Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition

Still at least decent, but crippled by it's short length (5-6 hours) and incredibly dumbed down level design (it's about 95% linear, with the occasional slightly out of the way secret, it's a bunch of platforming/parkour sections, then combat arenas, rinse and repeat.) It kind of just feels like an extended finale of Shadow Warrior 2, you're mostly in this same gigantic locale, just hunting down the dragon and killing a bunch of dudes on the way there. And there's only 2 bosses, and not many weapons, compared to 2's dozens of weapons. Definitely not worth the launch price of 50$, but at least I got Shadow Warrior 2 for free back in 2018, so I'm a bit more okay with it, I'm just gonna pretend I spent like 35$ on Shadow Warrior 2, and 15$ on 3. Wait for a sale, don't spend more than 20$ on this. Here's a random idea: It would be potentially pretty rad if Flying Wild Hog did a remake of Daikatana, since they have a good synergy with first person sword combat, and gunplay. That is, if they gave it the same care as Shadow Warrior 1 and 2, and not whatever 3 is.

They really added all the things from Doom eternal that is the reason I don't play that game either. If you liked that game good for you because you now have another one with some wang on the side. While the game seem incredible short and with no replay value, from what I have heard, what is there does feel pretty solid. Had expected worse performance compared to the second game but this one actually did seem to run smoother, maybe due to the small and on rails maps or just better coding. Just so dissapointed to see a series I have loved get changed into something completely different yet again.

This game is definitely not terrible, but it is certainly disappointing. The first in the new trilogy came at a time where games were becoming too linear, and it felt fresh by having intricate level design and a lot of little secrets to find. Not as much as old school FPSs, but enough, like a good balance between old and new design. Then the second one became a random map looter shooter for some reason. But honestly, for what it is, it was still a good game. There was a huge variety of weapons, and the experience felt meaty, even if because it had a lot of fat. But this game... this is everything I dislike about modern AAA gaming. Super linear and repetitive level design, to the point that I think it was boring even for the level designers to come up with new maps - you feel like you're doing the same wall running and grappling throughout the entire game. I actually don't mind the shorter game time, I love arcade games and short-but-replayable is actually a HUGE plus for me. But I don't feel like I want to replay this. Half the time you're just doing boring, mind-numbing Uncharted-like parkour where it's almost impossible to fail, and the arena battles aren't much better. The combat has good ideas but it can become too chaotic for its own good. Most enemies are not fun to fight - especially the drill dude and the flying mages, and all fell like bullet sponges. Not a single weapon felt satisfying to use. And the gore weapons are overpowered, so you use them like two times per encounter. The enemy encounters also do not feel interesting. You're mostly fighting very similar groups of enemies the entire game, and they do not have great synergy. The story is a huge nothing burger, and the characters do not feel like themselves. Not visually or emotionally. The text is a parade of tired jokes, some without context, some sounding like a blockbuster movie that imitates rather than creates its own one-liners. The visuals are pretty though.

Only played 15 minutes and got bored real quickly. It feels like a poor man's Doom Eternal (and I loved Doom Eternal). I did not expect this to be like the 1997, the reboot, or it's sequel. However, I expected it to be a good shooter in its own right but sadly its not. Wait until it is on sale and see if the devs add more content. Not a bad game, but it's definitely the worst entry in the Shadow Warrior series.

Shadow Warrior 3 is a completely different game than the previous 2. it is linear, linear like the original Super Mario on the NES. 1- The fights happen in arenas where you have to kill the same 4 big enemies in order to complete the fight. 2- the weapons are so unsatisfying to use. 3- the big enemies are just bullet sponges. 4- the "improve" skills and weapons is there but you are asking why. I like how you can switch between the katana and the guns. 5- it is not gritty, it is missing something (or a lot more) Shadow Warrior 3 is a distant shadow of Shadow Warrior 2. I hope that SW3 is the stinker in the SW series and the next one ( if there will be one) will be a solid SW game. I'm disappointed