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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Preview – Shadow Warrior PS4/Xbox One Release

Much like the infinitely more famous Yahtzee of Zero Punctuation, I despise the weird faux-realism of modern shooters. Cover-based shooting does make sense, is more realistic, but it isn’t always all that much fun. Especially when your health regenerates when you’re in the magical embrace of a chest-high wall, breaking any vague connection to the real world, unless your name happens to be Logan.SW Screen 4_1406123080

That was why I was looking forward to playing the console release Shadow Warrior, Bandai Namco’s 2013 PC release. Having never played the original, or the first release of the ‘bold reimagining’, I was intrigued more by the pedigree and intended aim than much of the other gumf. Made by the people behind Hard Reset and Miami Hotline, and aiming to be an old-style run-and-gun game, it sounded like the sort of thing which I would love.

Spoiler: I did.

Shadow Warrior combines a lot of the franchise’s arcade history with a Painkiller-esque attitude: tons of enemies, tons of weapons, health packs, and even special moves. You need to constantly moving, with the demons and horrors you fight not giving a fig for their personal safety, caring much more for the delicious taste of Wang (the main character and walking pun).

Atop the typical shooting elements, one can use a katana to bifurcate some beasties. Unlike some games, the melee feels weighty, like your character is wielding a hefty weapon and not something he won by hooking a duck. I only got to play with a handful of weapons, but there are a large number of options to really mix up your style.

Playing using different weapons and skills is also rewarded in game play, with bonus Karma (essential XP) offered for fighting with style as well as efficiency. With many available as you progress, and the aforementioned special moves which make deadly weapons even deadlier, one will have many tools available to rack the points up.

Shadow Warrior Icon_1406123198The ‘humour’ falls a little flat, as the main character’s name might suggest, but you don’t come to a remake of an arcade classic looking for Oscar Wilde. What the game offers is fast-paced and intuitive combat which challenges the player, rewards for exploration with secrets, ammo, and money scattered throughout each level, and additional gameplay to the PC release in the form of X modes and an additional campaign. And that’s what I want in a shooter sometimes: a fun challenge where I can slice a guy’s arm off and watch him stumble past his friends.

Maybe that says more about me than Shadow Warrior, but I’d still recommend this gorgeous console release.

Shadow Warrior comes out on PS4 and Xbox One on October 24th.

SeanPWallace
SeanPWallace
Sean is an editor, writer, and podcast host at Geek Pride, as well as a novelist. His self-published works can be found at all good eBook stores.

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