It’s impossible not to see the similarities between Shadow Warrior 2 and the Borderlands series. They both focus exclusively on shooting, looting and leveling up your character.
Gameplay is the most important aspect in a looter shooter, and thankfully Shadow Warrior 2 nailed it. The combat is fast-paced and frenetic, just like in the first game. There are even more weapons, which can now be upgraded with gems (don’t get too attached to these gems, as you’ll be constantly swapping them out and selling off in favor of better ones). Just like in Borderlands, there’s now a heavy emphasis on elemental damage (fire, ice, electrical, toxic).
My biggest issue with this game is the lack of variety in the places I visited. There are only a few locations, which get reused over and over again. Although it was never the exact same map, I was constantly seeing familiar sights.
At some point I realized I could just run past most enemies and go straight for the objectives. Enemy groups would stop chasing me after a short while, making traversal of large maps a trivial matter.
If you’re a fan of Shadow Warrior (2013), Doom (2016) or any of the Borderlands titles, you’ll easily look past this game’s flaws and have a great time with it, either in solo or co-op.
My advice is to invest early on in Karma Harvester (great skill for leveling up faster), Serene Mind (mana regeneration skill) and Healing Flame (healing magic skill). After unlocking it during the story, put at least one point in Second Chance, it’s (literally) a life saving skill.
As for weapons, I always kept at least one with each of the elemental types (fire, ice, electrical, toxic), just in case.
