Shadow Warrior 3 Review: Not A Game Renowned as "Ninth Art"

March 18, 2022

Shadow Warrior 3 is a sequel to the Shadow Warrior 2 (published in 2016) and Shadow Warrior games (rebooted in 2013) developed by Flying Wild Hog.

But Shadow Warrior 3 gets a lower rating than Shadow Warrior 2. People gripe about its short game process: it takes about 6-10 hours to beat the game, which seems too short for a game of $50.

Receiving a 71 Metascore, Shadow Warrior 3 doesn't seem to be recognized by Metacritic either.

Shadow Warrior 3 gets 71 Metascore on metacritic

Flying Wild Hog is not an old-fashioned developer. In almost every game, they have made obvious changes.

Six years after Shadow Warrior 2, we can also see some radical changes.

Shadow Warrior 3 is essentially different from Shadow Warrior 2: it's made a linear game, where you can't explore maps like in Shadow Warrior 2. Incorrect roads will result in an invisible wall or cause death.

The best part of such a force guide is that you'll never worry about getting lost or wasting hours straying in the same area.

You have only one way to go. No fork road, no shortcut - even the road to the next scene is sealed. Only when the seal is found and attacked can you enter the next scene.

Every coin has two sides. Never getting lost = less freedom. You can only pass the game according to the given routine. That feels like being restrained by a rope.

Besides changing map exploration in Shadow Warrior 2 to a linear game, Shadow Warrior 3 adds the grappling hook, which enriches the parkour element. Chasing the dragon should be a chapter where the parkour element is used the most, you'll need the grappling hook during the long journey.

How to use the grappling hook in Shadow Warrior 3

I pretty much love triple jumping that can't be found elsewhere. Survival and combat are all about air dashing, jumping, and wall-running. I feel some enjoyable tension watching Lo Wang dashing and jumping - so nimble that it looks like flying.

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Also, Shadow Warrior 3 adds performing executions on enemies by filing up a meter. When doing so, they can be killed to death, or they'll resist on their broken bodies. And Chi-Blast makes it easy to show enemies' weakness.

At last, you'll find combat is not just about shooting; instead, they are more like a strategic but gorgeous performance filled up with blood.

Shadow Warrior 3 finishing moves promise to be the best around

Of course, I have some complaints: there are rare enemy types and boss battles (only two in the whole game).

Most enemies and weapons have been revealed in the first half of the game, and there's nothing new in parkour. So when I pass the first half, I feel something boring among the monotonous battles.

Shadow Warrior 3 isn't the game renowned as the "Ninth Art". It's to me what popcorn is to the movie: not very innovative, not deep in plot.

But compared to the previous generations, some tedious content is taken away, which makes the game simple to get started.

Shadow Warrior 3 is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows. The good news is: you can experience the cross-platform game even if you don't have a native support controller through BIGBIG WON Adapex R100 Pro USB wireless Bluetooth controller adapter.

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