Parents' Guide to

Shadow Fight 3

By Neilie Johnson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Fantasy fighting game takes patience, pushes purchases.

Shadow Fight 3 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this app.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 2 parent reviews

age 10+
age 10+

Time waste

Never download it unless you want to waste time. You are never given a good opponent to play. your 10 hits equals opponent’s 1 hit. completely not fair game.

This title has:

Too much consumerism

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Unclear whether personal information is sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is shared for third-party marketing.
  • Personalised advertising is displayed.
  • Data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • User's information is used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (4 ):

This 3D fighter is a definite upgrade from its 2D predecessor, with detailed characters and easy controls, but its weak story and ad-focused push keep it from being a perfect action title. In Shadow Fight 3, you're thrown into a three-way conflict as a young soldier without knowing who you are or why the conflict matters to you. Various characters blurt random information at you, but in the end, it's easier just to ignore them all and get to the fighting. Combat is the app's strong point anyway, with good four-direction controls, visceral one-button attacks, three different fighting styles (one for each faction), and a 2D format that makes it easy to target your opponent. Shadow Abilities make things even more fun, since they can help you do tons of damage or even stage a comeback when you're about to lose a fight.

On top of entertaining combat, Shadow Fight 3 offers you the freedom to use whatever weapons and armor you want, regardless of fighting style. Granted, upgrading items is still a chore. Upgrades take Shadow Energy, which can only be earned by replaying fights or by performing repetitive side missions. The process is pretty slow, but you can make it bearable by playing Duel mode (there's considerably more satisfaction beating real opponents than AI) or skip it altogether by buying Shadow Energy in the in-app store. Whichever you choose, the app's beautiful sound and visual effects are free, and themed seasonal events like Cherry Blossom and Menace of the Swamps offer a change of pace and the chance to fight special bosses and earn special weapon and armor sets. If Shadow Fight 3 offered a more straightforward story, its gameplay would have more meaning; even without it, though, you're in for hours of shadow-fighting fun.

App Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate