/p>\n

Most encounters feature arenas only distinguishable by their level\u2019s colour palette. And far too many have pits that I found myself falling into regularly. Though, this is sold as a feature, not a detriment. The developers intended these to be used to knock enemies into with your chi blast, but it\u2019s far too weak. Only the smallest enemies are moved with it, and even then, it feels like they are shoved, not blasted.<\/p>\n

I enjoyed dancing around levels, finishing foe after foe. I just wish that there was more variety, more challenge, and additional polish.<\/p>\n

A platform for bad jokes<\/h2>\n

Platforming is back in Shadow Warrior 3<\/em> in a big way.<\/p>\n

One of the few new features in the game is the grappling hook. By its own accord, this is just following the trend of other first-person shooters. But just because they call out that it\u2019s following the trend doesn\u2019t mean that it excuses the poor implementation.<\/p>\n

Unlike games such as Titanfall 2<\/em> that use the grappling hook to great effect, Shadow Warrior 3<\/em> only allows players to use it with glowing green rings placed conveniently throughout the world. Why are they there? We may never know.<\/p>\n

The grappling feels sluggish, locking the player into an animation until they release from the swing. It moves far too slowly, and the physics miss as often as they hit.<\/p>\n

In between the combat arenas, players are tasked with overcoming platforming sections. These have been a staple of the series in the past, and this latest iteration has the most emphasis placed on them. Despite that, these sections feel like mere distractions \u2014 an excuse to drop dialogue and exposition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

There\u2019s never any challenge to them, other than grappling with the game\u2019s many performance issues and bugs. If you see green on a wall, you run towards it. If you see a green ring, you press the grapple button. Rinse and repeat.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s even several areas with sliding sections straight out of the Xbox 360 era, complete with instant death and lack of save points. This isn\u2019t a welcome throwback. Much like the combat, the challenge doesn\u2019t come from intention, but rather the lack of polish.<\/p>\n

Whereas I can count the number of times I died in combat on one hand, I died during the platforming sections constantly.<\/p>\n

There was one particular level where the grapple pulled me towards the ring instead of swinging me below it, leading me to fall to my death repeatedly. And while this is just a bug, I also had instances where platforms failed to start falling until after I\u2019d already jumped in their direction. I found myself stuck on the environment on multiple occasions with no way to escape.<\/p>\n

Some of these issues may be fixed with the day one patch. I wouldn\u2019t count on it, though.<\/p>\n

Not a top performer<\/h2>\n

Shadow Warrior 3<\/em> has chosen a different art style than its predecessors. At times I appreciated the brighter colour palette, particularly in some of the later levels. However, on the whole, the visuals were difficult to distinguish, with all of the colours blending together in one big rainbow blur. The last thing you want when you\u2019re fighting for your life is to be confused as to what\u2019s happening on screen.<\/p>\n

This is also due in part to the game\u2019s graphics and performance. Playing on PC, I saw consistent stuttering, texture pop-in, and low frame rates. Considering the game is designed for last-gen consoles, this is disappointing.<\/p>\n