As promised, Shadow Warrior 3 gameplay was revealed today during the Devolver Direct livestream, showcasing the return of Lo Wang, who’s got a few new tricks up his sleeve.
The setting and enemies are broadly familiar, although there will clearly be some new forces of evil to combat, including tunnelers and what looks to be a demonic clown attached to an accordion. The trailer also revealed some of our hero’s new moves in action, including his grappling hook and wall-running abilities, both additions to the third game in the series.
Unfortunately, the trailer doesn’t get into either the story or why Lo Wang was wearing Hoji’s mask in earlier teasers. The back-and-forth banter between the two was one of my favorite parts of the Shadow Warrior reboot (Lo Wang makes a great straight man) and I’d love to see more of that in the new game. The voice in the trailer and the Steam listing both indicate that his sidekick this time around is Orochi Zilla, his employer/nemesis from the reboot, but there’s no ignoring the presence of that mask, so I remain hopeful.
Here’s what Steam has to say about it, by the way:
“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.”
That sure sounds like Shadow Warrior, alright. Shadow Warrior 3 expected to be out sometime in 2021.