Middle-earth: Shadow of War

 PlayStation 4
User Score
4.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 1686 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 665 out of 1686
  2. Mixed: 265 out of 1686
  3. Negative: 756 out of 1686
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  1. luckydutch
    Oct 10, 2017
    5
    There's a lot going for this game and the first two acts are pretty good. Unfortunately, the final half of the game is an enormous, tedious grind to collect more and more Orcs and level them all up.

    There are loot box micro transactions and the developers assured everyone before release that the game had been balanced/designed around NOT using them but having played the game, I can now    There's a lot going for this game and the first two acts are pretty good. Unfortunately, the final half of the game is an enormous, tedious grind to collect more and more Orcs and level them all up.

    There are loot box micro transactions and the developers assured everyone before release that the game had been balanced/designed around NOT using them but having played the game, I can now confirm they lied. That horrendous, boring grind at the end of the game is clearly there to strong-arm people into buying those loot boxes.

    There is also a multiplayer mode but it is basically unplayable unless you're sinking lots of money into those boxes because your Orcs can permanently die in that mode so without the loot boxes, you'll need to do hours of grinding in singleplayer between multiplayer matches to replenish your Orcs.

    First few hours were great but I got the game yesterday & I'll probably be selling it back come the weekend because I'll be done with it by then.

    Knowing what I know now, I would have given this one a miss.    … Expand
  2. Bashfulfruit
    Oct 10, 2017
    5
    Year 2017. You can FAIL the mission because you LEFT THE AREA of the mission in an OPEN WORLD GAME. This is ridiculous. Why are you doing this??? I don't understand...
  3. AMasterpieceFan
    Jan 26, 2019
    6
    Bought this game during the "post-microtransactions" era so I didnt experience that microtransaction BS.

    Starting with the positive, the climbing mechanics are good, graphics are good, setting too.The fighting mechanics are also clean (although it can be a spamfest at times). The story is kinda interesting, though may not be still at the same level as Witcher 3 but still decent. The    Bought this game during the "post-microtransactions" era so I didnt experience that microtransaction BS.

    Starting with the positive, the climbing mechanics are good, graphics are good, setting too.The fighting mechanics are also clean (although it can be a spamfest at times). The story is kinda interesting, though may not be still at the same level as Witcher 3 but still decent. The negatives for me are, the cutscenes everytime you meet a captain. It gets really annoying. The lack of a legit save game. I mean, every game should have a basic save your game mechanics but this game has NONE. You need to fast travel to save your progress which is FREAKING STUPID. The repetitiveness also makes me stop playing at some points. Overall, I enjoyed it. It gets addictive as you play. Glad i bought this after the microtransactions BS    … Expand
  4. roundtablegamer
    Oct 16, 2017
    6
    Talion is back in a continuing adventure in the land of Mordor. Following the events of Shadow of Mordor, Monolith Productions and Warner Brothers brings us Shadow of War. Does Shadow of war rule middle earth or should it have been burned and destroyed along with the rings? Let us find out.

    Story: The story picks up right from the events of Shadow of Mordor you are back playing as    Talion is back in a continuing adventure in the land of Mordor. Following the events of Shadow of Mordor, Monolith Productions and Warner Brothers brings us Shadow of War. Does Shadow of war rule middle earth or should it have been burned and destroyed along with the rings? Let us find out.

    Story: The story picks up right from the events of Shadow of Mordor you are back playing as Talion and Celebrimbor. In the very beginning of the game, we see them making a new ring to fight against Sauron and the Azgul. There is a war happening in middle earth in this installment of the series between the Orcs, Uruks and Olacs and the Minas Ithil. You take sides with Minas Ithil to help them win the war; however, down the line you find out there is a traitor in the Minas Ithil. In the story, we run in to new characters that have an effect in the story like Shelob, a woman who can turn in to a big spider, which is cool in my opinion. She takes Celebrimbor as a hostage in exchange for the ring you created, so that she can take on Sauron herself. As the story continues, it became more confusing because there was so much going on with all the different characters and became less interesting as I progressed through it. There are four different acts throughout the story the second being by far the longest.

    Game play: The game play in Shadow of War is pretty much the same as the first one but with more RPG elements. However, it adds a few things as well; we still have the fighting style that we have seen in the Batman series. One thing I really enjoyed and found very annoying at the same time was the fortress raids. In order to progress through some of the story you need to take over these fortresses to clear the region. While doing some of these missions you feel like your weapons are never strong enough to defeat all the captains at one check point, but luckily I was able to beat this game without using the micro transactions. Throughout the game, you will brawl, use stealth, manipulate and climb your way through Gondor. Another feature I found in this game that was a bit tedious was building your own army. How you do this is by recruiting captains after you weaken them and they help you when it is time to do a fortress raid and take on the overlord of the fortress. This is not mandatory but it helps when it comes to difficulty but I just found it tedious. Game play design is not great in this case and unfortunately is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to games. When you clear a camp, it should remain cleared and not have the enemies re-spawn. As you progress through the story you will run in to a fair bit of collectibles like artifacts and memories which are words that go to a poem that unlocks a door and behind that door is a high level armor or weapon.

    Conclusion: Shadow of War is a fun game but by the time, I hit the Twelve-hour mark I felt it became very lack luster, and I just wanted to be finished. It has lot of new additions to compare to the first one, but does not feel as polished. The story is far less interesting and has a lot going on with it between the characters and your character that is becomes hard to follow. With some game play flaws that are very noticeable it becomes very lack luster just a few hours in to the game I struggled just to finish it but the pay off at the end of the game was worth it.

    Shadow of War 6/10 Average    … Expand
  5. lager96
    Oct 26, 2017
    7
    This is not a bad game. This is not a great game. This is a good game that could have been much better. I like a lot about this game, which is why I'm so let down by many aspects of this game. To begin, I love the new fortress system where you can capturing and then defend them. Building your army in a area to then bring them to take a fortress is amazing! It's so rewarding to see yourThis is not a bad game. This is not a great game. This is a good game that could have been much better. I like a lot about this game, which is why I'm so let down by many aspects of this game. To begin, I love the new fortress system where you can capturing and then defend them. Building your army in a area to then bring them to take a fortress is amazing! It's so rewarding to see your effort pay off. Every time you dominate or kill an enemy captain in a fortress assault makes the hours building your army worth it. Even more satisfying, is when you make your way through the fortress and into the overlords room. It is the best feeling when you get that killing blow and take the fortress for you and your army. However, after the first three time it can get very repetitive. This can be due to how many times you need to do this (especially in Act IV: Shadow Wars). The amount of times must do this to complete the game is ridiculous. It is enjoyable when it naturally occurs but act IV outstays its welcome and leaves a sour taste in your mouth. The combat is also has positives and negatives. When you are facing three or four orcs it is smooth and fun but when you are facing large groups (like in the fortresses) it begins to show it flaws. Many times I was wanted to vault over a normal orc but Talion decided to jump over an olog just to have it throw me to the ground every time. This type of thing happened to often and completely ruined to flow of the combat. Even when I tired to use of finisher on a captain the game would use it on a grunt orc and waste it. The story is around 20 hours (not including shadow wars) and is okay. There are some cool things but nothing that sticks out to me and nothing I will remember in years to come. I also noticed that many of the orcs look and often have very similar names. This happened few and far between in the first game and it seems to happen even more often here. The amount of times I have seen an almost identical captain is insane and makes it an inferior system compared to the original game. The loot crates may be to blame for this because of how easy you can unlock captains. You can buy crates and get 100+ captains easy so the orcs will begin to look very similar. It may sound like I completely dislike this game but I don't. The story, mixed with the random events, plus the fortresses made for a fun 20ish hours. After you complete the third act, the game wares out its welcome and becomes very repetitive. I'm fine with some repetitive tacks but when the game is only repetitive, without the story to distract me, it get bored. This is a game that is good but was held back by a lot of small issues. Tolkien is probably rolling over in his grave by the violence being added in the world he created, hahaha.… Expand
  6. SuperkenGaming
    Oct 27, 2017
    7
    Middle Earth Shadow of War
    Lacking Soul
    I’m about to break most of your hearts, I didn’t like shadow of war as much as every other reviewer… As to me this game feels like a soulless cash grab Shadow of War is the sequel to the much better middle earth shadow of Mordor.. You once again play as Talion who sets out to bring balance to middle earth... As a less personal story compared to    Middle Earth Shadow of War
    Lacking Soul
    I’m about to break most of your hearts, I didn’t like shadow of war as much as every other reviewer…
    As to me this game feels like a soulless cash grab
    Shadow of War is the sequel to the much better middle earth shadow of Mordor..
    You once again play as Talion who sets out to bring balance to middle earth...
    As a less personal story compared to the first... the game struggled to keep my attention with its story or world…
    Basically Shadow of War feels like more of the same with none of the heart…
    It’s a cash grab riding off of the success of the original…
    The world is much larger this time, but bigger isn’t always better as every area in this game feels generic and unmemorable…
    Back are the assassins creed like syncing point that lets you scout out this games collectables to unlock new moves in the skill tree…
    Skill wise there isn’t anything special…
    You’ll easily have every skill unlocked by time you reach the end of act 3 which takes around 19 hours.. and is the base of this games story…
    skills for the most part unlock moves you had in the first game though they have 1 of 3 modifiers that take away their annoyances from the first game like allowing celebrimbor to counter attacks while you’re doing a ground finish or add an elemental effect to a special attack like poison or fire for example…
    There’s also a really cool weapon and rune system here where you can craft runes to give you boosts like xp or life drain.. and each rare, epic, and legendary weapon or clothing item has a challenge attached to them that will unlock a perk… giving a little personality to each
    These items of course picked up off of orcs with the same rarity
    Getting rid of the annoyances is the best shadow of war does, you’re now able to run extremely fast taking away the annoying fleeing enemy moments and there’s a cool double jump added to the parquor making you feel like you’re a super hero running through the game..
    Which honestly may be the reason I feel this world is so forgettable…
    I’m able to get around it so quickly that I never had the opportunity to notice or care about my surroundings…
    a new change that I’m not a fan of is the fact that special moves are now tied to a meter instead of attack chains… of course this meter is the only way to make this games boss encounters work... but I felt like I was less in control and that building up uninterrupted attack chains was unrewarded…
    a mix of both systems in the next game if one comes would be cool… where successful chains fills the meter at a faster rate than were given here….
    There’s also an eleven rage meter that lets you unleash multiple attacks while invincible, but this meter takes so ridiculously long to fill up that it might as well not even exist... I used it probably 4 times my entire time playing because I would save it as a just in case thing…
    The nemesis system is back once again but this time the game from the jump is focused on domination after the first act...
    It’s up to you to go and capture 4 towers to get to the end of the games story…
    though I found myself gaining followers naturally through story, I didn’t have to do much hunting towards the end…however in the first few hours, this domination thing is annoying as you’re only able to capture orcs at your same level or lower…
    you’re able to humiliate them and lower their level.. But all this does is make them run away and forces you to have to go find them again somewhere else…
    this to me felt like the game just wasting the players time...
    I see no harm in letting the player just take the orc at a lower level and letting them move on..
    With your orcs you can command them to kill other orcs or prove themselves and become the bodyguard of a warchief... you can assign an orc to be your bodyguard to help you in combat…you can also go capture the bodyguards of warchiefs and have them betray… making their battles easier as you can take out each warchief individually to lower the level of a fortress greatly with each one…
    While you’re doing these hunts and gathering intel for the weakness on your next target you have to be warry of how you treat your followers, as they’re able to betray you as well…
    and once you feel you’re ready to take on a fortress you assign your orcs to positions, you give them weapons and armies to increase your odds of success and you charge in to take what’s yours…
    The review has a bit of a negative tone, but Shadow of War is a really good game….
    Its more of the really great shadow of Mordor with deeper systems and less annoyances…
    But to me it also has less heart and soul…
    This is an enjoyable experience.. But a very forgettable one…
    I give Middle Earth Shadow of War
    a 7.5/10    … Expand
  7. Gohax
    Oct 18, 2017
    6
    Ok so before i start the review i just want to say that the whole game not counting the endgame doesn't need any microtransactions, i had a high score for this game but the endgame runied it by blocking the true ending with act 4 shadow wars which is basiclly 10 stages of defending all your fortress which is kinda fun i guess but takes a lot of in game curenncy and here is where theOk so before i start the review i just want to say that the whole game not counting the endgame doesn't need any microtransactions, i had a high score for this game but the endgame runied it by blocking the true ending with act 4 shadow wars which is basiclly 10 stages of defending all your fortress which is kinda fun i guess but takes a lot of in game curenncy and here is where the microtransactions shine i refused to continue playing and stopped after stage 2 this game had a lot coming for it and i really dont want to give out pros and cons because i dont want people playing this game and supporting that endgame microtransactions bullcrap so ill just say this
    i Spent 26 hours on the game and could Spent more but i could not do 10 stages of defened the fortress becuase it takes so much ingame money to do it and if you fail you have to retake it and then defened it again the whole thing is a pain

    the game it self is great but the endgame just ruined it this game had a lot of potential and could be a 9/10
    but greed ruined it my final score to shadow of war is 6/10 but again i do not recommend it at all because of the endgame    … Expand
  8. Hyriu
    Oct 30, 2017
    7
    Great game good gameplay but also lootbox grind + market i just wish i could play as one of the Orcs :D
    gameplay has added features but feels almost same as its predecessor
  9. WalkingMoore
    Jan 7, 2018
    5
    You know what I can say?
    4 act - a simulator of monotonous actions to capture towers.
    3 act - a good production, excellent CGI videos, the plot in this act is greater than in all the others combined. Act 2 - we are taught how to capture the towers in the middle of the earth, which is quite, at first, not bad and it looks interesting. I advise you not to kill the leaders, so that the    You know what I can say?
    4 act - a simulator of monotonous actions to capture towers.
    3 act - a good production, excellent CGI videos, the plot in this act is greater than in all the others combined.
    Act 2 - we are taught how to capture the towers in the middle of the earth, which is quite, at first, not bad and it looks interesting. I advise you not to kill the leaders, so that the attacks were as in gameplay, commercials, commercials, at least were approached to this.
    1 act - enter the world, introduce some characters and give the ground for a good story, which did not happen.

    In general, the game is monotonous, the visual design is nothing, the graphics are bad, nothing new, except the towers, in comparison with the previous game - no. The plot leaves a lot of questions about the characters, which, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ simply forgot. Yes, there are characters about whom they forgot at the stage of developing a new act, but yes, it's right - ♥♥♥♥♥♥ with him, we'll better introduce lutboks.

    And yes, defenders of lootboxes, you are just hydrocephalus, amoeba, you have a cognitive distortion. In general, you ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ f, stupid, dolbaebi with aberration. These objects with binary thinking will ask: "Well, why do you allow such a talk?", Yes because, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Lutboks kill a single game and it's wrong. I would write a full opinion on this, but too much text for too small audience (those who will read this review). The game does not convey the atmosphere of the Lord of the Rings.

    I recommend only to those who want to come after work / school and kill time for the liquidation of orcs.

    The final score is 5/10, not including lootboxes. Mediocre.    … Expand
  10. Reddrag0852
    Oct 10, 2017
    6
    Ok, in the name of impartiality, I will ignore the micro-transaction ****
    The game is still very empty and void of LOTR lore.
    Literally the exact same Issues I had with the first game.

    There is no LOTR, it's just an orc killing simulator.
    Fun but disappointing.
  11. Cashmoney900000
    Dec 12, 2017
    7
    So I just completed the main storyline. Overall gameplay has expanded upon what was already in place, I enjoyed it throughly WITH a few issues. The timing doesnt always seem like line up. The enemies ability to adapt is annoying when some of them have only one weakness to begin with (i.e. shield enemies need to be vaulted over, then they adapt and you can no longer do that). The storySo I just completed the main storyline. Overall gameplay has expanded upon what was already in place, I enjoyed it throughly WITH a few issues. The timing doesnt always seem like line up. The enemies ability to adapt is annoying when some of them have only one weakness to begin with (i.e. shield enemies need to be vaulted over, then they adapt and you can no longer do that). The story line was pretty good, it surprised me. I haven't got into the lootboxes yet, but it has gotten kind of grindy. Imagine Pokemon where you can only catch a pokemon at your trainers level. The game can probably be beaten in 1 sitting. Maybe around 8 to 12 hours of storyline gameplay only. Subquest and just going around merking s*** is what makes this game fun for me. ALSO I bought it at black friday. It is not worth more than 30$ imo. Not a bad game, just not long enough, and to combat that they add extensive grinding to compensate lack of content. Fun. But has its issues. Also f*** the lootboxes, Im not with that movement, at all.… Expand
  12. ryuujin
    Oct 19, 2017
    7
    Shadow of war takes the nemesis system from the last game and blows it out of the water. This game improves on every part of it and the combat is also much better. I bought the gold edition and got the platinum without spending any extra money and the time spent was well worth the money. While many people play a game for its story, this game has a much weaker story than the predecessor andShadow of war takes the nemesis system from the last game and blows it out of the water. This game improves on every part of it and the combat is also much better. I bought the gold edition and got the platinum without spending any extra money and the time spent was well worth the money. While many people play a game for its story, this game has a much weaker story than the predecessor and doesn't improve the relationship between Talion and Celebrimbor. Even still though, the game was fun to play the highlight was the amount of personality that the orcs had. The game is good and definitely a must buy, even if it has an iffy story and the fourth act being a slight grind.… Expand
  13. ToxicJimmy
    Dec 3, 2017
    7
    First off, I understand the bad user score and overall microtransactions have really gotten out of hand. BUT, how Shadow of War implements them is not completely ruining the game. If you choose to ignore the microtransactions it makes the game a little more grindy. However due to SOW's fantastic nemesis system it kind of makes it into an OK grind and still manages to keep it as anFirst off, I understand the bad user score and overall microtransactions have really gotten out of hand. BUT, how Shadow of War implements them is not completely ruining the game. If you choose to ignore the microtransactions it makes the game a little more grindy. However due to SOW's fantastic nemesis system it kind of makes it into an OK grind and still manages to keep it as an interesting experience.

    You can still obtain orc followers, training orders and items from "regular chests" bought with in-game-gained currency which is really easy to farm on higher levels. Basically all the microtransactions do are ensure that you get a legendary item or legendary orc follower, which defeats the whole sense of purpose and accomplishment that already is present in the game if you play it normally. I don't feel forced to purchase loot boxes to enjoy the good qualities of the game.

    With that out of the way:

    Pros

    ++ Nemesis System
    ++ Movement and Combat
    + A lot of skills with many variations
    + Graphics and Performance (Played on PS4 Pro)
    + Orc Pit Fights
    + Fortress Battles (Both offline and online)
    + Some updates are free without the need of a season pass
    + No crashes (personally)
    + Voice Acting (Except Talions generic dialogue)
    + Better story boss battles than Shadow of Mordor, even though some bosses are very "copy-paste"
    + Story is interesting at times

    Cons

    -- Loot boxes
    - Obsolete gear and item system
    - The need to occasionally enter the slow and laggy market section to purchase chests for in-game currency (mainly training orders)
    - Mediocre main character
    - Some glitches (like getting stuck) may require game restart
    - Repetitive Act 4 and Nemesis missions
    - Slow and grindy progression in late-game

    I totally understand if people won't buy the game simply because of the disgusting microtransactions, it's just that they're missing out on the awesome game that lies beneath the pile of **** if they can't see past them.    … Expand
  14. Valtazarkane
    Oct 19, 2017
    5
    A strong middle-aged man. A strong middle-aged man.A strong middle-aged man.A strong middle-aged man.A strong middle-aged man.A strong middle-aged man.A strong middle-aged man.
  15. Ps4player
    Nov 2, 2017
    6
    read this review of middle earth shadow of war. every single user review i have seen only talk about micro transactions and nothing else. the gameplay is good and builds up from the last game with more to do in this world. the siege of towers is a ton of fun to do and has replay value to it. the story is underwhelming overall but that was expected when i went into this game. the nemesisread this review of middle earth shadow of war. every single user review i have seen only talk about micro transactions and nothing else. the gameplay is good and builds up from the last game with more to do in this world. the siege of towers is a ton of fun to do and has replay value to it. the story is underwhelming overall but that was expected when i went into this game. the nemesis system, is still fun to use and what they added to it makes it even better. even though it has pros it still has cons. yes the micro transactions do ruin the fun of getting all the loot yourself instead of just buying it. the game has buggy issues for when it comes to combat and even just looking at your army. i would wait for a sale if i were you to get this game because right now it is not worth the full 90$ you have to pay for it i think 60$ (U.S PRICE IS FINE).… Expand
  16. Rodrigo23
    May 17, 2018
    7
    This game really disappointed me. The world is full of useless secondary activities and stuffing to give a feeling that "there are many things to do". The mission menu is messy and confusing. The story is terribly boring, and the characters without charisma and for oblivion. The new multiplayer mode does not add much. The best thing is the nemesis system, the orcs are the only thing and the best.
  17. MrRPG
    Oct 10, 2017
    5
    The game play, soundtrack and story are all good, Improvements have been made on all the predecessors features.
    This game's biggest flaw is the greed of the studio, no single player game should have micro-transactions, this has been repeated a lot in the comments section and I have to agree with it all, we have to take a stand against these practices especially when the game play it's    The game play, soundtrack and story are all good, Improvements have been made on all the predecessors features.
    This game's biggest flaw is the greed of the studio, no single player game should have micro-transactions, this has been repeated a lot in the comments section and I have to agree with it all, we have to take a stand against these practices especially when the game play it's self pushes the player through artificial difficulty spikes in an attempt to garner micro-transactions. That said the core game is still very good.    … Expand
  18. northernlad
    Oct 11, 2017
    6
    just started act two been on shadow of war most of the day my very first thought that comes to mind is disappointment the games combat is the same as the first which works fine but the start is terrible the games been filled with mindless fluff story is drivel the world seems well crafted and orks are great but i have to say as a massive fan of the first game which i still own and playjust started act two been on shadow of war most of the day my very first thought that comes to mind is disappointment the games combat is the same as the first which works fine but the start is terrible the games been filled with mindless fluff story is drivel the world seems well crafted and orks are great but i have to say as a massive fan of the first game which i still own and play this is a major step backwards graphics dont make a game and game content shoved behind microtransactions is a joke all in all a average game at best shame as i had really high hopes for this--- update it's just the same grind over and over pretty much using the fabled batman gameplay mechanic the game world feels far to light losing the dark and gritty feel of the first and anyone who thinks this story is good well each to there own first game a surprising almost a master peace in my humble opinion but this is not garbage but very average there's better games out there simple fact i'd advise anyone to wait for abit before jumping into a full price game here… Expand
  19. Mortalus
    Oct 26, 2017
    7
    Let me tell you a story, Mortalus bought Shadow of War, Mortalus did not cry like a little **** about micro-transactions that are totally nonessential to the game. Mortalus on the other hand enjoyed the new upgraded nemesis system (which is now nuts), loot, running and jumping all over Mordor, collecting stuff, Mortalus died like 20 times on the hardest difficulty totally having fun. BeLet me tell you a story, Mortalus bought Shadow of War, Mortalus did not cry like a little **** about micro-transactions that are totally nonessential to the game. Mortalus on the other hand enjoyed the new upgraded nemesis system (which is now nuts), loot, running and jumping all over Mordor, collecting stuff, Mortalus died like 20 times on the hardest difficulty totally having fun. Be like Mortalus.

    Edit: As I finished the game, I must say the story was nice, but the game does not end, and that is where it all fell apart, you basicially need to achieve max level to get to the secret ending, I ended somewhere near level 50 with all my quests done, so all you are left with is killing orc captains, but I dominated all of them, so everything I was left with was shun my orcs from my army and then kill them, but it takes a lot of time, to get from level 47 to 48 you need to do 70 captain missions. It does get repetitive, it is very big grind to full level, I do not know why developers went this way, Still microtransactions are not needed, maybe those XP boosts might come in hand, to new players I might recommend gem your armor with XP gems and play on lower difficulty as you will not get extra health from green gems which you will sacrifice for the white ones, maybe this way you will be able to get extra XP from quests and actually finish the game for cut scene that lasts +- 1m30s. Overall the game was pretty fun until ACT 4.

    (I do support these micro-transactions as it is a way for developers to make some extra money for their hard effort, as far as they do not push you to buy those boxes, you do not need them at all, not a little bit.)    … Expand
  20. Sceptic
    Oct 20, 2017
    5
    A genuinely excellent game marred by a lootbox system.While it's true that they are not necessary,the endgame is clearly designed to "encourage" players who have little time or patience to repetitively grind,and to purchase fast tracks to success.This is disgusting.So after spending a huge amount of time(In the pits mostly) grinding my way to 100% completion,I'll give this game a 10 forA genuinely excellent game marred by a lootbox system.While it's true that they are not necessary,the endgame is clearly designed to "encourage" players who have little time or patience to repetitively grind,and to purchase fast tracks to success.This is disgusting.So after spending a huge amount of time(In the pits mostly) grinding my way to 100% completion,I'll give this game a 10 for the first 80%,minus 5 for the insidious,predatory single player lootbox system.… Expand
  21. Aginagala
    Nov 13, 2017
    6
    Although the game can be buggy at times an improved story, improved combat system, improved nemesis system and a huge open world cannot take away the fact that this was a great game and thoroughly enjoyable. I finished the story to a point where I couldn't stop there and simply carried on afterwards. I found new monsters such as drakes a great implementation, and were fun to upgrade withAlthough the game can be buggy at times an improved story, improved combat system, improved nemesis system and a huge open world cannot take away the fact that this was a great game and thoroughly enjoyable. I finished the story to a point where I couldn't stop there and simply carried on afterwards. I found new monsters such as drakes a great implementation, and were fun to upgrade with the improved RPG system, giving a feeling of satisfaction when leveling and finally being able to ride one. Moreover I found the leveling system on the whole in the game extremely satisfying to unlock new move sets, and skills to aid me on my journey.

    Finding a legendary captain felt scary and when you are ambushed at the point of almost killing another captain for your army it feels very real. To build on this you see betrayals against you, betrayals against the warchiefs, seemingly a much more real and immersive feeling surrounded the game this time, as mini stories were built up within your armies and at points I felt small bonds connected to particular captains that stuck with me or helped me in situations I did not expect.

    The game built on the best bits of the former game creating a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The gigantic battles that were the sieges were perhaps the best part of this game, with huge and reasonably challenging battles, and more than enough choice to plan how you can attack. I feel the first, fight and capture part was reasonably easy however the Overlords themselves are no push over. Each with unique and tough abilities, interesting designs and never feeling samey due to lazy design, fighting them always felt like a new experience, the setting, the time taken to get there was beautifully crafted.

    However... the game is let down due to the gambling aspect of it. This game has succumbed to micro transactions, another let down of a great game. It was unnecessary and could have been completely avoided and been a fantastic game without it. Moreover due to these micro transactions the end game was a lot more grindy than enjoyable and with a lack luster ending. Moreover, the fact that the micro transaction aspect of the game is always in your face, when you're spending hours after hours grinding the same things over and over, it becomes tempting which I do not like at all, and for younger gamers I'm sure it would be more than enough to convince them to purchase something in this. However in 2017 it no longer surprises me when Triple A titles contain micro-transactions, it could have easily been left out and felt like a much more satisfying experience after grinding all your huge army up, rather than knowing that someone had skipped all that and simply bought their way into most probably a better position than you. Without these, it would have easily had a lot of better reviews and been a much more well appreciated game, it's part of what made the first game fun, the feeling that you were at the bottom and had to make your way up the ranks of orcs with no other way of simply cheating/buying your way up there. A fantastic game let down by greed..    … Expand
  22. cas514
    Nov 3, 2017
    5
    Update:

    I've been playing this for about 80 hours now and im still not done.. Great right? yea i guess but something dawn on me that made me put the game down and made me stop playing. So legendary orcs, where the **** are they? I remember at the start of the game when i was in the first map, I had an orc become legendary after coming back to in my first 5 hours of the game. Then one    Update:

    I've been playing this for about 80 hours now and im still not done.. Great right? yea i guess but something dawn on me that made me put the game down and made me stop playing. So legendary orcs, where the **** are they? I remember at the start of the game when i was in the first map, I had an orc become legendary after coming back to in my first 5 hours of the game. Then one day i came back home tired and i just wanted to get a quick kill in and I mistakenly agreed to the agreement at the start of the game which shows up every-time you boot up the game which enables the online mode and now im 80 hours in and I barely get nemesis to come back to life, and barely get legendary orcs. This is a clear indication that the ****ing loot boxes effect the balance of this game greatly. It's disgusting that it had to come to this.

    First Impression ( Will Update): First off im only maybe 4 hours into the game:

    Graphics: Look worse than the first game, textures on the orcs especially look stretched out and blurry and its especially noticeable on my 4k TV. This is probably due to the scale of the game. The open world is bigger (for no reason) so the graphics had to take a hit. It's unfortunate that dev still believe bigger maps equals better game. Talions face model looks better so does the models for the other humans.

    Gameplay: Same as the first but it doesn't feel as fluid or as responsive as the first game. The reused animation from the first game still look great but the combat doest feel like a dance like the first did. Maybe it will feel better when I unlock more skills. One skill i absolutely hate and breaks the flow the combat animation is the new Staff they force you to use. I never want to use this thing, the animation when you use it feels so clunky and unsatisfying. I hope I can turn it off later.

    Lootboxes. I did not agree to the terms in the beginning so i wont have to deal with any loot boxes or multiplayer nonsense but of course I will continue to get prompted to agree anytime I boot up the game because they really want me to use the market which I never ever will. I wont know until later in the game wether or not the loot boxes will effect the game or not so we shall see. if it does I will promptly change the score to a 0 if i feel like the game is effected. I don't mind grinding as long as its fun and progression is fair but if this starts feeling like a cell phone game im going to lose it.

    Supporting Characters: I already hate them.

    Story: Not Sure, The intro to the game did nothing for me tho. Felt poorly executed. But i will update as soon as I beat the game

    I payed $18 dollars for this game so I won't feel too bad if it disappoints me but i hope that it doesn't because Mordor is one of my favorite games of all time.    … Expand
  23. Kamarr
    Oct 24, 2017
    5
    This game is nowhere near a 10 nor is it a 0 pretty dumb how the gaming community is fighting between these two scores. So here is a real review.

    This game is an overhaul of the first game if you liked the first game then you will LOVE this one pretty much same controls and the game is fluid at times. I thoroughly enjoy the rag doll effects that happen sometimes really releases the    This game is nowhere near a 10 nor is it a 0 pretty dumb how the gaming community is fighting between these two scores. So here is a real review.

    This game is an overhaul of the first game if you liked the first game then you will LOVE this one pretty much same controls and the game is fluid at times. I thoroughly enjoy the rag doll effects that happen sometimes really releases the stress when fighting tons of enemies.
    The Nemesis system has been improved dramatically but the RNG of seeing descent orcs is very icky which tries to capture you into paying real money to get them quick Epic/Legendary Orcs.(I'll go more into that later.)
    They dubbed down the graphics engine but easily understandable as there are usually 15-25 orcs at a time on screen so better performance. There are some minor issues I have with some of the clunky controls like lets say I try to roll dodge away from an enemy instead I try to roll over an enemy that has vault breaker(can't roll over these orcs). Another thing is how great it is to climb just about anything now it does get lame at times cause more times than not as you chase some enemies it will cause you to climb a wall as you run through like an underpass which is ANNOYING as Im chasing an orc not trying to climb to Mt.Everest. The game seems to be crazy grindy once you hit lvl 45ish+ which is ok as the game is a lot longer than the first but the story is very short and usually only grants about 15lvls through all of them.

    Now to talk about End game and if you need super strong orcs for the last part of the game. The answer for it is no a good player can easily make a difference in how easy the game is and setting up proper equipment can help you out dramatically. Like I carry 3 different swords all aiming for a different thing. Same with Daggers and Chest piece. Also if you can get the lvl 20-30 cloak to drop that restores ALL health on stealth atk keep it forever!! As it doesn't drop at higher lvls. Now the whole idea buying orcs cause the RNG of orcs appearing in rarity is utter trash and it really kills the game for me but I managed to make common orcs work as long as they have only 2 weakness or just 1 cause it happens and they can be a great addition to the team if you don't wanna spend $$. Now spending $$ to get the high lvl orcs for ranked play is bs to heres an example. I spend 20usd and get an legendary orc army then go attack someone on Ranked play during the battle an orc you just BOUGHT dies there goes 5usd lost. They really need to fix this issue as its not ok to sell push to win buttons in a Single player game. But just about everything else this game hits silver for me. Seeing my Nemesis form the previous game was really worth it as he kicked my butt so much and my warchief that joined was AMAZING!!

    Now would I recommend buying this? Yes I would but I would stray away from Micro Transactions unless you do the daily quests and earn them that way. They really could have high 8-10 scores with this game but I feel they worked so painfully hard on the Micro Transactions they missed an amazing opportunity.    … Expand
  24. holiday_hawk
    Oct 18, 2017
    6
    I'd like to start by saying that micro-transactions have almost no affect on the game. I'm one trophy away from beating the game while platinuming it on PS4 and have not spent a cent on the game. If today's gaming community is foolish enough to buy them then I can't blame the developers for putting them in. With that said, Shadow of War is one of the most frustrating experiences I've hadI'd like to start by saying that micro-transactions have almost no affect on the game. I'm one trophy away from beating the game while platinuming it on PS4 and have not spent a cent on the game. If today's gaming community is foolish enough to buy them then I can't blame the developers for putting them in. With that said, Shadow of War is one of the most frustrating experiences I've had in a while. I had such high hopes going into to it after absolutely loving the first one (getting a platinum trophy on the regular and GOTY edition). Parts of SoW are really good, almost 9/10 good, but these parts are surrounded by a couple dozen hours of what is essentially frustrating time killer missions. There are far too many collectables, far too many missions for each faction, and the end-game fortress capture is horrible. I can't believe that when this game was playtested (and it's polished enough that I know it was well playtested) no one said "doing the same type of mission four times isn't fun, how about making fewer, but more memorable missions." If you're doing Gondor missions, be prepared to untie lots of soldiers, if you're doing Carnan missions be prepared to destroy lots of necromancer totems, and so on and so on. Without spoiling why, I'll just say that the final chapter of the game requires to defend your forts over and over again, each fort multiple times. This mechanic goes from amazing to beyond annoying so quickly. I found myself tired of it before the final act. The controls still need work, and this is unacceptable. The studio straight lifted the controls from Assassins' Creed, so they really only needed to fine tune AC's wonky controls. Instead, we're still left with controls that will have you climbing up walls when you don't want to, not climbing up walls when you want to, draining an orc off screen rather than the broken captain, and more. The worst part of all this is that buried in the middle of this tedious borefest is a great game. Some really fun, memorable missions are hidden in here. The new features such as pit fights and fort attacks are really fun at first too. It's only with an insane amount of repetition that they become aggravating. If you go into this game with a completionist mentality you're going to have a bad time. If you go into it thinking you'll just hit up the main story quest then it would be a really fun game. The developers should have left it a short, fun romp leaving you wanting more instead of a long, drawn out process leaving you wishing it was over.… Expand
  25. shiftyman
    Oct 27, 2017
    5
    Just on 20 hours in and it’s the most boring, repetitive game of 2017, there’s hardly any difference to the first one. The story is c grade trash. Zzzzzzzzz.
  26. Azula-1994
    Oct 12, 2017
    7
    Shadow of War...

    Gameplay: The gameplay in Shadow of War is brilliant, I never get tired of killing orcs, Uruk's and other enemies, there are so many different combat options you can use to take down your foe. Graphics: The Graphics aren't terrible but I don't really see any improvement compared to Shadow of Mordor. Story: The story is way over the top and as much as they tried to    Shadow of War...

    Gameplay: The gameplay in Shadow of War is brilliant, I never get tired of killing orcs, Uruk's and other enemies, there are so many different combat options you can use to take down your foe.

    Graphics: The Graphics aren't terrible but I don't really see any improvement compared to Shadow of Mordor.

    Story: The story is way over the top and as much as they tried to tie into the trilogy it just doesn't make much sense.

    Do the Microtransactions take anything away from the game? the answer is yes and no. The game overall is solid, but the microtransactions and loot-crates are in the game and are very noticeable. The biggest issue is the end game where the ending is locked behind tedious grinding defending all of your forts successfully or you can fast track that by buying legendary orcs/uruks/trolls... overall at its core it is a great game that has lost part of its soul by corporate greed.    … Expand
  27. ryanjolly1
    Oct 13, 2017
    7
    People giving this a 0 because there's microtransactions. If they actually played the game they would know they are absolutely unnecessary and you don't have to buy crates to win, it's not pay to win, it's pay to get stronger.
    The story is fantastic, which is obviously expected from one of the biggest franchises in modern history. The combat is still in my opinion the best combat out    People giving this a 0 because there's microtransactions. If they actually played the game they would know they are absolutely unnecessary and you don't have to buy crates to win, it's not pay to win, it's pay to get stronger.
    The story is fantastic, which is obviously expected from one of the biggest franchises in modern history. The combat is still in my opinion the best combat out there in gaming, very fast, very slick. The loot change was needed in my opinion from the first one. Where you just got runes to upgrade your gear, you now drop new weapons and armour, along with upgrades and runes to make them more powerful.
    The reason I gave this an 7 and not a 10 is simply because of it's price tag, yes, microtransactions and bugs. $60 for a single player game with very small multiplayer implementations, and that's only the base game. You'll need to fork out extra for expansions if you didn't buy the higher editions of the game. It's wrong to have microtransactions, but, they aren't something you need to buy to beat the game, yes you need to grind for better gear to be able to finish the game, but overall, it's something to give you a boost, nothing more. BUT, having said that, WB are a disgrace, and being a multi billion dollar publisher, it's very wrong to ask for MORE money like they are, especially when you have 3 editions of your game.
    So, to the people giving this game a 0 simply because of MT's, you're idiots who simply haven't even played the game, who're following the crowd because it's not "cool" to hate on video games without even using the brain you was given.    … Expand
  28. lolifofo
    Nov 22, 2017
    6
    Having played and loved Shadow of Mordor, I was very disappointed in this sequel, mainly due to the campaign, which is so short and fragmented, it is practically non-existent. The game-play is fun like in the original game, and with a few new added elements, but it is not enough to make up for the lackluster narrative. Another huge flaw is the last act in the campaign, which is theHaving played and loved Shadow of Mordor, I was very disappointed in this sequel, mainly due to the campaign, which is so short and fragmented, it is practically non-existent. The game-play is fun like in the original game, and with a few new added elements, but it is not enough to make up for the lackluster narrative. Another huge flaw is the last act in the campaign, which is the grindiest portion I've played in any video game, regardless of whether or not you purchase loot boxes with real money. I didn't, and it didn't affect my experience whatsoever because you collect enough in-game currency as you play to get those loot boxes. You certainly don't need to spend real money. For those who played Shadow of Mordor; don't get Shadow of War unless you REALLY love brutally killing orcs because that's all you're getting here. It lacks the epic and fun experience and novelty of the original. For those who haven't played the original yet, just go get it and skip this one.… Expand
  29. notlaw
    Nov 8, 2017
    7
    shadow of war loot box arrrhhh score 0-0-0-0- haha I dont play online say I can happily say I didn't encounter any of it. The game itself is more or less just as good as the last the orcs themselves dont look quite as polished but with alot more variety it doesn't really matter. the story is abit of a hit and a miss but so was the last one. Shame about the massive grind wall at the endshadow of war loot box arrrhhh score 0-0-0-0- haha I dont play online say I can happily say I didn't encounter any of it. The game itself is more or less just as good as the last the orcs themselves dont look quite as polished but with alot more variety it doesn't really matter. the story is abit of a hit and a miss but so was the last one. Shame about the massive grind wall at the end that is what made me give it a 7 and not higher. Making you either pay or grind is really a poor decision by the developers but does it make this game a zero? Nah.… Expand
  30. Bob_Paulson
    Nov 9, 2017
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'm very happy with this game except for 2 very distinct reasons:

    The Captain and War Chief endless speeches become very annoying. There needs to be a way to disable this "feature". A little bit is fine, but some of these bosses go on FOREVER.

    The second issue I have and is a huge let down for me is Act 4: Shadow Wars. It's just a series of defending your territories over and over and over again. This is just plain STUPID. If you want to play a never ending campaign of defending your castles, that's fine. Add it as an option. But to be part of the actual story line is a huge let down for an otherwise fantastic game. I feel like this was just added as filler and has no real purpose nor adds any value to the game itself. If the story is essentially ended after Act 3, then why add this? It really makes no logical sense.

    Honestly, the micro transactions really don't mean anything to me. I really don't care if it's there or not. I'm not going to spend any additional money on this game and I really don't have to pay attention to it if I want. I do spend the in game Miriin to add new Captains to my armies. But that's it.

    This game started out with a fantastic premise and has a great story line to continue the tale of Talion. But in the end I feel it falls way short of the original game Shadow of Mordor. I feel that scoring it as a 7 is a bit generous, but the overall game play is every bit as fantastic as the first game and what story there is, is also very well done. No game is perfect, but what's odd here is the game designers gave us too much of a good thing. For me the game is equal parts over the top good and over the top bad. In this case, a little bit less of both would have made a much better overall game.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

65
#65 Best PS4 Game of 2017
12
#12 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
13
#13 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 69
  3. Negative: 0 out of 69
  1. CD-Action
    Dec 19, 2017
    80
    I was annoyed by various flaws (both technical and design-related) and tedious, dragged out final stages of the campaign, but overall I enjoyed the ride. It looks like the developers wanted to stuff the game with all the best elements Middle-earth has to offer. Shadow of War’s atmosphere is terrific and watching Talion rise in power is surprisingly addictive. [12/2017, p.62]
  2. Cubed3
    Nov 26, 2017
    70
    A handful of issues, some much more annoying than others, do not negate how solid of an action RPG Middle-earth: Shadow of War is. A tremendous achievement for the team at Monolith Productions, this is an exciting, if not sometimes slow, and too often unfair, title that manages to be as impressively fun as it is big.
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  3. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Nov 20, 2017
    60
    Big, brutal, and - alas - bloated, Shadow of War is a disappointing follow-up, conjuring battles of grand scale and then deadening their impact through grinding repetition. [December 2017, p.79]
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