Middle-earth: Shadow of War

 Xbox One
User Score
4.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 456 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 196 out of 456
  2. Mixed: 48 out of 456
  3. Negative: 212 out of 456
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  1. LordHighfixxer
    Oct 11, 2017
    10
    Those who are writing negative reviews about Loot Boxes are doing so without playing the game. I am in Act II and have never felt a need to purchase anything in this game to advance. Do not believe people who tell you there is a pay to win wall here.

    Shadow of War is an improvement on its predecessor in every way. Monolith has delivered a sure Game of the Year candidate. The Nemesis    Those who are writing negative reviews about Loot Boxes are doing so without playing the game. I am in Act II and have never felt a need to purchase anything in this game to advance. Do not believe people who tell you there is a pay to win wall here.

    Shadow of War is an improvement on its predecessor in every way. Monolith has delivered a sure Game of the Year candidate. The Nemesis system is improved. The personalities of the Uruk and Olog-hai are great. I would rather be home right now playing instead of at work writing this review.

    I'll never understand why people will bash a good game for their agenda. There is a marketplace for chests, and you never need to touch it to enjoy this game. I actually recommend that you do not. There is loot everywhere a Captain falls.    … Expand
  2. Robbie1982
    Oct 11, 2017
    8
    REALLY enjoying this game so far. Graphics are amazing, level design is very good. Nemesis is loads of fun again. I will not be paying any money for loot boxes and it is a shame they were added to this game. The premium pricing of pre-orders really should have been enough I feel. From all I've read the loot boxes only become an issue in the post game and even then can be worked around.REALLY enjoying this game so far. Graphics are amazing, level design is very good. Nemesis is loads of fun again. I will not be paying any money for loot boxes and it is a shame they were added to this game. The premium pricing of pre-orders really should have been enough I feel. From all I've read the loot boxes only become an issue in the post game and even then can be worked around. Small gripes so far include a disconnected feeling between gear level and Talion effectiveness (some sense of how the gears add up to a whole in the menu would be nice. However I can't stand hit numbers in the actual game unless it is a top down style game. Should always have option to turn those off or reduce at least). I quite like RPG elements. Also not sure if my regular actions are increasing my XP as not seeing any visual feedback. I would think saving groups of soldiers might be a side quest but no sign of that so far (freeing slaves was in SOM) I can understand the backlash on the loot crates /'P2W / Gambling' I personally think at minimum there should be an option in consoles to OPT OUT OF ALL PAID MicroTransactions. Because there are people with serious addiction problems who can get hooked into the buzz from this randomized loot etc. If people choose to opt back in, it should be on a 48 hour or more cooling off period. The mind tricks that are from 'grinding' and 'Free 2 play' manipulation are a real sad development in gaming drive for more revenue. Options to set limits on daily or weekly spends. It's a real shame this controversy will destroy the ratings and reduce initial sales and pre-orders on what should have been one of the most exciting releases I feel. It would be nice if the gaming industry at large took stock of this totally avoidable fiasco. I myself reduced my GOLD ed purchase down to just the basic edition. Really the farce with the charitable DLC also annoyed me. I mean come on, bit of basic common sense and decency please.… Expand
  3. fastdak25
    Oct 11, 2017
    0
    Obligatory 0 for this nonsense. Still though I enjoyed the first enough that I bought SoM second hand from someone on Ebay, not giving my money to WB. Looking at SWBF2 it looks to be even worse in that game. Probably have to buy that 2nd hand as well (Soon as EA announced no season pass I knew there was going to be a massive catch).

    IGN giving this a 9 should be just another piece    Obligatory 0 for this nonsense. Still though I enjoyed the first enough that I bought SoM second hand from someone on Ebay, not giving my money to WB. Looking at SWBF2 it looks to be even worse in that game. Probably have to buy that 2nd hand as well (Soon as EA announced no season pass I knew there was going to be a massive catch).

    IGN giving this a 9 should be just another piece of evidence how corrupt gaming journalism is. They listed quite a few problems with the game too, yet give it a 9.    … Expand
  4. Midirataj
    Oct 10, 2017
    0
    SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!
    I don’t write reviews. A lot of people do that for living and passion. I am more of a introvert.
    I always took refugee in games. I found acceptance and friends there. It allowed me to feel able and free, unlike in real world. Once you are in the game you are not ugly, stupid or poor, or pretty, smart and rich. We are all adventurers. We are all EQUAL. We are    SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!
    I don’t write reviews. A lot of people do that for living and passion. I am more of a introvert.
    I always took refugee in games. I found acceptance and friends there. It allowed me to feel able and free, unlike in real world. Once you are in the game you are not ugly, stupid or poor, or pretty, smart and rich. We are all adventurers. We are all EQUAL. We are all what we want to be, commit our time and effort to excel in what we believe in. We had to earn everything with our bare mouse and keyboard and gamepad.
    Microtransactions is killing the heart and soul of gaming.
    Wanna be more powerful? Pay up!
    Wanna look cool? Pay up!
    Don’t worry we made your beloved game a piece of grindy mobile dumpster.
    And Publishers say it is for your own freedom of choice.
    A testament to greed and falsehood.
    SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! SHAME!    … Expand
  5. Bogzy
    Oct 10, 2017
    0
    Microtransactions, especially in a SP game, are a plague on the gaming industry. Don't support a game like this, just watch a stream if u wanna see the game.
  6. GamerJosh0137
    Oct 10, 2017
    1
    Great fun can be had in Shadow of War. The gameplay feels good, and for the most part improved upon. The Nemesis system has been fine tuned to almost the point of perfection. The developers at monolith really out did themselves this time around. Before I got to the end of the game this game was a 9/10 for me. I then confirmed what my friends have been trying to tell me about the trueGreat fun can be had in Shadow of War. The gameplay feels good, and for the most part improved upon. The Nemesis system has been fine tuned to almost the point of perfection. The developers at monolith really out did themselves this time around. Before I got to the end of the game this game was a 9/10 for me. I then confirmed what my friends have been trying to tell me about the true ending being locked behind a pay wall or astronomically large grind loop. I can either spend a "Destiny" amount of hours grinding for Legendary Orcs, or spend an abundance of cash getting legendary orcs through loot boxes, because Legendary Orcs are the only type of Orcs that will even give you a fighting chance at the end game battles. Seriously. The end game battles CAN NOT be won with Orcs lower than Legendary status. I refuse to spend money on that **** and I desperately BEG players to not buy them either. PLEASE!!! This CAN NOT be the future of gaming!… Expand
  7. GCM707
    Oct 10, 2017
    0
    DO NOT BUY. Nothing but a long boring grind unless you pay real money for loot boxes to get ahead. pass. Loot boxes have no place in a $60 game. Loots boxes are nothing but greedy and predatory. They are gambling, and they take advantage of people that they know will get addicted to this.
  8. Botoni
    Oct 10, 2017
    0
    I miss the days of cheat codes being a string of random buttons. Now you have to pay for cheat codes. Microtransactions do not belong in this game... i love how the critic reviews dont care though.. wouldnt want to upset the gaming industry and give an honest review.
  9. diggre318
    Oct 10, 2017
    0
    Loot boxes hid the game's true ending behind a gambling paywall.
    This is disgusting ina full priced game, let alone a single player game.

    Play the 1st one instead!
  10. LordFireFist
    Oct 10, 2017
    10
    While i personally loved Shadow of Mordor and i certainly love this game as well it has a few problems.
    1. Obviously MIcrotransactions ruin the happiness of finding a Legendary orc as you can throw down some cash and get a ton of them which will ruin the games early stages.
    2. If you decide to go the free 2 play route and want to race through the story you'll have quite a tough time as    While i personally loved Shadow of Mordor and i certainly love this game as well it has a few problems.
    1. Obviously MIcrotransactions ruin the happiness of finding a Legendary orc as you can throw down some cash and get a ton of them which will ruin the games early stages.
    2. If you decide to go the free 2 play route and want to race through the story you'll have quite a tough time as you will be pretty low leveled and so will your orcs be in that case, and even in a high level "good" orcs with usefull traits and abilities will be pretty sparse.
    3. While they defenetly are fun to do Fort Battels can be either pretty underwhelming and easy or extremely hard depending on your skill and how much time you have put down gaining intel on the Warcheifs and Overlord.
    But despite these points i still love the game and imo this games streghts outweigh the less exiting parts    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Best Xbox One Game of 2017
9
#9 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2017
19
#19 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. Impulsegamer
    Nov 29, 2017
    88
    Perhaps you might slap your forehead in dismay by the goofy plot or looseness to the source material but what's undeniable is, that Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a lot of fun.
    Read full review
  2. Cubed3
    Nov 13, 2017
    60
    Middle-earth: Shadow of War has high production values and is a fun open-world slashathon, but it's stretched thin. The storyline starts off promising, but all of the interesting characters get pushed aside to make room for nothing of consequence. Hours upon hours are lost to the abyss as players engage in a relentless cycle of gear upgrades and Orc recruits. Assaulting fortresses and conquering territory loses its appeal a bit too quickly. The game is pretty entertaining in short bursts, especially when Talion can make full use of his powerful abilities. Still, the lack of finesse when it comes to combat will make fighting feel a bit bothersome. The Ranger is at his best when he's eliminating the opposition with surgical precision, or making use of hazards in the environment. All in all, this title is worth a look; just don't expect to grow too attached to it.
    Read full review
  3. games(TM)
    Nov 3, 2017
    70
    While it's huge and complex in many of its systems, it still feels as if it is caught in 2014. [Issue#194, p.68]
See all critic reviews »