Shadow Warrior 2 is a fantastic mix of FPS & RPG

When I started playing Shadow Warrior 2 a few weeks ago, I was expecting a standard run-n-gun first person shooter similar to its predecessor, Shadow Warrior, that was released back in 2013. Fortunately, SW2 introduced so many new gameplay mechanics into the SW franchise that it become more of a combined lovechild between Doom and Borderlands (and it came to a point where hardcore SW fans became disappointed with SW2).

Unlike the first SW where you basically fought through linear levels filled with yakuzas, demons and monsters, SW2 puts the player in semi open-worlds in which he/she is free to explore by completing side-missions or killing more enemies for more Karma, which is SW2’s version of XP points. Just like in the previous game, your character in SW2 now has a leveling system where every increment will give you a skill point that can be used to upgrade your character’s abilities. However, there are other RPG elements that are introduced for the first time in the SW series.

After you slaughter through a ridiculous amount of enemies, they will often leave a bunch of “gems” that can be used to upgrade your weapons. These upgrades range from modifying their damage output, fire rate, magazine size to coating their bullets with elemental damage like electric, fire, toxic and ice. All 70 weapons in SW has three upgrade slots each so you can truly customise your weapons to suit your style of play. 

Yes, SW2 has 70 weapons which is significantly higher than your standard 11 FPS weapons in the previous game. However, these weapons are not given from the start; instead you have to grind through missions, kill a lot of monsters or buy from a shop in order to get all 70 of them. The weapons get more powerful as you progress towards the game, and their aesthetics get even wilder. At some point during the middle stages of SW2, I unlocked this badass-looking machine gun that had skulls all over it and sure enough, it became one of my favourite weapons.

This skeleton-themed machine gun is so badass

However, if you find the act of modifying your weapons with gems too much of a juggle, you can always play it like any other FPS games. Just aim it at the bad guys and start blasting, although some enemy types might receive less damage if you use non-upgraded weapons (think of “it’s not so effective” prompts in Pokemon games).

But honestly, I don’t play SW2 to shoot guns; I play it to slice yakuzas into pieces with the katana. SW’s trademark sword gameplay is back in SW2 and this time not only you can wield one katana like in the previous game, you can wield two short swords so that you can fulfill even more fantasies of becoming a demon-slicing ninja. The game gives you plenty of swords to choose from, ranging from cyberpunk-looking Blade of Exile to jagged blades of Ryuken. 

The sword you get early in the game is called Lil Wang and it’s just a plain old steel blade, but if the nostalgia bug is troubling you, the legendary Nobitsura Kage (spelled as Ka-ge in SW2 to prevent people from reading it as “cage”) from the first game makes a special comeback as well, and it’s one of the most powerful swords in the game. And if blades aren’t your thing, there’s always the good old chainsaw to grind through your foes.

Add a fire element into your sword and you can burn your enemies as you slash them

The name Lil Wang of course, came from SW2’s protagonist Lo Wang. You play as a bald Asian assassin that fulfills bounty contracts, settles demon conflicts as well as hijacking high-tech facilities, all while quipping a never-ending bunch of toilet jokes. The main story started out simple enough: Wang was tasked to rescue Kamiko, the daughter of a Yakuza boss, after she was caught and experimented on by an evil corporation. However, she was so abused by the corporation that her body became terribly ill and the only way to save her was to transfer her soul into Wang’s mind while he finds a cure to heal Kamiko’s body.

Throughout the game, Kamiko is trapped inside Wang and she would be able to listen to whatever thoughts he has in his mind. Seeing how Wang can be an annoying wisecracking assassin and how much Kamiko hates being in his head, this leads to some very entertaining dialogues between the two characters throughout the game. Unfortunately, the story moved on to more supernatural mambo-jumbo stuff and I quickly lost track of what’s happening. Plus it relies on you knowing the storyline of the first game, so if you don’t remember anything from SW (like me), you won’t understand much of the things that are being said.

Fortunately, the gameplay is so fun that I don’t mind not following the story. Destroying hordes of demons and robots never gets old, plus it’s kind of satisfying seeing damage numbers pop out of the enemy whenever they get shot. If you love crazy, over-the-top FPS games, Shadow Warrior 2 is a must play!!

Unfortunately, I didn't play this in co-op mode