True story: I’ve been told that Shadow Warrior is one of gaming’s best kept secrets by Brad and Geoff for ages now, and yesterday I decided to finally throw down some cash and have a look at 2016’s Shadow Warrior 2. Much like Camelot, it is indeed rather silly and after a quick hour with it I was in love with the tale of Lo Wang and all the nonsense he gets up to. Rough around the edges? Absolutely? Pure explosive fun with a subtle layer of self awareness that knows just how silly and crass it is? You betcha! The anti-Far Cry of video games that makes you feel like a damn hero? Hell yeah!
I’m looking forward to a weekend where I can jam nothing but Shadow Warrior 2, just so that I can get even more hyped for Shadow Warrior 3. It’s looking faster, more fluid and downright gorgeous in action, having just been revealed a few weeks ago and then following up on that debut with a starring role in Devolver Digital’s latest and weirdest livestream event.
If you were after something meatier though, good news! Here’s a rather generous slice of gameplay, that clocks in at just enough time to enjoy a sammich, a hot beverage of your choosing and several lowbrow jokes:
Fallen corporate shogun Lo Wang and his former employer turned nemesis turned sidekick Orochi Zilla embark on an improbable mission to recapture an ancient dragon they unwillingly unleashed from its eternal prison. Armed with a punishing mix of blades and bullets, Lo Wang must traverse uncharted parts of the world to track down the dark beast and push the apocalypse back yet again. All it will take is the mask of a dead god, a dragon’s egg, a touch of magic, and enough firepower to hold off the impending cataclysm.
There’s no concrete release date just yet, but Devolver Digital’s lab-grown abomination of press releases and important marketing talking points says that developer Flying Wild Hog will have this sequel and its “bring a katana to a gunfight” mentality in 2021. And that’s just wangtastic.
Last Updated: July 21, 2020
CrAiGiSh
July 21, 2020 at 09:32
Will grab on a special.
Iskape
July 21, 2020 at 08:24
The game looks very cool. It definitely looks like their decision to go for more linear levels was a good idea.
Original Heretic
July 21, 2020 at 08:38
What platform u playing SW2 on, D?
Don’t try it on the PS4…
The D
July 21, 2020 at 08:41
…well shit.
Original Heretic
July 21, 2020 at 09:02
I hope you have a better run of it than I did.
When I did side missions, they were unplayable. Lag.
Dunno if they patched it since then, but it was not at all optimised for the console.
The third side mission I tried was so bad that I thought the game had frozen. Then I saw slight movement. Pretty my frame rate was at about 1 or 2 per second.