Now before I get into this review, I should provide a bit of a disclaimer. I haven’t played either of the previous Shadow Warrior games. Granted, that is actually the point of this review. I have heard great things about them, but they always flew under my radar. I had heard that they were a more humorous take on the Doom formula and to some degree that is correct. Now I can say that I’ve played (and completed) the latest game in the franchise, and I have some thoughts.

Shadow Warrior 3 picks up essentially where the previous game left off. Lo Wang’s last adventure unleashed a dragon, which began to consume the world. Somehow Lo Wang and his once nemesis Zilla survived and begin working together to destroy the dragon and save the world. A few other characters appear, including a returning character from the previous game which I won’t spoil.

If you have played the previous games, I imagine the gameplay won’t surprise you. Much of the gameplay involves platforming between areas and fighting in large-scale arenas. As you progress through the story (what little there is), you unlock new weapons and abilities. The movement is flawless, with things like wall-running, grappling, and dashing at your disposal. The platforming can get a little hectic at times, especially since you often have to move while you fight so you don’t get overwhelmed.

However, there are lots of different ways to fight, from utilizing Lo Wang’s Katana to various guns and even elemental explosive barrels that you can push at enemies with Lo Wang’s Chi Blast ability. Additionally, a new type of Finishing Move has been introduced in this game, which gives Lo Wang access to what are known as “Gore Weapons.”

Gore Weapons are repurposed parts of your enemies. Yup, you guessed it, you can rip your enemies a new…you can rip parts off and use them to fight other enemies. This comes in the form of things like projectile grenades made from enemy bits or even full-on guns or melee weapons. The Gore Weapons are really cool and turn the tide of a rough battle in your favor.

Battles are hectic, as there are designated spots on the ground to pick up health, ammo, and energy for finishers. You can collect health and Finisher energy from fallen enemies too, as well as ammo. Ammo drops more frequently from Katana kills, while Health drops more frequently from gun kills. The combat has a very flexible, free-flowing sort of idea to it, and the arenas are fun to move around in.

However, I feel like some enemy types, even on the easiest difficulty, are just bullet sponges. I think this could be offset if the upgrades you made to your weapons increased damage or other stats. However, the upgrade system is limited, and only changes certain aspects of how the weapons work.

By completing challenges, you unlock orbs. There are two types of orbs, weapon orbs and character orbs. Character orbs upgrade Lo Wang, though the upgrades don’t feel super helpful aside from a few like a max health increase or health regent. The weapon upgrades are similar, changing certain aspects of how guns work or increasing ammo capacity once.

Truthfully, I wish they had gone with a more traditional skill tree. Alternately, they could have focused more on sprinkling enemies in the actual exploration areas, rather than just the free-standing arenas in between platforming. You can find a few orbs in the environments too, but the upgrades don’t really make you feel more powerful.

The story doesn’t really feel all that in-depth, aside from time with Lo Wang killing enemies and giving fifth graders a bad name with some of his one-liners. Had they fleshed the plot out a little more and integrated more of the enemies into the environments (in a Halo style perhaps), then I think they could have balanced things more.

As it stands, Shadow Warrior 3 is incredibly short. I finished it in 10 hours, though on Normal or Hard I could see it taking up to 20 probably. That wouldn’t be representative of more content, you’d just die more often. With that said, even on the easiest mode I died plenty, so I can’t imagine how poorly balanced other difficulties might be.

Come to think of it, if you’re a fan of games like Doom or shooters like Shadow Warrior 3, you may finish the game quicker than me. For a 50-dollar game, I can’t say I’d recommend paying full price. However, that isn’t to say that Shadow Warrior 3 isn’t fun. I enjoyed the gameplay quite a bit. The new mobility options are great, as are the variety of guns and gore weapons.

With the shallow upgrade system, short run-time, and story that doesn’t really do much, I can’t say it is perfect though. The controls are smooth, and I had no issues at all with how the game runs either. I did find that the text in the menus was a little small, but not everyone will have problems with that. Overall, if you liked Shadow Warrior 1 and 2, then you’ll enjoy this one most likely.

If you haven’t played a Shadow Warrior title yet, but you like the genre, give it a try! It is pretty fun, and I can honestly say that despite the various issues I had with it overall, I enjoyed my time with Lo Wang and his friends. Now I’ll be completely backward and go try to find the other two on sale to play.

A PlayStation 4 review copy of Shadow Warrior 3 was provided by Devolver Digital for this review.

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$49.99

6.5

Score

6.5/10

Pros

• Great Mechanics
• Smooth and Responsive Gameplay
• Gorgeous Visuals
• Intense Action and Platforming

Cons

• Very Short
• Text in Menus is a Bit Small
• Shallow Upgrade System
• Story isn't Very Involved