In Shadow Fight 3, the player controls a stereotypical dynasty warrior dedicated to ridding the world of the forces of evil. Or something like that, it doesn’t really matter honestly.
The game is about beating people up, let’s be honest.
After a little intro wherein you beat up a friendly little buddy with a massive sword as a training mission, you get straight to beating on the various and sundry enemies around you.
The combat mechanics are very well transferred to mobile: control your direction with the standard d-pad on the left-hand side and what kind of move you perform on the right. Punches, kicks and special moves all combine with direction controls to enable more varied combat maneuvers.
The variety of the combat is what ensures Shadow Fight 3 remains fresh after multiple fights. Simple punches in other games become a calculated decision as to the direction of fighting. Do you punch upwards, hoping to knock your opponent back and give yourself a bit of leeway, or do you swing low and hope to deal more damage?[sc name=”quote” text=”Do you punch upwards, hoping to knock your opponent back and give yourself a bit of leeway, or do you swing low and hope to deal more damage?”]
All these options are further increased by the inclusion of weapons. As you progress you gain access to a myriad of weaponry to augment your fighting capabilities.
After each bout with the enemy, you can unlock different weapons and money that allows you to upgrade said weapons. Each weapon has its own reach, damage, and statistics, allowing you to customize how you want to fight each battle.
The single player campaign is all about giving you the necessary knowledge to take the combat to multiplayer. This PvP is the main focus of the game, ensuring you are able to fight against other fighters around the world.
The ranking progression system allows players to feel a sense of achievement as they fight through the waves of people online.
However, the ever-present problem with games within the fighting genre is the high skill ceiling. This lovingly confusing term refers to the level that the very best players can achieve – a game can only ask so much of a player and their fingers, so a game that is extremely difficult or has a great potential for skill is said to have a high ceiling.
Just like other fighting games, Shadow Fight 3 has an intensely high ceiling; after a certain point of progressing through multiplayer, you will eventually find yourself battling someone with such ungodly skill and reaction times that it will scarcely feel worth playing at all.[sc name=”quote” text=”… after a certain point of progressing through multiplayer, you will eventually find yourself battling someone with such ungodly skill and reaction times that it will scarcely feel worth playing at all.”]
However, the curses of the genre shouldn’t entirely reflect on the individual game. As a part of a long-running game series in a long-running genre, Shadow Fight 3 is good at what it aims to do.
You get to beat people up using quick-fire moves, as well as look really doing it.
If this is the time of game you enjoy, what’s not to like?
[review pros=”Great combination of available combat moves. Good variety of weapons and upgrade available to the player.” cons=”The limitations of the fighting genre feel very apparent.” score=7]
[appbox appstore id964827011]
[appbox googleplay com.nekki.shadowfight3]
