This review presupposes some familiarity with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. If you like high fantasy and haven’t already watched the movie or read the books, you’ll probably enjoy them.
Set in Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings universe, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is the direct sequel to 2014’s surprisingly good Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor. Picking up when the last game left-off, players continue the story of Talion: a Gondorian ranger who has been mysteriously bound to a wraith, the soul of Celebrimbor, the elven ring-maker responsible for most of the mess that Middle-Earth has found itself in. Bent on revenge, the duo set out to forge a new ring of power, and end Sauron’s rule.
This is an adventure of suitably epic proportions, ranging from the fall of Minas Ithil and its transformation into the haunted city of Minas Morgul, to the blasted wastes of Mordor and the peak of Barad-dûr. Along the way players will raise armies, raze fortresses, and kill many, many orcs.
Combat and stealth play a central role here, and the mechanics that made the Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor so good return in force (see our review from the previous issue), whether it’s the ability to duel dozens of orcs at once as a ranger, or call upon the powers of the wraith to slow time and pepper foes with ghostly arrows, teleport hundreds of meters to a hapless orc, or take them over and make them fight for you. While the combat system has been expanded and is still fun, it does feel slightly ‘squishy’ and less visceral in comparison to the previous entry
Also returning is the Nemesis System. Not only does this make special enemies have unique strengths and weaknesses (for example, terror of fire or invulnerability to stealth), this system creates personalised foes. These enemies remember and react to previous encounters with the player (for example, referencing past defeats), and can create some truly memorable encounters. In one instance having beaten an Olog-Hai (a war troll), I opted to use my ability to dominate his simple mind and made him my body-guard. I was growing quite fond of him, and on more than one occasion he showed up in the nick-of-time to save me from an ignominious defeat.
Sadly, all good things come to an end, and my (sort-of) trusted bodyguard eventually betrayed me. Surviving the ambush by removing my bodyguard’s head and arm (yes, it is a bit graphic, but so are Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies in this regard), I thought no more of it. Until, that was, I was ambushed again by the same troll. Apparently some orcs dabbling in necromancy had, quite literally, stitched him back together. Opting to dominate him once more, I ended up a truly fearsome, and nigh-indestructible lieutenant (who was eventually burnt to a cinder by an enraged fire-drake... oh well).
In fact, just about everything from the previous entry in the series has been expanded upon, and Shadow of War seems take the attitude that bigger is better. And by bigger, I mean huge. The first portion alone, dealing with the fall of Minas Tirith, could be a game in its own right. Though this does mean that there’s a lot to see and do, it also borders on being simply too much. Toward the end of the game, the feeling is of simply mindlessly grinding away at tasks (though at that point, you should probably really treat the game as something you casually and occasionally pick up and play).
Also, be warned that the game tends heavily towards the more gothic-horror aspect of Tolkien’s universe. While there are some bits of black humour that offer some relief (such as the Aussie inspired troll called Brûz, pronounced – you guessed it – ‘Bruce’), the tone is overall dark and grim. The ending, whilst ultimately satisfying and joining up neatly with the events described in The Lord of the Rings, is still tragic in nature, leading to a backlash from some players. It’s also worth noting that the dreaded loot-boxes that were initially part of the game, have been happily patched out of existence.
All in all, Shadow of War is an interesting mix, with people seeming to either love it or hate it. While the not so good moments can tend towards being tedious, there are some truly brilliant stand-out moments, and flying over the battlefield on your own drake and raining down fire upon your foes never gets old (which, to be honest, was what attracted me to the game in the first place). If you liked the previous entry in the series, you’ll probably like this one. That said, and somewhat unusually for a modern game, there is a free demo. So if you’re not sure, you can download it, and give the game a go for yourself. ■