To this day, the open world of Middle-earth: Shadow of War is unique – and it will probably remain so for quite some time
Some games mature surprisingly well – in the case ofMiddle-earth: Shadow of Warthe action adventure game plays even better seven years after its release than it did when it was released in September 2017. Back then, there was a huge controversy surrounding orcs in loot boxes and … Let’s forget about it and look ahead
Because over the years, Shadow of War has been stripped of all remnants of its lootbox past. What remains is the coolest fantasy open-world game ever
Shadow of War is still absolutely unique in many ways in 2024 – andis currently cheaper than everon Steam. With a discount of a whopping 95 percent, you can lose yourself in Middle-earth for hours for 2 euros. Of course, you should still know what you’re getting yourself into
The strengths and weaknesses of Shadow of War
First things first: In many ways, Shadow of War is alsonotunique. The combat system is very obviously inspired by Batman’s Arkham games, the climbing, sneaking and assassination could be straight out of Assassin’s Creed – and in terms of story, the game stretches the Lord of the Rings universe as credibly as The Acolyte currently stretches Star Wars. So not at all
As the undead ranger Talion, you fight your way through the open world of Mordor, stringing together endless combos or alternatively swooping down on unwary enemies from above. In dozens of main and side missions, you will oust Sauron’s influence and strengthen your own position in the world. It’s all fun, but as I said, it doesn’t stand out from the genre standard.
The only difference is the Nemesis system Talion makes procedurally generated friends and enemies on his journey, recruits his own orc armies (don’t ask how this makes sense lore-wise) – and the dynamics of this nemesis system have been providing YouTube laughs for years.
Some Orcs provoke rivalries with you, betray Talion, suffer visible wounds after every defeat, gain new epithets because you shot them in the leg so badly last time that they can no longer walk properly, and, and, and.
The Nemesis system alone makes Shadow of War so worthwhile that you sometimes forget about the actual story campaign. Be that as it may: For 2 euros, we can recommend the game to any Lord of the Rings fan who can tolerate Tolkien’s rules being stretched a little…
