YMMV / Shadow Warrior (2013)

• Anti-Climax Boss:
  • In a cutscene in the third act, Enra bestows Zilla with demon powers, which turns him from a crippled old man in a wheelchair to an old man with super strength and perception. Lo Wang then comes out of hiding and kicks his ass in a few short seconds. This is justified in that even with super powers and a piece of the Nobitsura Kage, Zilla is an old man who doesn't look like he's ever held a sword in his life against Lo Wang, a young and highly-trained assassin with similar powers — and more of the Nobitsura Kage than he does — at his disposal. Zilla fares little better in their second clash proper in another cutscene near the end of the game, which sees Lo Wang kicking his ass again, shearing off his sword arm and claiming the final piece of the sword.
  • In the patched version where Zilla is an actual boss fight in both encounters this remains true. He has a limited move set which he uses in a predictable pattern, telegraphs his attack so they are easily dodged, and stands still after an attack long enough to get in several hits.
• Awesome Music: The title theme and the ending theme "Risen from the Ashes".
• Broken Base: Thanks to this game and its sequel, the Shadow Warrior fandom is now divided between those who enjoy the new games for breathing fresh air into an old series, those who enjoy both the classic and reboot versions even as they find fault with either, and those who vastly prefer the classic game and its expansions while heaping criticism on Flying Wild Hog for drastically changing the original's straightforward formula.
• Demonic Spiders:
  • The Berserkers, the last type of mini-boss, is capable only of ramming and throwing punches, but has an impenetrable shell and the only weak spot is on the back. While they are a bull fight mob and the stun from hitting a wall is useful for attacking their back, they can correct if you try to dodge too early. Even with the special sword attacks, which are very efficient against them, they are incredibly hard to kill.
  • The dual-wielding Warpers dish out a large amount of damage, move fast, and spam teleport to both dodge attacks and get right in your face. It's entirely possible to fire point-blank at them and do no damage as they teleport the instant you pull the trigger. Given that they usually appear in groups, it's easy to lose most of your health and waste a lot of ammunition.
  • The Shaman, especially on higher difficulties as the lesser demons they keep summoning can really get in the way of you defeating other Greater Demons, especially in the final courtyard battle in chapter 14, and they can also shield themselves and you can't damage them until you defeat all the glowing minions they've sent out.
• Goddamn Bats: The Mothers, who can curl into a ball and roll at you kamikaze-style exploding on impact for high damage, and the acidic pods they leave behind, which can home in on you. The worst part about the pods is that the Mothers don't even need to be near you to create the homing pods; it's possible to spend more ammo getting past the barrage of pods than on actually killing the Mothers.
  • The Birdmen (unless you are manning a turret or have the flamethrower), especially when they are flying, as their weakness is offset by their great numbers and their rate of fire is very high.
• Nightmare Fuel: Every person who isn't Lo Wang, Zilla or the Kyokagami twins and has met demons, has faced a horrible end, as you find countless skinned corpses on your path, often also impaled on spikes. Ki Crystals and cups of demon blood are held on pedestals that are grotesque sculptures of several corpses.
• Scrappy Mechanic: The huge Falling Damage, which clashes heavily with the quick motion feel of the battles, leading to a lot of Spelunker esque death from heights that should be short enough for a normal human, let alone a superhuman ninja like Lo Wang, to survive.
• That One Boss: On the higher difficulties, the post-patch Zilla boss becomes this simply because, in the final phases of the fight, outdamaging his self-healing move is an exercise in patience and frustration.
• The Woobie: Ameonna, the Ancients' sister. She is forced to be sad forever, else the Shadow Realm would be condemned without her tears.

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