Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Middle-earth: Shadow of War from Monolith Productions is a sequel to Shadow of Mordor that expands its Nemesis system with a much larger open world, fortresses to conquer, and more complex relationships between orc captains. The player once again controls the ranger Talion, bound to the spirit of the elf Celebrimbor, and builds their own army of orcs in Mordor, using it to defend conquered fortresses and attack enemy ones. The combat system loosely follows the style of the Batman: Arkham games with fluid chains of attacks, dodges, and stealth takedowns, enriched with the ability to enslave defeated captains and turn them against their own faction.

On Xbox One the game offered a sprawling world divided into several regions, each with its own fortresses and unique orc captains whose personalities, strengths, and weaknesses are procedurally generated, so no playthrough is ever the same. The game was surrounded by controversy at launch over microtransactions tied to the time-consuming fortress-siege system, which the studio later partially eased and eventually removed the microtransactions entirely. The atmosphere is completed by Tolkien's dark fantasy aesthetic and epic music accompanying the great battles for the fortresses. Despite the initial controversy, Shadow of War is valued today above all for its Nemesis system, which remains one of the most original gameplay mechanics of recent years.

Every orc captain remembers previous encounters with the player, can be scarred, get promoted, or flee the fight like a coward, and this memory turns every battle into a unique, personal story that never plays out the same way twice. Conquering a fortress unfolds as a large-scale siege battle in which the player assembles their own army from subjugated orcs and plans the attack based on the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy captains defending the castle. Compared to Shadow of Mordor, the larger world also offers several distinctly themed regions, from swamps to volcanic wastelands, adding greater visual and tactical variety to the overall journey through Mordor.

Why play it: Thanks to the Nemesis system, where orc captains remember every encounter and carry its scars, and larger siege battles with your own orc army, Shadow of War offers a more varied and personal Mordor than its predecessor.