I write this shortly after having lost a save file of the game in question to a power-cut that lasted less than a second, but regardless, corrupted and deleted my save file, however, it was at around 80% completion with the main story finished, so I think I've got all I need, in mourning as I am for the countless hours I lost which I now have nothing to show for, which is probably why I'm writing this review to be honest, anyway.
I was skeptical a few years ago when Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was released, as it wasn't adapting any story, but going with an interquel ala Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. and yeah, the story was generic and uninteresting at best, with some interesting bits of lore strewn in, but the real meat of the game was in the Nemesis system. I could tell you stories of rivalries I had with specific Uruks, but I couldn't remember a lot of the actual story. but it was enough fun that I was really looking forward to the sequel.
So, how does the sequel compare?
Shadow of War strikes me as a game somewhat at odds with itself. the various interlocking storylines are all presented with equal weight, but only one of them has a satisfying ending, (I assume you're supposed to take the rest as substories,) and even that ending feels tacked on, as does the entirety of Act IV immediately thereafter. Which seems to exist solely to gate off a "true ending" behind tedious repetitive gameplay to make the microtransactions for premium currency with which to buy shortcuts more appealing.
Well since I've mentioned them now, let's get this out of the way. Yes, it is possible to achieve 100% completion without spending a penny on premium currency, I got to about 80% before my save file was lost. it's not even that unrealistic a goal depending on how tolerant of grinding and repetitive quests you are. That, however, is the thing, it is a bloody hell of a grind if you want the "true ending" which I'm told is basically just a cutscene anyway so there's no pressure on you to do it unless you really want that platinum trophy. As I said the entire Shadow wars act feels tacked on and unnecessary, you could take the boss fight in Mordor before then as the ending to the game and it would make exactly as much sense. But this game costs a lot of money up-front, and to not play all of it seems like a huge waste.
As it happens, personally, I don't mind a game being grind-heavy now and then, it gives my hands and eyes something to do while I'm listening to podcasts and stuff. Although if I need other outside stimuli to keep from getting bored, then that means it gets boring. the game definitely feels lesser because of the fourth act, which, is essentially tedious filler, at the end of which is a cutscene which is already on Youtube anyway.
Before that point, it's not terribly grind-heavy, with that said I was taking my time with it and doing the odd online vendetta quest when I felt like it, which are quite engaging until you've done them enough. So maybe I just levelled enough anyway. But if I can do that without getting bored, then the gameplay has got to be good right?
So let's talk gameplay, if you liked Shadow of Mordor then pretty much everything from that is back in this one, there are a few tweaks here and there though. For example, you now have to choose between ability upgrades. You can unlock them all, but for each ability, you can only have one upgrade active at a time. This means you will have to choose whether draining an enemy will restore Elf-Shot or dominate them, as it can no longer do both at once. I'm not particularly upset by this as you can switch at any time and I always felt end-game Talion was pretty Overpowered anyway, and this does feel a bit more balanced to me.
The combat is the same as last time, the old faithful "Arkham with swords" combat that flows seemlessly between attacks and counters and mercifully doesn't lock you into an animation as other games might. (though sometimes the game does leave me questioning the extent to which your Wraith companion can interact with the physical world, it's pretty vague and inconsistent there.)
The map is huge this time around with four major maps to explore, each with their own orc army for you to contend with.
the nemesis system is back in full-force, with a few differences from Shadow of Mordor, one that I noticed, in particular, is that there is no longer any way to guarantee the death of an enemy captain, or survival for that matter. in Mordor I eventually figured out that the way to make sure a captain didn't come back would be to take off their head, otherwise they'd be back, regardless of the method of execution or the impossibility of their survival, whether you burned them to a crisp, impaled them through the skull or shot them through the eye-socket, if he has a head, he ain't dead.
This time around though, even decapitation is no guarantee, I distinctly recall an Olog captain tracking me down and explicitly reminding me that when last we met I took his head off. saying something vague about Talion's "grave-walker magic" rubbing off on him and being immortal or something, an interesting concept, which was never brought up again because he stayed dead the second time. I also saw returns from an orc I had cut clean in half, simply stating that his "boys" had put him back together. I then proceeded to cut an arm and a leg off this same captain, impale him through the back, and then I stood there watching him lie motionless for a minute or two just for good measure, and he still came back later!
Conversely, the first captain to come back for more, Flogg the Tyrant of Cirith Ungol who later became Flogg Lockjaw because his face was disfigured in one of our many fights, died from me scratching him on the chest with my sword, and then just never came back, I was expecting him to, I wandered around Cirith Ungol waiting for an ambush that never came.
From that, you can take it that I enjoy the nemesis system quite a bit, more so in fact that the main story, but I should talk a bit more about that. The game seems simultaneously obsessed with, and dismissive of the lore of Middle-Earth. there are countless collectibles to build on the world scattered throughout the game. Well, not countless, around 200 if that maybe? in the form of Gondorian artifacts, giving you little bits of exposition on Gondorian society, Elvish words to open doors for a set of legendary gear, and Shelob memories.
and that's where I come to the game being also dismissive of the lore when it feels like it, first of all, there are two "one" rings now. But we all knew that was coming when it was mentioned at the end of the last one. and also Shelob, who, as you've probably heard, can turn into a woman in this game. Apparently female characters in video games simply are not allowed to be ugly even if one is a giant fucking spider!
In case you were wondering, no, unless I am very much mistaken, nowhere in Tolkien's work is it suggested that Shelob was capable of shape-shifting, as far as I understand, before manifesting in Middle-Earth she chose the form of a spider and was stuck with it. but whatever, she's fine. Having played the game I can say, she's utilised more as a plot device than a central character. She gives the player a grand total of four missions I think, and apart from a cutscene or two and the collectible memories you don't really hear from her again after that.
Graphically the game is pretty much on the same level of Shadow of Mordor, or at least I didn't notice much of an upgrade, the best of the visuals comes from the scenery, which is great. I don't wish to spoil but you get to explore Minas Morgul (that city where the evil beam shot into the sky in Return of the King) as well as Cirith Ungol (Shelob-town) and a few more locations I don't remember seeing in the films. Minas Tirith and Osgiliath are also on the map but I don't think you can go there, at least I never managed it, I presume they're saving that for the DLC.
All-in-all Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is a really fun game, I put a lot of hours into it and never got bored, even if the grinding for resources necessitated by the presence of loot boxes put a damper on it. That the game managed to be so good in spite of that though makes me wonder what could have been without it. I don't normally give numerical scores to things because my opinion is normally a little less decisive than that but this is a definite 8/10 the two points lost are for flimsy story-structure and unnecessary grinding filler. I'd still fully recommend the game, I'll probably be playing it again to try and get that progress back.
8/10:
a great time, you should play it.
