Shadow Warrior (Xbox One)

Shadow Warrior is a reboot of the 1997 first-person shooter Shadow Warrior. The player controls the ninja mercenary Lo Wang who is hired by Zilla Enterprise to buy the katana Nobitsura Kage for 2 million dollars. When the deal goes awry Wang is captured. After he manages to escape he bonds with the spirit Hoji who also holds an interest in the katana. The game is then divided into different chapters where Wang chases after the katana. The game uses an Asian setting in a modern day environment.

Wang’s main weapon is his katana used for close melee combat. It slices quickly controlled through mouse movement and there are different types of (charged) strikes and skills to provide variation. The other weapons offer ranged attacks: a pistol, a machine gun, a shotgun, a crossbow, a rocket launcher, the excalibat from Rise of the Triad etc. When using the katana shuriken can be thrown quickly. Upgrades are provided in three categories (Weapons, Skills and Powers) each with their own currency (money, karma and KI crystals respectively) and with different tiers. Most skills are performed through key combinations combined with the mouse. They offer new ways to attack, but can also used to heal Wang. Levels are generally linear, but there are a few alternative routes and many secrets. Boss fights often take place in large arenas.

Next to the main campaign mode with different difficulty levels two additional modes become available after completing the game. In Ex mode the game is played from the beginning once more but with all the upgrades from the previous run. In Heroic mode there are no automatic saves or checkpoints; saving is only done between missions. A later update added a fourth mode called Survival where Wang fights waves of enemies on three maps.