Ray Willmott reviews Shadow Warrior 2…
In a week where Duke Nukem is celebrating his roots with a remastered rendition of his classic 3D exploits, Shadow Warrior is set to reach the peak of its popularity. Which is incredibly ironic considering Lo Wang’s original adventure was an Eastern parody of everything Mr Nukem stood for and a way to keep using the Build Engine to keep up costs.
But since Flying Wild Hog took over the rights and released Shadow Warrior in 2013, they’ve done more than just reintroduce the original game to modern day audiences, they’ve essentially redesigned the experience from the ground up.
And here’s the kicker. With Shadow Warrior 2, not only has Lo Wang finally moved past the bubblegum munchers’ looming shadow, he also gets to drill the final nail in his coffin.
FWH did the hard work by reintroducing the world to Lo Wang, refining his jokes so they’re a more appropriate fit for the noughties, building a universe with established characters and additional layers. Off the back of that comes Shadow Warrior 2 which is more Borderlands than Serious Sam due to varied mission structure, open world exploration and tons and tons of scrumptious loot.
As Wang, you have access to a roster of weapons spanning chainsaws, shotguns, crossbows and swords, and must defeat enemies of varying types in order to fulfil mission criteria while levelling up your equipment. Each weapon has sockets which can be filled with gems collected from chests and corpses, and these have unique attributes, such as increased damage and additional ammo pickups.
Similar to the likes of Diablo, you can swap out gems at anytime, making your weapon more competent and effective in the process. This is important as later on in the game there will be competition for places on your weapon wheel with up to 70 types to choose from.
Where Battleborn failed to be the spiritual successor everyone wanted it to be, SW2 surprisingly steps up with brash, over-the-top violence, mixed in with one-liners and an impressive depth and substance. It shouldn’t be written off as the tongue-in-cheek shooter that makes regular dick jokes to raise a cheap laugh. FWH have accomplished much more than that.
And that’s not to mention the game’s utterly superb aesthetic. In a year where we’ve become obsessed with 4K resolutions and beautiful landscapes, Shadow Warrior 2 makes the case for being the most striking game we’ve seen to date. Which is an incredible feat considering the glory of The Coalition’s Gears of War 4 and the eye-melting beauty of Uncharted 4 and Rise of the Tomb Raider.
Shadow Warrior 2 wows with beautifully vibrant sunsets and authentically crafted Asian towers and temples, but it’s the weather effects which really bring the experience to life. Watch in awe as trees ebb and flow in the wind, leaves delicately falling to the floor and blades of grass desperately trying to stay rooted in the ground.
Not to mention the heart-pumping hard rock soundtrack which sets the tone for this rip-roaring massacre. Guitar riffs mix with the Paixiao and other instruments to give the game truly distinct cues, while also making you mosh out when hacking and slashing your way through demons and Yakuza.
But Shadow Warrior 2 really comes into its own when played with other people online in 4 player co-op. While this sadly isn’t split-screen, you can play through any mission together – whether it’s story-based or something on the side – and collaborate on the objectives, which makes some of the tougher enemies much more manageable.
There is some monotony in the mission set, but this is usually offset by the unique environments. The story also seems to peter out and become filler-esque midway through, but the diversity of the weapon set, mixed with a regular fluctuation of attributes with noticeable changes helps combat this.
Shadow Warrior 2 is one of the biggest surprises of the year. Low-bar expectations were immediately raised mere minutes after booting up the game and it keeps the tempo up for hours at a time. One of the finest FPS hybrids in recent memory, Shadow Warrior 2 doesn’t nail everything perfectly, but what it does get right is memorable and enjoyable in equal measure.
Rating: 8/10
Ray Willmot
Originally published October 13, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
