Middle-earth: Shadow of War
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Middle-earth: Shadow of War Trailers
Critic Reviews for Middle-earth: Shadow of War
The nemesis system shines in this unwieldy, bloated, and occasionally magnificent fantasy epic.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War somehow finds a way to improve on the winning Shadow of Mordor formula and create an incredibly dense and entertaining new piece of Tolkien lore.
At the end of the day, the big question is: Did I have fun? Yes, yes I did. I had fun killing the orcs, I loved the interactions with the story orcs, and when the combat behaves itself I enjoy the siege battles. The frustration isn't enough to make me glad it's over, and I'm looking forward to the additional story content coming in later. So with that, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find that corpse-loving orc again and kill it. With fire. And poison. And curse.
Similar to the way Batman: Arkham City built on the foundation of Arkham Asylum, Middle-earth: Shadow of War is bigger and more ambitious in scope than Shadow of Mordor, with great results. The way it expands the Nemesis system with far greater variety and fortress sieges makes even better use of the stand-out generated characters, and its battles with memorable uruk captains remain challenging all the way through the campaign and into the clever asynchronous multiplayer beyond.
A greatly expanded and improved action game let down by a dreadful story.
A huge Lord of the Rings experience that's always enjoyable, although its scale leaves it straining at the seams at times.
You are a merciless tornado of ruin touching down in an unforgiving world of battle and domination, and embracing that unfettered power is a joy
The follow-up to Shadow of Mordor is bigger in scope, but not always better than its predecessor.
Industry Coverage
PS Plus' Free Games for the month of November Have Been Revealed
The three games that will be free through PS Plus in the month of November have been revealed
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The November Additions to PlayStation Now Have Been Announced
Sony has announced that Persona 5, Hollow Knight, and Middle-Earth: Shadow of War are coming to PlayStation Now in November
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Middle-earth: Shadow of War's Definitive Edition is now available
Middle-earth: Shadow of War demo introduces you to the game
