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Shadow Warrior [Official Site] is a remake of the 1997 game of the same name. It features the smartass protagonist, Lo Wang, who is caught up in shenanigans involving demons and a magical sword. There are very many weapons and abilities that the player can use to take on the army of demons that are wrecking havoc and has plenty of fast-paced fun. It’s a generally enjoyable experience and was ported to Linux some time ago by Knockout Games.

It’s a pretty fun game, if not a little repetitive at times. There’s plenty of action and learning how to be efficient at swordplay was rewarding. I also enjoyed the ability and powers system which you can upgrade according to your needs. There’s plenty of tongue-in-cheek and puerile jokes, too, and the game doesn’t take itself too seriously. It was so stupid and silly at times that I couldn’t help but be charmed by it.

You can get your copy here, which provides a redeemable Steam key. You'll have little under two days to get a key as of the time of publishing this article. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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21 comments
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Ehvis Jul 20, 2017
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Started the game on hard. Died.... a lot. Finished it. Loved it!
Whitewolfe80 Jul 20, 2017
Great game for free with a bunch of dlc too nice
Colombo Jul 20, 2017
I would be a bit negative here.

Shadow warrior was from my point boring linear shooter. I expected interesting maps as in old Shadow Warrior (which, if I remember, was similar to Duke Nukem with a lot of interesting scenery, interactivity and hidden locations), but maps were too linear and quite boring. The same could be said about weapons, which provided just common stuff (SMG, shotgun) and lacked big bad things, but still the most used weapon was katana, which forced usage of one special move which healed DMG (and thus it was the most efficient to just spam this as any DMG was instantly healed, plus it did quite a lot of DMG even to bullet sponges).

As for enemies, they were quite boring, not only that most enemies just teleported on you in specific locations (so you didn't have an alternative way to attack them or avoid them), but I to this day I can remember only two types of enemies, standard daemon and daemon with shield (+ humans, which for some reason were later bullet sponges as well).

Killing the same enemy again and again started to be quite boring, especially when provided tools did not changed.

But I think the same about the newest Bioshock, while location, provided tools and part of story was relatively interesting, it turned into boring linear game due to pure repetition of these things without proper pacing (which was better in games like Deus Ex, where one could stop and talk again before shooting everything)
Comandante Ñoñardo Jul 21, 2017
I purchased this game on Humble bundle a long time ago and it includes the DRMFREE version...
Do the FREE game includes the DRMFREE version or just the Steam key?
mrdeathjr Jul 21, 2017
This is one of the best games on Linux, i had a lot of fun with this one.
Also i challenge new players to complete the game using only the katana :P

And have very good easter eggs

^_^
Mezron Jul 21, 2017
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Great game!
Xpander Jul 21, 2017
Really good game and performance is superb also. Runs over 100 FPS with all cranked to max @1440p. Super smooth and lots of great action and full of cliche action movie humor
wolfyrion Jul 21, 2017
I learned the hard way why you shouldn't interrupt rabbits during mating ...
(Of course I would do the same if someone was interrupting me during sex :P)

View video on youtube.com


Last edited by wolfyrion on 21 July 2017 at 7:14 am UTC
Whitewolfe80 Jul 21, 2017
I purchased this game on Humble bundle a long time ago and it includes the DRMFREE version...
Do the FREE game includes the DRMFREE version or just the Steam key?

Nope just a steam key
Whitewolfe80 Jul 21, 2017
I would be a bit negative here.

Shadow warrior was from my point boring linear shooter. I expected interesting maps as in old Shadow Warrior (which, if I remember, was similar to Duke Nukem with a lot of interesting scenery, interactivity and hidden locations), but maps were too linear and quite boring. The same could be said about weapons, which provided just common stuff (SMG, shotgun) and lacked big bad things, but still the most used weapon was katana, which forced usage of one special move which healed DMG (and thus it was the most efficient to just spam this as any DMG was instantly healed, plus it did quite a lot of DMG even to bullet sponges).

As for enemies, they were quite boring, not only that most enemies just teleported on you in specific locations (so you didn't have an alternative way to attack them or avoid them), but I to this day I can remember only two types of enemies, standard daemon and daemon with shield (+ humans, which for some reason were later bullet sponges as well).

Killing the same enemy again and again started to be quite boring, especially when provided tools did not changed.

But I think the same about the newest Bioshock, while location, provided tools and part of story was relatively interesting, it turned into boring linear game due to pure repetition of these things without proper pacing (which was better in games like Deus Ex, where one could stop and talk again before shooting everything)

Fair enough I play games for story so Shadow Warrior was not for me in the end but then nor was the original it was a kill everything game yeah it had some puzzle layout to the levels. But like a lot of older games you are looking back with rose tinted glasses. We've all done it talked about how great x game was from when we were younger. If you play it again now it's usually not that great and the flaws you never noticed back then become very apparent. Like all the people that think Goldeneye on the N64 still holds up graphically and gameplay wise today spoiler it doesnt.


Last edited by Whitewolfe80 on 21 July 2017 at 8:21 am UTC
g000h Jul 21, 2017
I played Shadow Warrior (2013) about 8 months ago. Personally I was very happy with game-play. It was quite a linear game, but each level had secrets to hunt out, and the story was reasonable. I did like the differences between the weapons. The Katana and the different ways to use it, did make the game more interesting. It took about 20 hours of play to finish the main story. I also liked the differences between each of the enemies. For me, it was a big upgrade compared to the older 1997 version.

EDIT:

Also, I wonder if giving away Shadow Warrior for free has any bearing on Shadow Warrior 2 - Still looking forward to a Linux port of the new game. Pretty please!


Last edited by g000h on 21 July 2017 at 1:11 pm UTC
Hamish Jul 21, 2017
But like a lot of older games you are looking back with rose tinted glasses. We've all done it talked about how great x game was from when we were younger. If you play it again now it's usually not that great and the flaws you never noticed back then become very apparent.
You see, I get around that problem by still playing them today. ;)

And they are still great, for the most part.


Last edited by Hamish on 21 July 2017 at 6:11 pm UTC
Code Artisan Jul 21, 2017
I purchased this game on Humble bundle a long time ago and it includes the DRMFREE version...
Do the FREE game includes the DRMFREE version or just the Steam key?

The steam game is actually DRM FREE, you need steam to download it but you can then play it without steam.
Just go into the game folder and run the script named RunGameNoSteamRT.sh
Whitewolfe80 Jul 21, 2017
But like a lot of older games you are looking back with rose tinted glasses. We've all done it talked about how great x game was from when we were younger. If you play it again now it's usually not that great and the flaws you never noticed back then become very apparent.
You see, I get around that problem by still playing them today. ;)

And they are still great, for the most part.

That's great for me i can't i just do not enjoy early 3d games the graphics are so bad you could cut yourself on the edges. 16 bit games hold up for the most part the hand drawn sprites still look good not what guys in their 20's think sprites looked like see any number of games on steam like Broforce good game but no 16 bit games looked better than that.
Hamish Jul 22, 2017
That's great for me i can't i just do not enjoy early 3d games the graphics are so bad you could cut yourself on the edges. 16 bit games hold up for the most part the hand drawn sprites still look good not what guys in their 20's think sprites looked like see any number of games on steam like Broforce good game but no 16 bit games looked better than that.
Your criticism here seems to be a little off base when it comes to the the original Shadow Warrior considering it is a non-polygonal 3D shooter with quite detailed sprite work and rather nice art design. Not as nice as fellow Build Engine stablemate Blood in my opinion, but still pretty nice. You would be hard pressed to find a nicer looking game than Blood when it comes to evoking a specific horror feel.

I do get where you are coming from to an extent, most games for the original Playstation give me the same feeling, but I do still have a soft spot even for early true 3D PC games. They are usually far crisper than any PS1 games in terms of resolution and the ones using early 3D acceleration often have really attractive bright coloured lighting and a certain minimalism that appeals to me. I am still not all that big on the modern "slap some shaders on everything" school of video game art design. And accommodations for low polygon counts often made modellers have to get creative with their work, which I actually appreciate.

There is no right or wrong answer to this, but I still love them.
Dribbleondo Jul 22, 2017
As a side note, you also net a copy of Viscera Cleanup Detail: Shadow Warrior, which is Windows only, but hey, free unexpected game!
Whitewolfe80 Jul 22, 2017
That's great for me i can't i just do not enjoy early 3d games the graphics are so bad you could cut yourself on the edges. 16 bit games hold up for the most part the hand drawn sprites still look good not what guys in their 20's think sprites looked like see any number of games on steam like Broforce good game but no 16 bit games looked better than that.
Your criticism here seems to be a little off base when it comes to the the original Shadow Warrior considering it is a non-polygonal 3D shooter with quite detailed sprite work and rather nice art design. Not as nice as fellow Build Engine stablemate Blood in my opinion, but still pretty nice. You would be hard pressed to find a nicer looking game than Blood when it comes to evoking a specific horror feel.

I do get where you are coming from to an extent, most games for the original Playstation give me the same feeling, but I do still have a soft spot even for early true 3D PC games. They are usually far crisper than any PS1 games in terms of resolution and the ones using early 3D acceleration often have really attractive bright coloured lighting and a certain minimalism that appeals to me. I am still not all that big on the modern "slap some shaders on everything" school of video game art design. And accommodations for low polygon counts often made modellers have to get creative with their work, which I actually appreciate.

There is no right or wrong answer to this, but I still love them.

True there is not right or wrong answer here it's only opinion and while I loved Shadow Warrior and Duke 3d at the time, my tastes have def changed i just cant get into them anymore there no story no reason to care. This is why am not a huge fan of games like painkiller and games of that ilk fun in short bursts but without a decent story and characters i get burned out real quick.
Hamish Jul 23, 2017
True there is not right or wrong answer here it's only opinion and while I loved Shadow Warrior and Duke 3d at the time, my tastes have def changed i just cant get into them anymore there no story no reason to care. This is why am not a huge fan of games like painkiller and games of that ilk fun in short bursts but without a decent story and characters i get burned out real quick.
To be fair I love Duke Nukem 3D and Blood (Shadow Warrior is okay by not one my personal favourites) but still don't really like Painkiller, so there might be more going on there than meets the eye. Swarm shooters are not the same thing same thing as old school ones, which the modern Shadow Warrior also forgot.
Colombo Jul 23, 2017
Personally, I think that the old Duke Nukem and Blood are closer to Half-Life than to Painkiller.
Whitewolfe80 Jul 23, 2017
Personally, I think that the old Duke Nukem and Blood are closer to Half-Life than to Painkiller.

I get why people think that but to me painkiller and duke nukem are in the same vain no story monster closet games. I liked them back in the day but just massively gone off them as i have gotten older.
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