Middle-earth: Shadow of War Reviews
Middle-earth: Shadow of War has a lot of fluff that attempts to sabotage it, but the game succeeds in its effort to make its world worth roaming around and killing things in. Although I wasn't enthralled by the silly story beats that try to dance around telling an actual epic and somber tale, the ability to create my own stories with an expanded level of gameplay was more than sufficient to call this a step up.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a good sequel to Shadow of Mordor. Fortress sieges are a nice introduction, but in the long run things could get a little bit repetitive.
Review in Italian | Read full review
If Shadow of War is guilty of anything, it's giving you too much to do. The world is seemingly bursting with content and side objectives. In cities, you can over take towers, much like the Assassin's Creed games. Upon taking a tower you'll reveal hidden points of interest within the city, such as collectibles, a “memories of Shelob” mini game, and side missions featuring the fall and demise of Celebrimbor. The game gives so much to keep you occupied and, with the great combat, you'll never get tire of working through it. It's a perfect example of a studio taking an already solid game and improving it on every front.
The visuals and the unnecesary endgame are the only bad things in a sequel that improves everything from the first game: the combat has been refined, the Nemesis System provides infinite stories, and the sieges contain all the epic (and more) that you'd expect from a product based in Tolkien's Legendarium.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is massive, yet at the same time a prime example of a sequel that's bigger, but not necessarily any better than the original. Once again the Nemesis system shines, allowing players to forge their own unique stories, even if the game tries to do too much with it at times. Getting caught in its tangle of new systems and features can be frustrating, but there's still a great open world game here.
Monolith has doubled down on what made the original a surprise hit but hasn't addressed its flaws
Middle Earth: Shadow of War is bigger and better than its predecessor in almost every conceivable way. If you don't mind the repetition found in most open world games, there's a robust strategy layer here that combines with a great combat system to offer hours and hours of Orc slaying, army building fun.
An expanded Nemesis System creates fascinatingly interesting player stories, and the amount of freedom afforded to the player is staggering for a game of this scope. Microtransactions never get in the way of the game itself, so any objection to them is based purely on personal principles. Lore purists may find fault with Middle-earth: Shadow of War, but those willing to suspend their disbelief and enjoy the game Monolith built around Tolkien's world will find the best Lord of the Rings game to date. With the immortal words of Samwise Gamgee at my lips, I smile and walk into Mordor, returning to the Gondorian boots of the Gravewalker: “Well, I'm back.”
If you enjoyed Shadow of Mordor, you'll also enjoy Shadow of War, but if you feel fatigued as I do from this type of formulaic open world game, Shadow of War amplifies the issues with the genre rather than improves upon them.
Overall, Shadow of War is an excellent game that offers dozens of hours of enjoyable content. It's a game that's worthy of every minute you'll put into it.
Shadow of War is such an enjoyable game – the Nemesis System and fortresses are intricate and provide unique, compelling gameplay. The combat mechanics are fluid and suit the game perfectly, allowing you to charge into a crowd of orcs and emerge unscathed or silently take out enemies from the shadows.
The Shadow of War offers a solid gameplay, a compelling concept and a much more varied setting than the previous episode, with excellent production values and an awesome soundtrack. The sequel is bigger, better and stronger, but somehow caged in a repetitive framework. The game is full of good ideas and potential, that cannot be truly fulfilled due to a storytelling without personality and a huge but boring endgame.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is not a bad game, but it becomes repetitive and boring in the process. You still can have fun, but we recommend short playing sessions.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Shadow of War improves on almost every aspect of the original game. There is so much to do and the systems in place are truly special.
Shadow of War is up there in with the best when it comes to great action RPG experiences and you'll have hours of fun smashing your way through enemies in an abrupt fashion, or stealthily assassinating your targets from bushes or rooftops.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is pretty much a Shadow of Mordor with more of everything. It's ambitious, good looking and the combat system is both fluid and entertaining. As a action game, Shadow of War is almost as good as this genre gets.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
Building upon the accomplishments of its predecessor and wielding the influence of The New Ring, Middle-earth: Shadow of War should be remembered as Talion's greatest adventure to date.
The sequel boxes are generally ticked off with Shadow of War, it's bigger, better, and a touch more ambitious than Shadow of Mordor was, but there are aspects that feel somewhat dated now, and there's a lack of polish to certain controls that dilutes the fun just a smidgen. The Nemesis system remains the star, and with the addition of sieges and tribes, it's a star that burns brighter than ever.