Let's round off my recent wave of game triangle reviews with a slightly longer game, the unimaginatively titled Shadow Warrior from 2013 (not to be confused with the 1997 original running on the Duke Nukem 3D engine).
It's a bit more gruesome and low-brow than my usual fare, so let's see how it does in the review.
Let's round off my recent wave of game triangle reviews with a slightly longer game, the unimaginatively titled Shadow Warrior from 2013 (not to be confused with the 1997 original running on the Duke Nukem 3D engine).
It's a bit more gruesome and low-brow than my usual fare, so let's see how it does in the review.
My History / At best nebulous
I have vague memories of playing Duke Nukem 3D at a friend's house while growing up, and can imagine having heard about the original Shadow Warrior a few times. My own experience with old-school first person shooters veers more towards the first Doom and Quake 1, so I did care about the genre... just not enough to play everything.
So it should come as no surprise that I wasn't particularly interested in the remake when I heard about it. It looked like a shallow but entertaining throwback the glory days of the first person shooter before they started worrying about stuff like reloading your weapons, a story line or cultural sensitivity.
That was basically exactly what I was in the mood for a year later though (except the cultural sensitivity one), and a deep Christmas discount made me pick it up on a whim.
One which I initially regretted, with the first few levels leaving me lukewarm, but I eventually jumped back into it and pushed through to the more mystical stuff and had a blast.
Plot summary / Swords and other s-words.
The first game was more concerned with crass oneliners and less with a compelling narrative, but it was tangentially about a bodyguard betraying his mob boss after he discovers a plot to take over the world.
Technically that's still true for the remake as well, but it throws some nice curve balls into the mix by leaning heavily into the mystical. So there is a legendary sword, a shadow realm that has been cursed with drought for centuries, magical constructs powered by memories. It's all good stuff... even if Lo Wang is mostly disinterested about the lot.
The protagonist (I hesitate to call him a hero) is definitely still called Lo Wang, yes. The remake basically cuts out the sexist and racist stuff, but that just left extra room for dick jokes.
The protagonist (I hesitate to call him a hero) is definitely still called Lo Wang, yes. The remake basically cuts out the sexist and racist stuff, but that just left extra room for dick jokes.
Corner 1: Adventure 7.5/10 / "I was hoping for a more cliched setting"
- π Moonlit forests, burning temples, grimy back alleys. The sights are varied and interesting.
- π And that's before we get to see the shadow realm.
- π There are definitely a few too many warehouse / dock style areas though.
- π Lo Wang and Hoji definitely have an overabundance of reluctance when it comes to heroics, far beyond what the traditional hero's journey would require...
- π - but they get there in the end.
- π Moonlit forests, burning temples, grimy back alleys. The sights are varied and interesting.
- π And that's before we get to see the shadow realm.
- π There are definitely a few too many warehouse / dock style areas though.
- π Lo Wang and Hoji definitely have an overabundance of reluctance when it comes to heroics, far beyond what the traditional hero's journey would require...
- π - but they get there in the end.
Corner 2: Smart 6/10 / "You've got Wang"
- π‘ Tells a more intricate and involved story than the first 6 hours imply.
- π€ - but hey, that also means the first hours are really quite dumb.
- π€ Lo Wang is just here to kill his boss and shoot all the demons that get in the way.
- π‘ -but then again, so are most of the players as well.
- π‘ Tells a more intricate and involved story than the first 6 hours imply.
- π€ - but hey, that also means the first hours are really quite dumb.
- π€ Lo Wang is just here to kill his boss and shoot all the demons that get in the way.
- π‘ -but then again, so are most of the players as well.
Corner 3: Heart 6/10 / "My heart splits but there is no other way."
- π None of the characters are particularly likeable... even after their marginal growth.
- π Though the last few story beats did make me care about Hoji more than expected.
- π All solutions are violent solutions. All creative solutions are extra violent.
- π There is sincerity in well-executed simplicity, and that's definitely a vibe I get here.
Middling scores, but no real pratfalls. Should be a decent triangle.
Nothing wrong with that, especially considering it's more a shallow action thing
- π None of the characters are particularly likeable... even after their marginal growth.
- π Though the last few story beats did make me care about Hoji more than expected.
- π All solutions are violent solutions. All creative solutions are extra violent.
- π There is sincerity in well-executed simplicity, and that's definitely a vibe I get here.
Middling scores, but no real pratfalls. Should be a decent triangle.
Nothing wrong with that, especially considering it's more a shallow action thing
54.56
Can't really argue with that. I had a good time with it, better than expected (or anticipated based on the first reaction) but it wasn't groundbreaking in any way.
I'm done with games for a bit, and let's see if we can get something less gory to offset this one too...
I'm done with games for a bit, and let's see if we can get something less gory to offset this one too...
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