Shadow Warrior (2013 video game)

Did You Know?

• Pre-ordering on Steam gave players the "Zilla Enterprises Z45 katana" in-game weapon and a 75% discount off Hard Reset or another Devolver Digital published game.
• If players already owned a copy of Saints Row IV on Steam, an in-game weapon known as the "Penetrator" from that series was made available.

Plot

Lo Wang, an assassin working for the Japanese industrial magnate Orochi Zilla, is sent to purchase an ancient katana from a collector named Mizayaki for 2 million dollars. Mizayaki refuses the offer, and Wang attempts to take the sword by force, killing Mizayaki's men in the process. Wang is captured when Mizayaki reveals his bond with a demon named Hoji, but escapes when demons attack the compound. Mizayaki is killed in the attack, and Wang allies with Hoji to retrieve the sword.

Hoji explains that the Nobitsura Kage, as the sword is called, can slay immortals and is anathema to demons, and that it is actually three swords that must be merged into one. Throughout the game, Wang encounters Whisperers, magical golems containing a memory that one of the Ancients—the immortals ruling the demons—chose to sequester. The Ancients cannot touch the Nobitsura Kage, but Whisperers, not being truly alive, can act as couriers. By slaying these golems, Wang absorbs their memories and learns the backstory.

In the Shadow Realm, rain is fueled by the weeping of Ameonna, sister of Hoji and the other Ancients. Hoji and Ameonna had an incestuous affair that made her happy and stopped the rain, causing a drought. When discovered by Enra, the ruler of the Shadow Realm, Hoji's brothers separated the pair and skinned Hoji's face as punishment. Ameonna accepted her responsibility, embittering Hoji, who conspired to poison her and take revenge on Enra.

His plot was stopped by Mezu, and Hoji was banished to the mortal realm. Enra later sought the Nobitsura Kage, the only thing that can kill an Ancient, to revive Ameonna.

Development

Devolver Digital planned to reboot the game with Flying Wild Hog as the developer from the start, first approaching Scott Miller of 3D Realms. According to studio writer Jan Bartkowicz, the game was designed to reflect old-school design with fast-paced shooting against masses of enemies and no cover mechanics, while also making the katana an integral part of gameplay rather than a backup weapon. Bartkowicz described the new writing style and character redesign as having a more clever sense of humor and wit, avoiding the original's reliance on jokes about women and racial stereotyping, instead drawing on what they considered the rich setting of the original game.

The game was announced in May 2013 with a teaser trailer showing the new graphics engine. It was further shown at E3 2013, with designer Paweł Kowalewski comparing it to an exploitation film and stating they wanted to maintain the original's violence. Story writer Slawomir Uliasz said the redesigns created a newer experience, with Lo Wang depicted as younger than the original veteran, while retaining humor like one-liners to stay true to the original.

A follow-up trailer titled "You've Got Wang" featured gameplay footage and announced the release date of 26 September 2013. Thirty minutes of beta gameplay were commentated by John Bain on 15 August 2013. On 27 April 2015, the game was ported to Mac OS X and Linux by Knockout Games.

Reception

Shadow Warrior received mixed or average reviews from critics, according to Metacritic. M Randy of Destructoid called the PC version an impressive effort with a few noticeable problems, worth time and cash. GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd favorably compared it to other modern reboots, noting that unlike Duke Nukem Forever, Lo Wang's reappearance was not sad or outdated, and praised the variety in combat segments while finding boss fights visually fearsome but overly straightforward and dragging.

Dan Stapleton of IGN said the PC version's excellent fast-paced swordplay and surprising story made Lo Wang's comeback a great success. Pete Worth of VideoGamer.com called it a fun, if limited, throwback, while Tom Orry said the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were old-school in all the right ways. Darrell Shayler of The Digital Fix gave the PC version eight out of ten, calling it an unrepentant love poem for all things 90s. Liam Croft gave the PlayStation 4 version the same score, citing humor and fun.

Paul Goodman of The Escapist gave the PC version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying combat was solidly put together despite design flaws. Roger Hargreaves of Metro gave the PC and PlayStation 4 versions six out of ten, describing it as a surprisingly charming and likeable shooter but unavoidably shallow and repetitive.