Middle-earth: Shadow of War Reviews
If you can live with some bugs, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is a solid follow-up to Shadow of Mordor. Everything that made the first game such a treat is still fully intact, and the addition of loot makes it even more difficult to decide whether to keep or kill orcs. The new fortress mechanic is very intriguing, especially when multiplayer is thrown into the mix, but it makes concessions so it doesn't heavily punish those who don't always maintain their bases. All of this is thrown together with a wide variety of activities and an overall journey that is rarely boring. Fans of grand adventures absolutely enjoy this title.
With Uruk-hai rallied to your side, this return to Middle-earth impresses in its fearless ambition but is soon let down by repetitive mission design.
Shadow of War is a nice sequel to Shadow of Mordor. But, as with Mordor, some of the plot holes and annoyances are here and it stops this from becoming a great game. For me Monolith have gone out to improve the Nemesis system, which they have done very well with. But, in doing so forgot the most important part of any game. Tell a good story! If you’re a Tolkien fan and have issues with the lore being played around with, you will find yourself as rage filled as some of the orcs you’re going to be fighting. But, if you’re a casual LOTR / fantasy fan, then the story is there for you to enjoy and make the most of.
Middle Earth: Shadow of War builds on almost every facet of its forerunner carefully – and the result is generally very exciting, if uninspiring.
With a major graphics evolution, a vast world to be explored, a better developed story and new gameplay mechanics, Middle-earth: Shadow of War shows how an adventure game should be. There will be hours and hours of exploration in Middle-earth which will make the player want to play it more and more. Put it simply, it's one of the best games of 2017.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Shadow of War may not be perfect. Its camera can still get lost, Talion’s free-running can often be a hindrance rather than a help, and the UI can sometimes bug out for no apparent reason in menus and the main game. But these are little issues in a very large game, and even with the Loot Boxes as optional purchases (they truly are optional), I can’t help but recommend this game to any and all fans of open world adventures. With or without the DLC there are dozens of hours of playtime to be had, and it’s mostly of the highest quality. Recommended.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War wants to be too much at the same time and ends up (besides a greatly improved Nemesis System) in a repetitive mess that doesn't shine in terms of story and graphics. The integration of the Lootboxes doesn't effect the game as much as we expected but it still shouldn't be in a Singleplayer title to begin with. Fans of Lord of the Rings still get to see some of their fan favourites and the gameplay this time is really solid.
Review in German | Read full review
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a great sequel to one of the best videogames based on Tolkien's Universe.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Middle-earth: Shadow of War focuses on what made the first game a hit, improved on those strengths, and attempted to fix problems players had with the first game. The refined Nemesis system kept me on my toes since at any time the story could shift based on my actions or a new powerful Uruks could appear and completely decimate me.
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 definite improvement over Shadow of Mordor. People who played the first game and wanted to see serious growth will be pleased. There are times when it can feel a bit repetitive. I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if I could have spread the experience out over weeks, picking away at segments and really building up to those major sieges. But the Nemesis system does feel stronger this time around, with orcs that can be rather delightful as you continually fight them or prepare them to serve your own purposes in your army. If you don't take the story too seriously, you should have a good enough time.
Despite stiff competition from the likes of Lord of the Rings Online, The Battle For Middle-earth and War In The North, Middle-earth: Shadow of War takes its rightful place on the throne as the greatest Lord of the Rings videogame in history.
It's hard work following a sleeper hit, and at times Shadow of War looks like it's trying to do too much over too wide an area for a bit too long. Its storylines run the gamut from deftly handled through to daft, and ludicrous liberties are taken with Tolkien's characters and lore.
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 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.
If you spent more than a few hours with Shadow of Mordor, there's little doubt you'll find plenty of reasons to do the same with Shadow of War . And there's little reason to think anyone curious about the first game wouldn't find plenty to love in the sequel.
It's time to go back to the Midde-earth and Shadow of War is the ideal choice. Story, atmosphere, gameplay. This trio manages to satisy the player.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is an amazing game. The unique Nemesis system gives us better world design and Orc encounters leading to a truly enjoyable experience.
The second part of the Middle-earth series and its release after more than three years of the first game, an excellent leap for the series, the world has become larger and diverse better shape with the addition of many abilities to the main character and refine the story very well and add influential side characters plus the nature of warfare is a beautiful and distinctive atmosphere For the game.
Review in Arabic | Read full review