Have you ever had one of those moments where you’d rather take a trip down one of Doom’s long and windy corridors than perform a tactical reload? Or perhaps you’d prefer to skip merrily through Serious Sam’s arenas of death than take down foreign insurgents in slow motion? If you even slightly raised your eyebrows in curiosity, then Shadow Warrior is for you.
Whilst we might not live in the realm of ’97 anymore, Flying Wild Hog and Devolver Digital are offering a chance to step back in time, hand in hand with game mechanics of the era, only whilst also dragging along gaming’s modern looks. For those ‘mature’ enough to remember, Shadow Warrior was first released in 1997 by 3D Realms and GT Interactive, and resembled a first person shooter in the style of Duke Nukem 3D, complete with crass humour to match.
Fast forward nearly fifteen years, and here we are again. In the wake of more popular and (intentionally) serious shooters, comes Shadow Warrior once more. A reboot that incorporates old school everything-ness, with modern styling to create a game that somehow simultaneously reminds us why we don’t play these sorts of games anymore, whilst also wondering why no one makes these sorts of games anymore. Meet Lo Wang, (yea it’s gonna be that kind of game) a modern day ninja who enjoys the musical styling’s of Stan Bush, namely the one song that you’re likely singing in your head right now, The Touch. Along with his fandom of Transformers, Wang also is rather attached to katana, something that will prove to be both conversely useful, and spell his downfall throughout the game.
The plot starts out and develops as you may imagine in a game such as this, an ancient sword is the target of Wang, and acquiring it will be the first task of many, eventually roping in golems, gods and of course, masked incestuous demons. Despite the narrative in many games of this ilk often taking a backseat, the story is so bewildering and bizarre, that it demands your attention, often by any means necessary.
After the simple, peacefully attempted negotiations over the ancient sword have inevitably broken down, it’s tutorial time. In no other game has there been this many dismembered body parts in a tutorial before. Often toeing the line between gratifying and downright hilarious, you are given control of your katana, where (depending on the settings in the options menu) you can be as precise or as slashy as you please. Not long after you cut yourself out of your wooden cage (it gets weirder the further you progress) does the game remind you of the tone it’s going to ape throughout; much like its older sibling, you’ll find you need a key card to progress. Oh happy days!
It’s not only the ‘puzzles’ that hark back to the glory days either, you’ll find a veritable armada of upgradable weapons to choose from. Before long, you’ll have to deal with dilemmas such as whether to opt for circle strafing with an overly ‘barrelled’ shotgun, jumping with rockets aimed at enemies’ feet, swashbuckling your way to victory and many more besides. This is of course not counting the special powers, also upgradeable of course, of which you’ll eventually have at your disposal. Ranging from offensive to defensive, you can opt to upgrade skills such as your health regen so that it kicks in earlier, and lasts longer should the swarm of AI prove too much to handle.
The visceral combat never lets up either, dual wielding weapons before switching to some slice and dice action always feels fun; all whilst integrating more explosive barrels than you can name videogame tropes. Slaughtering enemies by the field-full gives you chance to increase your score through savage dismemberment, quick firing combos and tense multipliers. Leaving nothing alive but the chain of kills can be tricky and is very reminiscent of 2011’s Bulletstorm, if a little less realised and defined. This unfortunately also translates to the controls and menus however. With so many potential powers at your disposal, it’s a shame that it’s inevitably difficult to make them easily available at all times; incorporating touchpad gestures alongside button presses simply isn’t reliable enough in combat when you need them. Upgrading skills quickly becomes a chore too, with the menus’ headings appearing vague at best; having to constantly check each and every skill to find the one you want becomes speedily irritating.
With no multiplayer to speak of, it’s a good job that the levels are packed with secrets to satiate the inner OCD in all of us, and giving that you can easily squeeze twelve hours out of its rich campaign, it’s no sprint either. Not that you’d particularly want to however, as Shadow Warrior is one hell of a good looking game. Each area feels overly saturated with colour and atmosphere; even if areas usually consist of just a few open arenas. What does take a little of the shine away are the fairly long initial load times; and those combined with the incredibly unsubtle mid-level load screens, all but guarantee’s a break from immersion. Enemy and boss designs are mostly unique and lopping off limbs always feels impressive and gratifying. Much like the late 90’s version, there’s humour abound too; also like the older version, it can often be hit or miss, however knowing the game doesn’t take itself too seriously, helpfully unburdens the load.
Whether you’re in the mood for some old school shooting, or maybe just fancy taking a trip down memory lane, Shadow Warrior urges you towards its beautiful yet blood smeared world. It could be the excellently fast paced combat, the happy regaling of charging fodder being swathed in dismembering glory, or perhaps the rampant tongue in cheek jokes. Either way, you’ll be laughing with Wang, not at him.
