hadow Warrior 3 did not hit the mark for me. The second game I enjoyed thoroughly, even though I missed the stellar story and straight forward shooter mechanics of the first game I appreciated what was. So I was saddened to hear that they decided not to improve some of the lacking aspects of the game such as repetitive weapons and grindy enemies. The story was subpar especially in its confusing ending. Shadow Warrior 3 does not start off strong. Wang is the riding the dragon that seemed to eat him in 2, which serves as the tutorial. This is interspersed with cutscenes of him in his tighty whities, in his destroyed hideout, awkwardly talking to the mask of his dead friend and god Hoji. In his explanation of how he's a failure who couldn't stop the dragon, lost his favourite ramen shop and mojo, something felt off. This didn't feel like the same Wang, and it wasn't because he had a new character arc of losing is mojo. Wang is somehow even more tacky, the joke being he lost his Mojo after he failed to save and indirectly destroyed the world at the end of 2. It's clear its going for tacky in a cute humorous way, but it just ends up being tacky. I would later find out that they changed voice actors to someone who was more "ethnically appropriate" which makes zero sense for a voice actor. I'm not sure if this is what I want out of Shadow Warrior, an awkwardly self-aware Lo Wang. I just want campy corny jokes and the occasional "Fuck yeah" as I blow up the head of a demon. Also Shadow Warrior never had a stellar story except reboot which had some excellent twists and turns. Similar to the cousin it imitates it's always been about slaying demons with one-liners. I'm not sure high end cutscenes was the right choice here.
I know a lot of people didn't like SW2 but I thought the unique blend of Diablo meets Doom, while providing a more action focus as apposed to Borderlands floaty mechanics, was a cool way to set it apart. Yet again this feels this feels like it's aping Doom Eternal entirely with its linear levels, tight arenas, push forward mechanics and most importantly a grappling hook. None of these are a bad thing individually (except the linear levels) but why you couldn't have all that along with more robust weapon and enemy design and level RNG. I feel like the Qi powers are a lot more paired back here as well with far less combos available for your weapons and skills to unlock. Part way through the story you and Zilla and some sorcerer who's barely seen again revive Hoji. Eventually he helps you take down the dragon (not before attempting to consume it, as its the source of the Yoki Godhood). That's pretty much the story, and it felt pretty one-note and bland. Hoji comes back, has a turn of heart and helps Wang gets his mojo back and saving humanity once again. There was a huge opportunity missed with Hoji not giving you new sorcery power. He's the Yoki of trickery right? Where's the illusion powers? It goes perfect with the whole neo-ninja theme... Shadow warrior with shadow magic?
Sometimes the levels feel very crowded. Like Serious Sam level of enemies with a very small arena and limited way to recoup health recharging pickups or executing enemies. It's terrible and unlike Doom enemies don't glow when low, you need to wait for a special meter to execute the grunts for health. Levels design often makes it impossible to back peddle from these cramped hordes. Its water and flowing Zen temples are pretty, but FUCK it to death when you're trying to strafe and backpedal a mob of serious same exploding enemies. If I have to compare all the games 1 felt the most balanced and well rounded, but also most derivate. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it still felt like it separated itself enough even more so than the original. And the demons and Hoji were great. In 2 Story is incredibly convoluted but the gameplay had exceptional replayability and set itself apart. In 3 core gameplay mechanics and enemy design (not modifiers) improved but everything else is gone. Story is no less convoluted and diminishes what little lore the previous games had. Kamiko is gone and never mentioned again, unleashing a dragon of chaos. If Hoji's mask could destroy the dragon, Wang's one remaining purpose why would he sacrifice it for an inanimate object he's not even sure is "Hoji" any more. It could just be residual energy. Why didn't we revive Hoji earlier if it was this easy? You know, the entire reason for the villain and destruction of the world in the second game? It's as if the second game never even happened and I could spend all day dissecting the story so I won't.
The game is absolutely breathtaking at times. Whether it be the warm Japanese autumn vistas full of temples or the inside of a dragons body, where we can scale his rib cages, bones and different objects of Earth he's swallowed. The game does start to kick into gear at the zenith. Thee platforming is uninspired and done better by many games, but the platforming in the ice surfing is fantastic. You need to maintain pace with the sliding platform, wall running and grappling hook to to avoid enemies and obstacles. Entering the maw of the dragon is also a highlight with plenty of great fights. Unfortunately the game ends just when its about to kick into gear, with only 6 hours playtime its way too short to justify its price tag. The criticisms were certainly valid, I mean only two boss fights the entire game. It makes it feel like they were tacked on or the game was cut short.
The horde made is fantastic with rounds iterating and giving you three weapons and upgrades to choose from after each round. This is exactly what the game was meant to be and I wish every arena was this open and it makes me miss the open levels of SW2 (albeit minus the unbalanced bull sponge enemies and constant backpedalling across the map). Everything that was once good about the franchise is gone in SW3, the potential to evolve upon the formula of tight arena shooter meets looter shooter has been tossed aside, replaced by a lacklustre imitation of Doom Eternal. The story is about as bad as the second game, but now Wang has lost any of the campy charm that might have once made you smirk. I might come back for the horde mode, but I think it's more likely that I just move on. I'm glad I got to see where the story went after the second game, I just wish it went in a direction that left me feeling like it was all unnecessary and hoping that they don't continue the series.
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