Middle-earth: Shadow of War - Review

As long as I have breath in my body, my fate is my own” – A review of Middle-earth: Shadow of War. 

Oh, it’s always a joy to return to Middle-earth, but sitting down to play Middle-earth: Shadow of War is so exciting. The sequel to Shadow of Mordor is again set in the dangerous and atmospheric Mordor of Tolkien’s work, and it really builds on the success of the first game. Developed by Monolith Productions and released in 2017, the game offers an incredible open world adventure which you’re sure to enjoy.

The story continues with the ranger Talion who is still bound with Celebrimbor. The pair are at war against Sauron, and they have forged a new Ring of Power to do so. Sure, this isn’t canon to Tolkien, but it’s a really well written and fun story based on his work, so I don’t mind this at all. The story is compelling and full of vengeance, betrayal and new alliances, and one I really enjoyed playing through.

Once again, the gameplay is the real star of this game. Stealth, action and RPG combine to create a truly immersive and enjoyable gaming experience. The combat is fantastic, whether you’re doing a stealth takedown or head-to-head combat, and of course the Nemesis system is still brilliant. It has in fact been even further refined from the first game, as the enemies you encounter begin to develop personal grudges on top of remembering past encounters, and their dynamic evolutions as characters help to make every playthrough unique, adding real replayability to the game.

I really love being able to recruit orcs to my own army, and the fortress assaults are fantastic. Huge battles blend with strategy as you’re able to assign your followers specific tasks and roles, helping you to exploit potential weaknesses in enemies.

The game still looks great too. Mordor is atmospheric and feels genuinely dangerous, but the highlight for me are the character models for the orcs. They’re all so distinct from one another, and they all have their own personalities, making battling with them even more of a joy than it would be anyway.

Progression is based on gameplay and player choices, as there are so many skills and upgrades you can get for Talion and his army. Initially, the game faced criticism for including loot boxes and micro transactions, something I never want to see, but thankfully this is no longer a feature, and progression is fun and feels fair.

I would say that, just like the first game, the side missions can get pretty repetitive. With that said though, I do think Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a fantastic sequel. It’s really improved upon pretty much every element from the first game, which is impressive considering how good the first game was.

Overall, this is a game which genuinely rewards creativity, strategy and persistence. Whilst it’s definitely not canonical, something that some Tolkien fans really dislike, I think this game enhances rather than damages the world Tolkien created. This is a genuinely enjoyable, immersive game to get lost in, with a decent story and some really fun game mechanics, making this a must play for anyone who enjoys a really good, open world, action-adventure game set in one of the best fantasy worlds ever created.

Written by Tam Page

Posted by Mr. Tomney

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