1. Gameplay
Shadow Warrior is a cheesy, shlock style of action game. It knows its premise, its characters, and its action is ridiculous and hams it up enough that I found it funny. The first few chapters of this game are humorous enough and the combat unique enough to keep me interested. Unfortunately, the combat difficulty and pacing kept me from enjoying the second half of this game. 
Parts of this game are flat-out gorgeous.
Unlike Serious Sam 3, where the combat was fast-paced and the enemies weak but numerous, Shadow Warrior’s enemies were a chore to take down. I wasn’t slashing through enemies like butter as much as I was hacking at them with a blunt spoon. This wasn’t as obvious early on, since weapons were strong against enemies, but the later combat situations really dragged on. Ammunition was never consistently present, so I had to conserve my best weapons until absolutely necessary. The katana was fun to use but never seemed to do enough damage to enemies.
The only way I can describe it to someone that hasn’t played the game is comparing it to the Michael Bay Transformers movies. A Transformer movie is not about plot or deep characters, it’s about crazy action sequences and great special effects. In two hour doses, Transformers can be a lot of fun to watch. But after four hours the entire experience just feels drawn out unnecessarily, especially if there isn’t any substance to keep the viewer interested. Shadow Warrior works in exactly the same way. The combat is great and the script amusing for the first six hours, but after that it just feels really drawn out.
I absolutely despised these shield guys.
This game is a reboot of a 1997 shooter, so it’s interesting to see how mechanics from the older game were translated up to this title. Certain elements (like the katana and the humor) translate well, while others (health packs, ammunition) don’t fit as well with the combat style.
That being said, I would consider playing a sequel that ironed out my difficulties with this game. I may not be eager enough to play it right now, but in a few years I would definitely consider it.
This is one of those situations where I believe a game is too long for its own good. There just isn’t enough fun and replayability in the combat to keep me interested for more than six hours (my total playtime was closer to 10 hours). Without any choices in the story, I can’t see this game being played more than once.
As I have mentioned numerous times, the combat in this game coupled with the game’s length, is the most frustrating part of this game. There were a number of combat encounters that were very long and didn’t have any checkpoints. Even if I managed to make it to the last few enemies in a fight, dying would force me to redo the entire fight. This became extremely problematic towards the end of the game, where certain fights were extremely drawn out and involved dozens of difficult enemies that each had specific strengths and weaknesses. The bull-like enemies that had a lot of health and dealt a lot of damage were especially difficult to deal with when they were coupled with other enemies of different types.
2. Parental Notices
This game is ridiculously violent. Before the first combat encounter, I expected to swing my katana and cause some blood on enemies. Instead, I sliced an enemy’s arm clean off, causing copious amounts of blood to flow forth. I was extremely surprised. 
I can't tell which parts belong to which guy anymore!
This type of graphic violence is present in every single combat encounter. While it might be especially prominent with the katana, which I used constantly throughout the game, it can occur with normal weapons too.
Protip: Don't play with sharp objects.
The environment also includes tons of blood and gore. There are plenty of dead bodies in the level, especially when demons have killed civilians.
How did they get all bloody?
There is one section where the player must get through a door that is locked by a retinal scanner. In order to do this, the player finds a severed head and holds it up to the scanner.
2001, Predator, and Big Trouble in Little China.
Almost every moment of this game will include this level of violence. While the game doesn’t directly draw attention to it (characters don’t talk about how gross things are or how much blood there is), it’s impossible to miss this content. Despite the fact that this is the only major mature content in the game, it is more than enough to be the deciding factor in this game’s age recommendation.
Be still, my beating heart.
This game includes very little in the way of visual sexuality, but does include a lot of crude humor. The fortune cookie “jokes” are an especially prominent source of this sort of humor. Many of them included sexual puns. 
If dad jokes were dirty.
There was also an enemy type that may have been topless. They tended to keep moving, so I had a hard time telling with any certainty, though.
I guess she's naked? Also, I never noticed the face on the ceiling before.
There are also a number of bodies that may be naked women. However, these bodies were always so covered in blood that I couldn’t tell with any certainty.
That looks like it hurt.
In the opening cutscene, Lo Wang can be seen smoking a cigarette while he drives. 
Smoke 'em if you've got 'em?
There are also medpacks that can heal the player. However, there is no animation associated with picking up a medpack.
Ignore the fortune cookie, the medkit's on the couch.
Gambling is not a factor in this game.
3. Other Factors
There are no modding tools available for this game.
Much of this game’s plot revolves around a story of gods and demigods fighting each other and plotting against each other. The demonic character the helps the player throughout the game is one of these demigods. 
You eventually get to fight this one.
Eventually the player will go to a heaven-like world where he must fight and kill gods.
Can I just stay here for a while?
Buddhist symbols also feature prominently in this game’s numerous locations.
There's no consequences for stealing the offerings.
Anti-law is not a factor in this game.
There are no multiplayer game modes for this game.
Extreme sports are not a factor in this game.
Magic plays a very prominent role in the combat of this game, and since the game is mostly combat magic is always present. The player can unlock and upgrade a number of magical abilities with various effects. The most obvious of these were the sword-related abilities, since these were a great help in combat. 
Feel the power flow through you.
Combat abilities are not the only sources of magic in the game either. Enemies can teleport in and out of combat, fountains of blood give the player points for upgrades, and damaged enemies can become enraged, which fills them with extra energy that makes them faster and more dangerous.
Even if the player is not using magic in combat (which seems very unlikely), many of the enemies will.
What's wrong with your face?
There are no additional factors in this game.
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