Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition Review (PS5)

I don’t know about you, but as a Shadow Warrior fan, last year’s release kind of had me hoping for more. The game, which was released with so much fanfare on PlayStation 4 and Xbox, somehow lacked support for new-gen consoles, which for big fans of the franchise was difficult to accept.

At a time when PlayStation 5 games are gaining traction, releasing Shadow Warrior 3 with PS4 support was… uncanny. It somehow made sense, as the development of the game started at a time when the PS5 was still in its early days. And then, the pandemic hit, and game studios suspended the work on new titles.

The debut of Shadow Warrior 3: Definitive Edition was without a doubt a highly anticipated moment for the gaming community. And now it’s here, but unfortunately, it once again leaves me hoping for more.

Developer Flying Wild Hog indeed focused on the PlayStation 5 experience, so you get all kinds of extras, including DualSense support with adaptive triggers and haptic feedback. The 4K “upgrade” isn’t necessarily such a big deal anymore, as it was already available on the PlayStation 4.

+6more

But in many ways, Lo Wang feels more alive now. The gameplay is indeed a bit smoother, but it’s probably the full PS5 integration that has a major contribution on this front.

Probably the biggest addition in this definitive edition is the Survival Mode. While completing the campaign with Lo Wang was fun the first time, the Survival Mode is supposed to provide improved replayability. And I’ll explain in a minute why this is so important.

But first of all, let’s see what the Survival Mode is all about. As anyone can easily guess given its straightforward name, this new mode allows you to fight for, well, survival in battle arenas where hordes of enemies come after you. This is probably the best way to get a taste of the insanely fast-paced action that Shadow Warrior 3 can deliver.

Completing the Survival Mode comes with great benefits. You can new weapon skins, and eventually, you can try out a hardcore difficulty option that’s insanely challenging.

+7more

Now let’s talk replayability.

The thing that I hated the most about the original game was the short story. It took me maybe 5 or 6 hours to complete the campaign, and unfortunately, this hasn’t changed in the definitive edition. In fact, nothing has changed in the story mode, as despite being labeled as a definitive edition, the new Shadow Warrior release is identical to its predecessor.

So yes, maybe killing demons with hand canons and slicing them with a Katana is exciting at first, but it rapidly becomes repetitive and therefore boring. The humor is still there, but again, it’s funny only the first time you play it.

As such, replayability is almost non-existent. This is why the Survival Mode is such an important addition. It improves Shadow Warrior 3 on this front, though it goes without saying it can’t do any wonders. You’ll still get bored eventually, but at least it adds something fresh to a game that should have been a lot longer.

+7more

Just as expected, the RPG mechanics do not exist, but this is no longer a surprise, and the DOOM Eternal inspiration is still obvious. It’s not like this is necessarily a bad thing because so many FPS games have been linked with DOOM at some point, but I believe Shadow Warrior is still less chaotic and more focused on action.

At the end of the day, Shadow Warrior is the same fun game that mixes fast-paced action with impressive firepower, wall running, great humor, occasionally cringey cutscenes, and the irreplaceable experience that you get when you jump into a fight with your katana.

Before jumping to the bottom line, here's a little something about the cutscenes. I don't know about others, but they are fantastic and I enjoy watching them A LOT. The humor make a huge difference, and while the focus obviously isn't on detailed cinematics and other new-generation things that would make sense in a 2023 release, they perfectly fit the concept Shadow Warrior is based on. Skipping them is impossible if you want to get familiar with the story, and the conversations continue as put Lo Wang to work during the campaign.

Unfortunately, the cutscenes occasionally feel rushed, and given the story can be completed in approximately 5 hours, chances are the developer just wanted to make the campaign overall feel longer. This isn't necessarily a fair approach, but the cutscenes have a major contribution to the time you spend playing this game, so eventually they serve their purpose just right. On the other hand, once you've watched them the first time, it's hard to watch them once again should you decide to re-play Shadow Warrior 3. And what's worse, if you've already played the 2022 version of the game, you could find the whole thing rather redundant now in this definitive edition.

The Good

The Bad

CONCLUSION