''Shadow Warrior'' is a series of

first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s that focuses on the exploits of Lo Wang, a modern ninja warrior who fights through hordes of demons. The original series is made up of one game, ''

Shadow Warrior ''Shadow Warrior'' is a series of first-person shooter video games that focuses on the exploits of Lo Wang, a modern ninja warrior who fights through hordes of demons. The original series is made up of one game, '' Shadow Warrior'' (1997), and t ...

'' (1997), and two expansions ''Twin Dragon'' (1998), and ''Wanton Destruction'' (2005), and a reboot with three entries: ''

'' (2013), ''

Shadow Warrior 2 ''Shadow Warrior 2'' is a 2016 first-person shooter game developed by Flying Wild Hog and published by Devolver Digital. The game is the sequel to 2013's ''Shadow Warrior'', the reboot of the 1997 original. It was released for Windows in Octobe ...

'' (2016), and ''

Shadow Warrior 3 ''Shadow Warrior 3'' is a 2022 first-person shooter game developed by Flying Wild Hog and published by Devolver Digital. The sequel to ''Shadow Warrior 2'' (2016), the game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on 1 March 2022. I ...

'' (2022). The series was originally developed by

3D Realms 3D Realms Entertainment ApS is a video game publisher based in Aalborg, Denmark. Scott Miller founded the company in his parents' home in Garland, Texas, in 1987 as Apogee Software Productions to release his game '' Kingdom of Kroz''. In the ...

and published by

GT Interactive Atari, Inc. is an American video gaming company based in New York City, and a subsidiary of the Atari SA holding company. It is the main entity serving the commercial Atari brand globally since 2003. The company currently publishes games based o ...

; later,

Flying Wild Hog Flying Wild Hog Sp. z o.o. is a Polish video game developer based in Warsaw and founded in 2009. The company is best known for the 2013 reboot of '' Shadow Warrior'', and its 2016 sequel, '' Shadow Warrior 2''. History Flying Wild Hog was e ...

and

Devolver Digital Devolver Digital, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Austin, Texas, specializing in the publishing of indie games. The company was founded in June 2009 by Nigel Lowrie, Harry Miller, Graeme Struthers, Rick Stults, and Mike Wil ...

took over development and publication, respectively.

Games

''Shadow Warrior'' (1997)

Development of ''Shadow Warrior'' began in early 1994 as ''Shadow Warrior 3D'' by

. Jim Norwood came up with the game idea,

George Broussard George Broussard is an American video game producer and designer. He is one of the creators of the ''Duke Nukem'' series, along with Todd Replogle, Allen Blum, and Scott Miller. Biography Broussard released his early games under the name M ...

designed the protagonist Lo Wang and Michael Wallin did some concept sketches. Two

downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...

packs, ''Twin Dragon'' and ''Wanton Destruction'', were released in 1998 and 2005 respectively.

''Shadow Warrior'' (2013)

In 2013, publisher

and Polish developer

announced that they were collaborating with each other to produce a follow-up to the first game. ''Shadow Warrior'' has a larger emphasis on the story. In the game, Lo Wang goes on a quest to locate the legendary Nobitsura Kage blade with a banished demon named Hoji. The game received generally mixed reviews when it was released in September 2013 for

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. The console versions for the game were released in October 2014.

''Shadow Warrior 2'' (2016)

Flying Wild Hog returned to develop a sequel to the 2013 video game. The game features a

cooperative multiplayer A cooperative video game, often abbreviated as co-op, is a video game that allows players to work together as teammates, usually against one or more non-player character opponents ( PvE). Co-op games can be played locally using one or multiple in ...

mode, procedural generation, large and open levels and systems similar to that of a looter shooter. In the game, Lo Wang goes on a journey to save Kamiko, the daughter of a Yakuza leader, from ZillaCorps. The game received generally positive reviews when it was released in October 2016 for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...

''Shadow Warrior 3'' (2022)

''Shadow Warrior 3'' was released on March 1, 2022, for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In the game, Lo Wang must work with his sidekick to defeat an ancient dragon that they have accidentally unleashed.

References

External links

*
Shadow Warrior series
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

{{Shadow Warrior Japan in non-Japanese culture Video game franchises introduced in 1997 Video game franchises Video games about ninja