Back in 2014, Shadow Warrior sure caught the attention of gamers worldwide. The game’s fast-paced action, colorful graphics and wisecracking protagonist Lo Wang won it much praise.
Shadow Warrior also let players eviscerate monstrous enemies with Wang’s katana, as well as wield a huge arsenal of weapons in order to fight hordes of enemies, delivering action in the vein of games like Serious Sam.
Polish developer Flying Wild Hog sure proved that it could make a competent action game with over the top humor, while Shadow Warrior also managed to be a great remake of the 1996 classic of the same name, which is no mean feat. Shadow Warrior sure was one of 2013’s top games (and also of the following year, when it hit consoles).
Its 2016 sequel, though, did not live up to the first game. Its humor bordered on the tasteless at times, its procedurally generated levels were not memorable (and neither was the game’s story), enemies lacked personality and Flying Wild Hog introducing more RPG elements like weapon stats might have gotten in the way of player’s enjoyment too…
Thankfully, the series could be returning to its roots with Shadow Warrior 3, which could be focusing more on the fast-paced and gory action that the 2013 game delivered so well.
This is clear by looking at the sneak peek video below, which is set in “Motoko’s Thunderdome”.
Motoko is one of the new characters appearing in Shadow Warrior 3, a sorceress who wields the power of electricity, and who will surely be a tough foe for Lo Wang to fight in his quest to find and capture an ancient dragon.
You see, in this third instalment of the Shadow Warrior series, Lo Wang teams up with returning character and former employer Orochi Zilla in order to hunt down the dragon (which they themselves released from their prison by error…) and prevent a coming apocalypse.
Like the earlier games this has a Far East setting, inspired by Chinese and Japanese culture. Amongst the new features in Shadow Warrior 3, Lo Wang is now capable of “spectacular free-running movement” being able to run on walls and perform double jumps.
The game also features the same mix of melee combat and deadly guns – Lo Wang is seen dicing and slicing enemies with his katana at some point in the gameplay trailer above, while also raining death and destruction with a rocket launcher and other weapons. Wang is also able to use magical powers during the game’s frenetic combat, freezing his enemies and blasting them to bits as he fights in the “Thunderdome”.
Shadow Warrior 3’s release date is yet to be announced, but could be arriving sometime this year. It’ll be launching on consoles and PC. PS4, Xbox One versions are expected, while publisher Devolver Digital and Polish Studio Flying Wild Hog are yet to comment on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S specific versions of the game.
So here’s hoping that Flying Wild Hog can deliver another great, fast-paced and bloody first-person action game with Shadow Warrior 3 in the near future, then.