Shadow Warrior 3 isn’t revolutionary, and that’s refreshing

digitaltrends.com:

While everyone else has been playing Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West, I’ve been shooting up or vivisecting enemies in Shadow Warrior 3 — and having a pretty good time. It’s a zeitgeisty first-person shooter that’s fast-paced, gory, and filled with different ways to dismantle your enemies. At the same time, Shadow Warrior 3 is unremarkable, providing me with a solid four-and-a-half hours of entertainment.

In that way, Shadow Warrior 3 is kind of perfect. Not unlike a syndicated sitcom, Shadow Warrior 3 starts without a misstep, stays interesting throughout, and never slows down. There wasn’t a lull, a midgame slog, or anything other issue because the game isn’t that complicated. You run, gun, and listen to Lo Wang spout off ever-grating ’90s references. It’s pretty great.

Let me add some context to this weird line of praise I’ve got going on. I’m writing this on February 18, smack-dab in the middle of the busiest month for games so far in 2022. Sifu and OlliOlli World have both come out and blown me away. Horizon Forbidden West is getting heaps of praise for its evolution on the original game’s formula and beautiful graphics. The monster that is Elden Ring has a stranglehold on the entire industry.

Suffice it to say, things are pretty busy. Most of the games I mentioned try to revolutionize their respective genres in some way, or are marked by their inventive gameplay mechanics. They’re all something new, and while that’s exciting, it’s also pretty exhausting. They demand more attention, a weightier critique. New ideas are being introduced, and they have to be placed somewhere in the ever-growing game mechanic pantheon.

That’s why Shadow Warrior 3 is so perfect, especially right now. It’s about as straightforward as