Shadow Warrior (2013)
Developer: Flying Wild Hog
Publisher: Devolver Digital
Rrp: £24.49 (gog.com), £28.99 (Humblebundle), £29.99 (Steam)
Released: 26th September 2013
Available on: Steam, gog.com, Humblebundle
Played using: Mouse and Keyboard
It was supposed to be a simple job, go to the mansion and get a sword, ideally by paying for it. Instead you get to deal with a large scale daemonic invasion and someone talking to you in your head. Life is good!
I don’t think anyone can be blamed for not remembering the original version of this game. Sure it’s something of a classic but it has nowhere near the level of recognition that the likes of Duke Nukem 3D or Doom enjoy. I can still remember playing the original Shadow Warrior when it first came out and even back then I could tell it was basically another version of Duke Nukem 3D (which makes sense considering its creators).
The Steam store page describes it best, Shadow Warrior is “a re-imagining of the original shooter” which was created by 3D Realms way back in 1997.
You get to play as Lo Wang (and yes that is a penis joke) a hired mercenary who has been paid, at least initially, to collect a sword. Of course, as is often the case, things don’t go according to plan. Good thing Lo Wang happens to be a expert martial artist.
One thing that will immediately become apparent is that Lo Wang is no silent protagonist. You’ll hear him cracking wise regularly, or if you become quite low on health, swearing a lot.
As I mentioned the world has invaded by daemons so it’s time to bring out the big guns… Your katana. No seriously, you will likely play the majority of the game using this weapon. Its not just the signature weapon for the game but also the most fun to use, and it’s damned effective. Using it is heavily incentivised with many of the supernatural powers being centred around using it. Actually fighting with the katana is very satisfying plus you can sever limbs off of your enemies, it helps that it’s sword combat just feels responsive.
Of course that’s not to belittle all the other weapons, they too will be used a great deal in your quest. In some cases the katana is just not the right weapon for the job and or is completely useless.
All the weapons feel good to use and bring a smile to my face, especially once they’ve been upgraded with some of their, frankly, ridiculous alternative fire modes. They also all have an alternative firing mode, although this is always an upgrade that has to be purchased.
This brings is quite neatly to the upgrade system, well the first thing to take note of is that there are three separate currencies used for upgrades. The money you find in the world is used upgrade weapons and buy ammunition, karma is used to improve your skills (more in that later) and ki unlocks new supernatural powers such as healing.
All three of these currencies can be found out in the world if you look hard enough, although karma also has an alternative way of being gained.
Killing enemies with a combination of attacks provides you with karma points that you can spend on your skills. You’ll know how well you did because after each encounter you’ll receive a score rating out of five stars.
The skills and powers you acquire through the upgrades are activated (unless their passive ones) by performing combinations of moves like in a fight game such as Street Fighter. For example quickly pressing [D], [D], and holding the [Right Mouse Button] performs a healing spell.
When it come to the story, well… It’s a little bare bones. But then I wasn’t expecting a master work. It does give you a reason for being in the locales it drops you off in and for the most part doesn’t have any plot holes that I can see. You should know though that the plot is completely linear, with no branching narratives or choices at all, then again not every game suits that style of storytelling. I think this is one of those games.
There are a few design choices which I find a little questionable such has placing the default button to zoom in on a weapon as [X]. Granted this isn’t the sort of game where you really need a zoom function but if you’re going to provide the button at least place it somewhere more easy to access.
There are also quite a few invisible walls in the game, if you’re playing normally these won’t be an issue for the most part. But if your exploring and trying to find some of the secrets etc they’ve scattered in the levels you tend to run into them a lot.
For the most part this game is a joy to play but like with most things there are some minor problems. One annoying example being that, sometimes, if you use the dash command down a set of stairs you occasionally die… As if you fell from a great height. The really annoying part is that it’s not consistent, I spent twenty minutes trying to test it and all I can say is that sometimes you die and other times you don’t.
There’s some limited replayibilty with a survival mode (which I found really hard) and once you’ve completed a playthrough of this game with the unlocked ‘Ex mode’ which allows you to replay the game but with all your skills, weaponry and powers.
If this appeals to you perhaps try;
Hard Reset
Serious Sam
Bulletstorm
