Middle-earth: Shadow of War Critic Reviews

Everything about this game outdoes the first, and with the expanded Nemesis System, superb combat, and epic story, you'll be immersed for a long time.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a massive and ambitious action game that delivers an epic sense of scale. From single stealthy murders up to the never-ending fortress battles available via online play, Shadow of War is a blast.

Shadow of War fulfills the promise of its predecessor, completing a dark and violent lost tale set within the world of The Lord of the Rings. I was initially frustrated by the liberties that Monolith takes with this beloved fiction (which are plentiful), but I eventually abandoned myself to the insanity, and fell down the rabbit hole into a superb fantasy adventure. Monolith captures the thrill of power with aplomb; the way it simultaneously speaks of its dangers and corrupting potential is the real magic.

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.

Shadow of War improves upon its predecessor in nearly every conceivable way. The story is more engaging and full of fascinating characters, the Nemesis System has been fleshed out to feel deeper and less formulaic, and all the additions to combat and progression are more than welcome. It may not be canon, but this is without a doubt the best game to take place in Tolkien’s expansive universe.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War made us wait a little longer than we expected, but it was worth it. This new chapter brings more maps, more missions, refined gameplay and graphics in a huge, multifaceted experience that's not going to let you down.

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 huge Lord of the Rings experience that’s always enjoyable, although its scale leaves it straining at the seams at times.

The visuals and the unnecessary 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.

Shadow of War brings the video game to epic: it's an exciting tale in Middle-earth, less rich than Christian Cantamessa did with the first one, but at the same time throbbing.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is Lord of the Rings turned up to 11. Improving on nearly every idea from the original Shadow of Mordor game, it’s a gargantuan sequel in both size and scope.

Shadow of War is rich in many ways and surprising again. A game that improves upon Shadow of Mordor enhancing its Nemesis system and the storytelling side.

Monolith Productions managed to deliver a magnificent sequel to Shadow of Mordor. Allowing the players to recruit several types of different orcs that display unpredictable behavior thanks to the Nemesis system is a great experience. Overall, it has improved almost every single area over its predecessor, and the possibility of using dragons as a tool for war is welcomed.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War addressed nearly every flaw of the original game, and its enormous environments help to make the emergent encounters and Nemesis system even more engaging. While its story stumbles early on, the unique stories you’ll get from pressing against your nemeses will keep you coming back to the game for dozens of hours. Even after killing and enslaving countless orcs, we can’t wait to keep making those stories.

With a wealth of new environments and a decent storyline to boot, Middle-earth: Shadow of War doesn’t feel like a forced entry but a great expansion on the original concept. It’s rather funny, too.

With Peter Jackson-quality production values, combat that remains engaging over dozens of hours, and a meaningful story that stays reasonably related to its beloved source material, Middle Earth: Shadow of War is a rare sequel that improves on just about every aspect of the original. Odious micro-transactions and a pace that might be too focused on constant action aside, Shadow of War will please both the fans of Shadow of Mordor and anyone who enjoys quality action games.

A sprawling action-filled epic adventure with a compelling story and a living, breathing world that creates real consequences for your actions and failures. Its post-game Shadow Wars content is understandably polarizing but that shouldn't stop anyone from enjoying the core experience.

At first glance, you might think that there is not much difference between Shadow of War and its predecessor, but as you progress in the game, you’ll notice that it improved almost on every aspect. The world is really huge and with the help of nemesis system, you’ll experience some epic battles that you’ll not forget anytime soon.

Builds on the best bits of the original to become a ruthless, compelling machine of orc conflict.

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.