Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Reviews
For fans of the Tolkien universe, or who just love well-made action titles that put up a challenge and play incredibly well, this and its sequel are well worth a look
The Switch 2 port finally brings a major title from the 2010s to a Nintendo console and, despite some hiccups, makes an important work in the medium's Western history accessible. For the Nemesis System alone, the experience is very easy to recommend.
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There's plenty to see and do in Mordor when you're dead; all that's left, in the words of a wise old wandering wizard, is to decide what to do with the time that is given to you.
'Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor' combines familiar combat tricks and trademark Tolkien scenery with a unique Nemesis system to deliver one of the best new-gen experiences of the year.
The tech specs are demanding, but this is the Middle-Earth game to rule them all.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor's great action and dynamic enemies make both victory and defeat an amazing experience.
By turning your every death into the start of a personal vendetta, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor makes you that much more invested in its open-world. The savage combat and satisfying stealth are just the means to exacting your ultimate revenge.
A challenging and fascinating adventure in emergent gameplay, but not without growing pains
Shadow of Mordor's political machinations and rambunctious action make it a cut above your everyday Lord of the Rings game.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor tells a good story but provides the tools to discover even better tales
This perfectly competent open-world game gets a heck of a lot more interesting when it throws an endless host of savage, dynamic AI enemies into the mix.
An inventive and thoroughly enjoyable adventure that honors the legacy of its fiction while simultaneously expanding its boundaries.
More than just a great Lord of the Rings game, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor marks a new era for the franchise that can be enjoyed by fans and the uninitiated alike.
With a gripping story, refined gameplay and some bold new ideas, Shadow of Mordor is a must-have title.
But wow, I've enjoyed it.
At its core, Shadow of Mordor is a fresh, exciting game. I love what it does to make every enemy feel special. Open-world games like Assassin's Creed and Grand Theft Auto haven't really done much to expand on the possibility for emergence in the genre. They look like a pair of Casio digital wristwatches compared to the complex moving parts of Shadow of Mordor's intricate cuckoo clock.
Dark, compelling, and occasionally unflinchingly brutal, Shadow of Mordor is Lord of the Rings for grown-ups. It's not just a good game based on an established franchise, but a fantastic game in its own right and one that deserves to be judged purely by its own merits, and not by what has come before.
A triumph of emergent gameplay, slightly let down by a heavily scripted ending.
Ultimately, like many ambitious projects, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor doesn't deliver on everything it sets out to do. Although Monolith's heart is in the right place and the studio honors the lore, it doesn't really add anything that's worth seeing outside of some solid open world gameplay. It isn't a bad game, it just feels far too repetitive for its own good.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor nears perfection, but the demands of a scripted narrative work against its freeform structure.