Being a sequel is never easy; your always expected to exceed your predecessors in new and better ways, I feel SW3 has missed that mark as it fails to live up to the things SW1 and SW2 did and doesn't bring anything actually new to the table. On top of that SW3 just feels... cheap, compared to the previous 2 games.

Firstly: this game is short. We're talking no more than 10 hours even if you take your sweet time, not that there really is much a reason to as Secrets more-or-less don't exist in this game, only semi-hidden upgrade orbs.
Secondly, your arsenal and upgrades are a much downgraded from what they were in SW1, you have only 6 weapons and can only upgrade Wang and your weapons, (VS the 3 upgrade systems in SW1), and none of this feels as good or impactful as it did in SW1.
The story is... Well I personally think the story across the 3 reboots sucks and 3 is no exception. But if you like Hoji he's a supporting character again in SW3. To its credit this game has an interesting opening sequence that both serves as "show don't tell" for the backstory as well as the tutorial of the game. I don't think it's quite as good as SW1's opening, but it's better than SW2's.
Most of the levels don't really feel like they have an identity as you run through generic Asian mountains half the time, (Story-wise all the locations you knew of before no longer exist) unlike the previous games where you knew where you were, that is not the case in SW3. The only exception the final level.
Actually has some of the better bosses in the series, but there's only 2 this time.

In terms of "cheap" I mean things like this: your weapons don't leak bullet holes or marks on many surfaces, the enemy AI cannot even follow you if your 5 feet in the air (atleast SW2's AI could keep up with you even during this) and stops in place, there's several visual bugs your not meant to see, you kinda just fly off in random directions on dying, when you charge up your blade it just starts glowing without any smooth transition.
Several detail features of SW2 are not present, like swaying trees and foliage (everything is static), and the dynamic body cutting of SW2 is not present in SW3.

Considering this game took longer AND was delayed, I can only guess that the buyout that happened to Flying Wild Hog a few years ago really set SW3 back from what it could have been, that's a shame... Maybe it'll get updates or unlike the previous games: DLC, who knows.
But for now, pass unless you can get a 75% sale atleast.
If your starting the series for the first time. I'd suggest starting with this one, as it sets a lower quality bar so you won't be disappointed going backwards.

Being a sequel is never easy; your always expected to exceed your predecessors in new and better ways, I feel SW3 has missed that mark as it fails to live up to the things SW1 and SW2 did and doesn't bring anything actually new to the table. On top of that SW3 just feels... cheap, compared to the previous 2 games. Firstly: this game is short. We're talking no more than 10 hours even if you take your sweet time, not that there really is much a reason to as Secrets more-or-less don't exist in this game, only semi-hidden upgrade orbs. Secondly, your arsenal and upgrades are a much downgraded from what they were in SW1, you have only 6 weapons and can only upgrade Wang and your weapons, (VS the 3 upgrade systems in SW1), and none of this feels as good or impactful as it did in SW1. The story is... Well I personally think the story across the 3 reboots sucks and 3 is no exception. But if you like Hoji he's a supporting character again in SW3. To its credit this game has an interesting opening sequence that both serves as "show don't tell" for the backstory as well as the tutorial of the game. I don't think it's quite as good as SW1's opening, but it's better than SW2's. Most of the levels don't really feel like they have an identity as you run through generic Asian mountains half the time, (Story-wise all the locations you knew of before no longer exist) unlike the previous games where you knew where you were, that is not the case in SW3. The only exception the final level. Actually has some of the better bosses in the series, but there's only 2 this time. In terms of "cheap" I mean things like this: your weapons don't leak bullet holes or marks on many surfaces, the enemy AI cannot even follow you if your 5 feet in the air (atleast SW2's AI could keep up with you even during this) and stops in place, there's several visual bugs your not meant to see, you kinda just fly off in random directions on dying, when you charge up your blade it just starts glowing without any smooth transition. Several detail features of SW2 are not present, like swaying trees and foliage (everything is static), and the dynamic body cutting of SW2 is not present in SW3. Considering this game took longer AND was delayed, I can only guess that the buyout that happened to Flying Wild Hog a few years ago really set SW3 back from what it could have been, that's a shame... Maybe it'll get updates or unlike the previous games: DLC, who knows. But for now, pass unless you can get a 75% sale atleast. If your starting the series for the first time. I'd suggest starting with this one, as it sets a lower quality bar so you won't be disappointed going backwards.