Rumor: Shadow Warrior Returns!

[Andy Chalk]

Rumor: Shadow Warrior Returns!

Flying Wild Hog, the team behind Hard Reset, appears to have decided that it does in fact want some Wang.

A quick lesson for you young whippersnappers out there: In 1997, 3D Realms released Shadow Warrior, a very Duke Nukem-like shooter starring a mighty ninja named Lo Wang. It was actually a really good game but it never saw a sequel, probably because an awful lot of gamers found it patently offensive; 3D Realms claimed it was a satirical send-up of cheesy kung-fu movies but... well, Lo Wang. It only went downhill from there.

Strip away the racial stereotyping, however, and you were left with a very solid game, which may be why it looks like we are finally, all these years later, getting a sequel. Or, more likely, a reboot, hopefully one that doesn't leave a large segment of gamers appalled by its tone-deaf "humor."

Hints of a new Shadow Warrior first came to light a couple days ago on the YouTube channel of Devolver Digital, best known for the antics of its oversexed chief financial officer, Fork Parker, and for publishing games like Serious Sam3: BFE and Hotline Miami. The "Blade Analyzer Pro," which is also on Steam Greenlight [http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=142384889], is "the latest consumer software product from Zilla Enterprises... designed to identify and catalog all manner of swords, knives and other blades of historical significance." Zilla was the Big Bad of Shadow Warrior, who sought to conquer all of Japan at the head of his powerful corporation Zilla Enterprises.

Further, the website shadowwarrior.devolverdigital.com [http://shadowwarrior.com/] sub-domain, both now contain images of what appears to be a Japanese shrine or temple, and digging a little deeper, you can find a copy of the same image but with a dead Yakuza. Oh, and it says "Shadow Warrior" on it, too. So, yeah, pretty big hint there.

Speaking of hints, it seems that the new game is being developed by Flying Wild Hog, a fact I managed to put together by noticing the FWH logo in the Blade Analyzer Pro video, and also the presence of the studio's logo on the Shadow Warrior website. Bit of a leap of logic there, but that's just how I roll.

So, new Shadow Warrior, Flying Wild Hog, Devolver Digital. You may officially color me excited.



Permalink

 

[hazabaza1]

Didn't the Hotline Miami guys say they were working on something?
If it's the same publisher, maybe they're doing this.

 

[Andy Chalk]

SHADOW WARRIOR! SHADOW WARRIORS! GUYS IT'S SHADOW WARRIORRRRRRRRR!

Pretty sure it's Flying Wild Hog. I don't think Dennaton has the resources or expertise to put together a full-on FPS, whereas it's a natural fit for Flying Wild Hog. Also, the Flying Wild Hog logo all over the Shadow Warrior site and materials.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I never did hear about this game until now but it looks very close to Duke so might as well see where this goes.
I know Flying Wild Hog can make a great playing FPS but Hard Reset wasn't the most refined on it's design and the story was even less comprehensible then an anime ran through Google translate.

There is just no way to tell what they will come up with as a result of this odd match, but it probably can't be worse then DNF.

 

[SweetShark]

Good to hear a sequel of this game is in development.
However, having played their first game, Hardreset, is there a 50% chance at the very end of the game to get somehow boring....
Also I hope to see the iconic weapons of the Shadow Warrior game.

 

[lancar]

I remember we used to play this game during LAN parties back in the day. Awesome fun, and it was always a hoot to hear the "STAND BY. 3. 2. 1. ALL SYSTEMS READY" and watch the entire arena become empty as a ghost town.

I'm looking forward to see what FWH can do with this IP. I really liked Hard Reset, even if the enemy variety was a bit limited.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Lo Wang shall rise again!

[sub][sub]Sorry, had to...[/sub][/sub]

I remember LAN deathmatches of this for 'comic' relief between bouts of Total Annihilation when I was still in college. Or at least when I was supposed to be in college.

 

[Jodan]

oh the icomic weapons oh the comedy oh the racism
will it all be there
kinda hoping for yes

 

[Panorama]

what i remember most was one of the fortune cookies, my personal favourite. Man who stands on toilet, is high on pot!

 

[Zer0Saber]

Not as many Lo Wang quotes as I was expecting. "Do you want to wash Wang, or do you want to watch Wang wash Wang?"
Good memories.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Not as many Lo Wang quotes as I was expecting. "Do you want to wash Wang, or do you want to watch Wang wash Wang?"
Good memories.

"Hey baby, pull my finger."

"Lo Wang's drive shaft need service." or "Hey peaches, how bout you moon me? Hahaha."

One question though. Will it takes 14 years to develop?

 

[Dfskelleton]

"HEY! YOU LOOK LIKE YOU NEED ASS KICK!"
This is so exciting, I can't even...
Seriously, I love Shadow Warrior. I love it so much, and now this...
This is very, VERY good news!

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I must admit when I heard Shadow Warrior I thought of the old school side scrolling beat-em-up.

 

[major_chaos]

"new Shadow Warrior" YAY "developed by Flying Wild Hog" NO. I may be in the minority here, but I though hard reset was awful. It had all the components of a good old school styled shooter, but the actual execution was abysmal. Also I'm saddened by the fact that apparently people think Shadow Warrior is "offensive", because without that trademark humor the new game would lose all of its uniqueness and charm. Common people, stop getting offended all the time and laugh a little.

 

[Callate]

Mmmmmmmmeh.

Quite aside from the stupid sense of "humor", the big things I remember about Shadow Warrior were poorly implemented ladders, redundant weapons, first-person-shooter platform jumping, and a game full of the old school Wolfenstein 3D-style "push every wall" secrets in which no one on the design staff saw a problem with the character making the same "Oh, damn, I'm running into walls now" joke every third time he pushed on a wall looking for said secrets.

I don't doubt a good FPS with a ninja theme could be made. There's no particular reason I would rush into the arms of the old 3DRealms Shadow Warrior license to make that game.

(3DRealms passed on Blood and released Shadow Warrior... Maybe it shouldn't have been so surprising that they imploded.)