When Pigs Fly

Flying Wild Hog, the developer of two games (Hard Reset and Shadow Warrior) that I have been playing recently are an interesting company. They are not quite indie, nor are they exactly AAA, but are somewhere in between. This in-between-ness seems to allow them to create games that they as developers want to make and not what some out-of-touch business man or woman in a suit who has dollar signs for eyes wants to. The reason I say this is that their games have a distinct flavour for fun derived from raw gameplay, paying homage to the oldskool FPS gameplay mechanics lacking in so many modern FPS games today, much to the detriment of the genre. You don't see this today because it is risky to not make games that cater towards the lowest common denominator. However, their games also have the visual quality and production values of a game you would typically have to fork out $80 for, but are instead available for a fraction of the price ($30 for Shadow Warrior on release). The only way I can see companies like this existing is if they are unhindered by at least some of the bullshit plaguing much of the games industry these days and are allowed free reign over IPs that they actually care for (unlike Gearbox with Aliens: Colonial Marines). Part of this can at least be discerned from FWH's main website regarding their design philosophy:

"We do not believe in corporate management and corporate ways. Our studio is managed without producers and we try to employ as many anti-corporate management ideas as possible. Such a flexible structure allows us to limit all the obsolete bureaucracy and hierarchy to minimum. We do not believe in managers or leads who themselves don’t create real content of a game. People who are responsible for management in our studio also work as programmers, artists or designers. We do believe that people who are given freedom, both for their ideas and use of their skills, work better and more effective. We don’t complicate things that are simple."

Personally I find the stance they have taken to be quite admirable and as long as they maintain this perspective and continue to pursue and produce games in the vein of their most recent ones, they will likely stay on my (incredibly short) list of game developers I have any faith in. Along with Croteam, Riot Games and Valve, any games made by them will instantly be on my radar.

Hard Reset - Final Boss Battle

But enough of the fanboy talk. This short post is really about the games Hard Reset and Shadow Warrior. In many ways they are similar, taking the good parts of classics such as Duke Nukem and Doom but adding RPG elements from a game like Skyrim for good measure. Intense oldskool combat (without regenerating HP and optional ironsights), crude but enjoyable humour and exploration are welcome elements in any FPS game I play. Additionally, they both have upgrade/perk systems that you expand upon as you play, making weaker weapons and different playstyles relevant throughout the course of the games. However, this is where Shadow Warrior really shines, going one step further by introducing a deep and powerful melee and offhand combat system which is crucial for success in harder difficulties. Up to 7 additional sword and offhand abilities can be used, 3 specific to the katana, allowing you to tank, heal or cause mass crowd control for extended durations. Combined with the primary and (unlockable) secondary attacks on all the 7 weapons as well as shurikens, demon heads and hearts and you have a formidable arsenal of weapons and attack combinations. While overwhelming at first, with a bit of practice it flows into regular combat naturally and beautifully. If this is not the correct and logical evolution of the FPS genre then I don't want to know what is.

Shadow Warrior - Astoundingly pretty and high performing Road Hog engine visuals

Perhaps expectantly though the press have somewhat mixed reviews on FWH's most recent game, Shadow Warrior. Usually I couldn't care less about the subjective opinions of a 'professional game reviewer', but this time the ignorance and stupidity of remarks are astounding. While Shadow Warrior has received some stellar reviews, even from some of the more mainstream and criticised sites (e.g. IGN), there are reviews floating around that seem like the reviewer was playing a completely different game. Gametrailers gave the game a 6.2/10, remarking that the combat system is simply button mashing (note: he doesn't perform a single combo in the video) and claiming the game doesn't bring anything new to the genre. While I would like to say the reviewer was having a bad day or that maybe the game was too confusing for him to appreciate, I unfortunately cannot write off the fact that these surface-level reviews can and DO affect the sales of games. That is definitely a shame, as Shadow Warrior is, honestly, brilliant.

But enough talking. Why post words and pictures that can say a thousand words when a moving picture can say a million? The following video is my playthrough of the final arena battle against demons in Chapter 16, arguably one of the toughest sections of the game. The difficulty is Insane with EX mode on and all upgrades, perks and skills unlocked. Worth mentioning is that the combat in these kind of arena battles are more about endurance, timing and positioning as much as they are about strategy and skill. One ill timed move in the wrong place can make you very dead very quickly. If not for the Soul Harvesting perk (last stand) not being off cooldown on two occasions, I would have died horribly. This fight actually lasted more than 20 minutes in actuality, but I have taken out the less interesting parts for clarity's sake.