Shadow Warrior 3 review | Intense action FPS

Shadow Warrior 3 is a first-person shooter action game developed by Flying Wild Hog and published by Devolver Digital. It was officially publically launched on March 1, 2022. It features the return of protagonist Lo Wang as she takes on the Evil Dragon in a world that’s nearly completely destroyed.

Is the FPS action game worth buying? How do you play it, and what are the visuals and sounds like? Is SW3 multiplayer, and is it open world? For the answers to these questions and more, enjoy our Shadow Warrior 3 review below.

Shadow Warrior 3 story

When it comes to Shadow Warrior 1 and Shadow Warrior 2, or even the original of 1997, I must admit up front that I haven’t played any of them. I’m entering the series with fresh eyes from the third installment. Even so, there’s enough exposition at the start of the game to show me what’s going on. It seems you don’t really need to play the others to catch up on the central plot.

Having a quick look at some information on previous titles, Shadow Warrior 3 is a sequel from past tales, so there’s a sense of continuation at least. Here’s what I enjoyed the most from the story elements.

An ancient lore

Shadow Warrior 3 begins with protagonist Lo Wang crying about how everything went wrong, the world around him destroyed by the Evil Dragon. There are some flashbacks, which you get to play as a tutorial before you head out to find a way to defeat the massive beast. It’s a quick way to get you up to speed with what’s happening.

As the game progresses, you meet some interesting characters along the way. While most of the chapters focus on combat and action, there’s some witty banter along the way you’ll enjoy. Lo Wang even sings his own versions of popular songs, which had me giggling plenty of times.

Characters, weapons, and beasts

One aspect I really love about games is a bestiary or a list of items and characters. It’s one of the many reasons I love Diablo 3 so much. Back to the Shadow Warrior 3 review, it also contains plenty of lore for you to browse. You can check details on the main characters, the creatures you face, and the weapons at your disposal.

Like most games that have these elements, you’ll only unlock the details once you encounter them in the game. You’ll receive a notification that there’s new info available in your inventory, with a shortcut you can quickly click on. Thankfully, SW3 pauses as you do so.

Linear world and progression

Due to the gameplay elements, that we’ll get to later in this review, there’s only linear progression and no open-world elements. As you run and enter new areas, the story unfolds further, revealing what you need to do next. It would have been more exciting to explore at will and find interesting artifacts along the way. 

Still, the linear story and gameplay work well for how the developer created SW3. Each area presents new creatures and an addition to the main plot. Don’t expect side quests, though, which is, unfortunately, lacking in the game. However, it’s primarily due to the gameplay mechanics and that there’s enough content to keep you busy and happy. 

How long to play Shadow Warrior 3

In total, Shadow Warrior 3 has 11 stages for you to work through. With no side quests, and if you’re incredibly good at fighting, you can complete the FPS action game within 8 to 11 hours. We expect to see several speed runs on YouTube as gamers attempt to set records for the fastest times.

Shadow Warrior 3 gameplay

Now let’s analyze the gameplay aspects of Shadow Warrior 3. In some ways, SW3 reminds me of DOOM Eternal with its fast-paced action shooting and creature design. It’s also similar to Prince of Persia with wall running and environmental actions. Finally, there are aspects akin to Mortal Kombat, which I’ll touch on soon.

Learning how to play Shadow Warrior 3

When you start the game, there’s a quick tutorial for players who have never played a Shadow Warrior title in the series. You’ll learn the basic functions and abilities, which will help you when you begin the first chapter. Pay attention to what they tell you, as the action can quickly distract you from the key tasks.

As you progress, you’ll unlock new weapons and abilities. Shadow Warrior 3 continues to teach you how to use these, giving you the recipe for success. Like DOOM Eternal, a new gun or sword invariably ends up with an arena where you get to test the abilities and combat with them before moving on.

Abilities and levels

While fighting and destroying monsters, you’ll discover these balls of energy that will give you points to level up your abilities. It’s less focused on experience and more on finding these items in predetermined locations. You’ll then head to the inventory to allocate them to your character, skills, or weapons.

There’s doesn’t appear to be any strategy to how you apply these points. You won’t fail missions because you allocated them to a katana blade instead of your Chi power. However, take some time to see how the levels affect your power.

Blades and bullets

The part I enjoyed the best for this Shadow Warrior 3 review was the combat. You have a choice between your sword and guns, and I preferred the former. One button uses melee combat, while another uses firearms. There’s a quick switch option for the guns, but you can only change between two of them at a time.

If you want to alter which two you use, you can access the weapon wheel. I also loved that killing with the sword unleashed ammo while fighting with the gun aids your health. You’ll quickly discover which is better to use when you see which beasts you’ll end up confronting.

Finish it!

Mortal Kombat fans will quickly recognize a few game elements that found their way into SW3. For one, the spear looks remarkably similar to the one that Scorpion uses. When you unlock it, you’ll happily grapple onto rings to move between platforms or on enemies to draw them closer.

The finishing moves also had me grinning from ear to ear. The one was incredibly close to an MK fatality, ripping the head and spine off the body and then squashing it into a million pieces. Another has you ripping an eye out and then using it as a cryo bomb on opponents to freeze them. Sub-Zero, anyone?

Outsmarting Opponents

Another aspect I completely loved in Shadow Warrior 3 also appears in DOOM Eternal. Each creature and opponent has a specific way you can kill them. At the start, it’s as easy as chopping and blasting them away. As you progress, it becomes slightly more challenging, but it’s easier when you know how.

For instance, there’s a floating head that’s covered in metal armor. When you shoot or hit it, no harm is done. However, you can freely hurt it when it opens up its face to attack you. The best part is that most of these monsters have special items for you when you use a finishing move. This helmet gives you a disco bomb that kills everyone around you with its lasers. 

Gameplay performance

I reviewed Shadow Warrior 3 on Windows 11 with a PC that meets the recommended requirements. If you want to play with 60 fps, you’ll need the following on your system:

• Need a 64-bit OS and processor 
• OS: Windows 10 and up
• Processor: Intel Core i7-6950X (10 * 3000) or equivalent. AMD Ryzen 7 2700 (8 * 3200) or equivalent. 
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 1080 (8192 MB) or equivalent. Radeon RX 5700 (8192 VRAM) or equivalent. 
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Storage: 31 GB available space

There was no glitching at all, and the sound and visuals ran perfectly well. I had my PC connected to a 65” Smart TV, and SW3 played like a dream with super high-definition quality. I didn’t experience any issues with performance or lagging. It was also wonderful to use my Xbox controller without any worries.

Difficulty levels

Shadow Warrior 3 has three standard difficulties: Easy, Normal, and Hard. The higher you go, the more challenging the enemies are to defeat. You’ll need your best controller skills if you want to complete the game on the hardest level.

There are also different challenges you can complete. These are set actions you need to do multiple times to unlock rewards and achievements, which are harder to achieve on more difficult levels.

Shadow Warrior 3 visual and sound

Finally, let’s take a look at the graphics and sound. While I can draw many similarities with DOOM Eternal, it still has its unique taste. There’s plenty of eye candy for horror and gore fans.

Overall graphics

The visuals in Shadow Warrior 3 are pristine and beautiful. The developers went out of their way to make them look as stunning as possible. Despite the linear progression and paths, there are still loads to view from a distance. However, there are times that so much is happening on the screen that you don’t know where to look. It’s best you just keep fighting.

Character, creature, and world designs

Where SW3 really shines is in the character and creature designs. The developers made a tremendous effort to make the opponents look as intimidating as possible while remaining beautiful to behold (for horror fans like me). They also made some body parts expressly clear to identify weak points.

The different environments you find yourself in have immaculate detail. When you’re done annihilating everyone, step back and just admire the gorgeous locations around you. You can also use some of the items around you to survive and win, so it’s not just visual.

Animations and effects

As with the graphics, the animations and effects in Shadow Warrior 3 are phenomenal. Sure, it does get a bit much when there are enemies and bloodshed all over you in intense battles, but that’s just the name of the game. I also love how you can interact with objects around to assist you.

Sound elements

The voice acting in SW3 is superb, and you can hear the emotion and expression in every dialogue. The creature sound design is outstanding, and some of them pour fear into your very bones. When you fire guns or hack your swords, you can feel the impact on your opponents (make sure your bass and volume are high for the full effect).

Final Verdict of Shadow Warrior 3

There’s very little to criticize poorly in this Shadow Warrior 3 review. Even though I never played any of the predecessors in the series, I still had tremendous fun slaying monsters and making my way through the fantastic story dripping with lore. If you’re a fan of fore and intense slashing games, I thoroughly recommend you give this game a try. It’s absolutely worth buying.

Game Engine: Unreal Engine 4

Developer: Flyin Wild Hog

Publisher: Devolver Digital

Game Modes: Single Player

Platform reviewed: Windows 11