Tie-in games for movies and books typically mess with the canon and tarnish the lore of a well-respected franchise, and admittedly, Middle-earth: Shadow of War completely demolishes The Lord of the Rings’ history. However, it does so in such a chaotic and interesting way, alongside fantastic gameplay mechanics, which make it one of my favorite games of all time. Right now, the full experience is under $6, and in all honesty, that’s well worth it even if you somehow aren’t familiar with Tolkien’s iconic series.
Following on from the excellent Shadow of Mordor, Middle-earth: Shadow of War follows Talion, an undead ranger who is fused with the elf lord Celebrimbor (you don’t need Lord of the Rings knowledge or to have played the first game). Talion crafts a new Ring of Power at Mount Doom, but it is taken by Shelob, who uses it to see into the future, directing Talion to his first step in stopping Sauron’s reign over the world.
The narrative is pretty great, but in reality, the gameplay turns it from a good experience into one of the best action-adventure games available. Talion’s fighting skills are a twist on the Batman Arkham games, forcing you to make entertaining combos while using a range of magical abilities, powered by Celebrimbor. As you progress through the story, you’ll eventually encounter the Nemesis System, which hasn’t been seen in any game since. To be honest, that’s Warner Bros. fault for patenting such a cool mechanic, and that still frustrates me to this day.
What makes the Nemesis System so incredible is that it allows the world and its enemies to feel alive, without forcing crowds of NPCs or hordes of foes on you. A variety of orc or uruk captains rule over each area, and Talion can dominate or eliminate any, and change the entire dynamic of the armies. However, they’ll also have infighting and betrayals with each other, which you can use to your advantage. Each enemy captain has its own strengths or weaknesses, and if you leave them alive, they’ll remember you, for better and worse.
Having your mind-controller orc break free suddenly and betray you is a jaw-dropping moment, or seeing an old nemesis come back from the dead, with scars to prove it, still excites me to this day. I played Shadow of War on Xbox One back when it first released, with multiple playthroughs, and I’ve been enjoying my PC version of the Definitive Edition for a few years now, and I’m still as enamored as ever.
In our Middle-earth: Shadow of War review, Matt Purslow described it as being built on “Mithril-strong foundations” and scored it an 8/10. He also absolutely loved the Nemesis System, so you don’t just have my word for how great that is.
The Shadow of War Definitive Edition includes the base game, The Blade of Galadriel expansion, The Desolation of Mordor expansion, and two tribe expansions to bring more orcs, which means new enemies to face, new weapons, and more. All of that comes to just $5.39 / £3.59 at Fanatical, a massive 91% off the typical price, and considering it includes the game and all post-launch DLC, it’s an absolute bargain.
Considering the amount of time I have invested into Shadow of War across two platforms, it’s pretty clear I’m a big fan of it. In all honesty, I might go for my third playthrough now, after writing all of this.
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