Middle-earth™: Shadow of Mordor™

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor remains an excellent video game, even years after its release, and a strong contender for a hypothetical "Game of the Decade" discussion. As a long-time gamer, I was thoroughly impressed by its unique blend of action, stealth, and Lord of the Rings lore.

One of the game's strengths lies in its accessible yet deep control scheme. Whether you're a seasoned hack-and-slash veteran or new to the genre, the controls feel intuitive and responsive, allowing for both simple strikes and complex combat maneuvers.

The narrative cleverly positions you within the established Lord of the Rings universe without retreading familiar ground. You inhabit a new character and experience a story that complements the events of the books and films, enriching the overall lore and providing a fresh perspective on Middle-earth. This approach creates a sense of immersion and allows players to feel like they are actively contributing to the larger narrative.

The gameplay itself is highly engaging, emphasizing fluid and dynamic combat. The satisfying combat system allows for a real sense of progression. Whether you're mastering new skills or learning from your mistakes, the game consistently encourages improvement and rewards strategic play.

Even by today's standards, the graphics, acting, and overall production value hold up remarkably well. This speaks to the high quality of the original development and ensures that the game remains visually appealing and immersive.

While no game is without its flaws, many of Shadow of Mordor's original technical issues have been resolved through patches and updates. This makes the experience even smoother for modern players.

Considering its current low price point, this game offers exceptional value. For the cost of a single meal, you can enjoy dozens of hours of compelling gameplay and a truly memorable experience in Middle-earth. I wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone looking for a captivating action-packed outlet for your combat rage.

Fun, new LOTR game that makes for fun, repetitive (but in a good way) gameplay. Short but the right length for the map size

I'll recommend this game, but I'm not going to finish it. The combat animations are amazing, they really polished this game up nicely. The unique uruks are awesome. I especially like how they talk smack to you before a fight. Overall, it's fun for people that like stealthy batman type games.

Assassin's Creed in Mordor.






The wraith abilities add quite a bit of fun to the gameplay, the orc commanders feel unique and original many dozens of hours in - and by the time they don't, you probably have 100%'d the game.

In addition, the lore aspect is quite fun to learn, especially easy for someone who's not a Middle Earth person - although a lot of it becomes really heavy-handed in DLCs, but what could you expect.

Took me 57 hours to get 100% - and I'm a slow player and keep the game on pause a lot, don't see myself replaying it much though.

Deserved the goty, such an beautiful game:
Gameplay : 10/10
Combat System: 10/10
History: 10/10 (if you are a fan on lotr)
Bug: didnt find any

In fact the only unique problem it is that they didt allow other games to use the Nemesis Enemy system, because its AMAZING, this is sad, but the games its really good.

Buying shadow of war now!

Honestly, I like more this one then SOW. Sure, it has smaller map and less mechanics, but this one feels like full product. SOW had more, but everything is mediocre. This one has less, but sometimes, less is more. Maybe not usual opinion, but this one is more of my style. Map is more brutal, more LOTR-like and it's more dark. How LOTR should be. This one is easily 8/10 for me.

Finished the game in 11 hours. Was fun for maybe 7 of it, but it gets repetitive. By the second area I just wanted it to be over.

I loved the game a lot the only thing I disliked was the fact that you locked on to your own troops which nearly caused me to fail a riot.

The ending is a good setup to the next game but the final bossfight couldn't really be called a bossfight but I still love the cinematic approach to it and applaud the developers for not going with the usual bossfight and instead using a different manner to convey the final struggle. The way the artefacts gave fragmented pieces of Celebrimbor's story was amazing and the final wrap-up to his origin story at the final fight was absolutely brilliant


I was also impressed by the graphics of the game despite it being almost 11 years old and I think that this must have been revolutionary graphics at the time akin to Indiana Jones The Lost Circle is now

The story telling was very good and the reference to Sauron being connected to Sauroman was very interesting and a indication that all the developers read or at least saw the Lord of The Rings books or movies


All-In-All I love this game and it scratched my itch and I would highly recommend this game to people who enjoyed the LOTR universe

9.5/10

Another cheapie I got with the sequel 'war'. honest assassination fun - the orcs comments are hilarious and was genuinely a bit different.

If you see it chjeap put it in your library - think AC killing orcs - excellent stocking filler

This game does two things right. 1) The Nemesis system is awesome. 2) Stealth gameplay really feels great. However, these are overshadowed by the frustratingly clunky movement system paired with an aggravating infinite combat loop and no meaningful endgame. You in fact have absolutely no impact on the game world itself. Killing enemies is meaningless (infinite enemies). Freeing slaves is meaningless (infinite slaves). Occasional buggy death feels really, really bad since you are penalized for it. Also, spear-wielding enemies just feel bad - you can't parry them... really? Really?? Archery is functional but slow and boring. Melee combat is a cluster of chaos in which you rarely get to complete the moves you unlock. Getting through 2 out of 3 stabs in a ground finisher before having to interrupt the animation to block/parry results in no damage dealt at all. It's as satisfying as dog pucky squeezed through the fingers.

But, the stealth is awesome.

i was honestly pretty disappointed with this game. the main selling point was the Nemesis System, which was the main selling point for me, as it probably was for others. the System sounds great in theory, you kill an orc Captain who has many different traits, and then another Orc will take his place, this time with other traits with a personality written into it. sounds great, but instead is extremely bland and not well written/implemented, i was....hoping for more i guess. they all just felt and sound the same. i was hoping that the Orcs would be, you know, ugly, like in the films. Instead, they're just gray humanoids with extremely boring armor. another point: this just feels like a reskin/clone of Assassins Creed: you leap and jump and climb exactly like how it's done in AC, the fast travel from a unexplored/explored tower is the same, which is pretty disappointing. Tutorials and general info is thrown at you fairly often which is an information overload that is not helpful at all, combat is just button mashing, which makes for a pretty clunky experience. i really wanted to like this game, but was honestly pretty disappointed. 4.5/10 i think i'll stick to the movies

Ratbag is the kind of orc who’d try to steal Sauron’s ring… just to wear it as a nose piercing.
Great game and cheap on sale! Recommend

Still holds up in 2024!
Did not 100% it and played only the main storyline and the entire campaign was a treat.
The gameplay, mechanics and story line all are outstanding.
10/10

its good but lack of move ment but every thing els is great

The original game for the type of gameplay that’s the main thing for this game.
The story doesn’t have that much too it, but do you really need to when it’s about killing orcs?
It runs smooth and I had 0 crashes, all in all a very optimized game.

Only get the DLC’s if you’re getting GOTY Edition.
Time to complete main, DLC campaigns and side quest: 23 hrs.

[h3]The game has a simple plot, the gameplay is an assassin with more dynamic combat. There is a lot of grind.

The prologue to the Greatest video game of all time. I don't say this lightly. I have played a ludicrous number of games, and nothing has ever dethroned Shadow of War as best game of ALL TIME.
I'm currently on a pilgrimage and replaying the series from the beginning, going for 100% completion. Mainly just to confirm that the series really is the greatest of all time, and not just nostalgia.
It holds up. The first game, the one that started it all. A little crunchy, and clunky at times, but still. This game was so advanced for it's time, and is just absolutely, undeniably fun to play. And not just the gameplay. The banter and humor, the voices and personalities of the orcs, Celebrimbor and the Ranger.. All of the lore drops, and easter eggs, and nods to the books. It's all so lovingly crafted. I cannot wait to start on Shadow of War, but I must finish this one again first.

Great story, satisfying combat system, a must play for LOTR fans

Well, as you can guess from my playtime, I really enjoyed this game and there is really nothing bad about it. However, for some reasons, the good recipe of SoM was changed for the worse in SoW unfortunately.

good game. no difficult missions . good game for beginners

Tbh I just watched Lord of the rings trilogy last month . I loved it , made me curious about playing a game based on Tolkien's Legendarium . So bought this 10 year old game on sale and its amazing , Honestly better than anything I played this year.

Loved the nemesis system, the rest of the game and DLCs are good.

Great story and the Nemisis system is cool but the games just Assassins Creed with a LOTR IP in the end. Its really easy and the 'final boss' is super anti-climatic.

7/10 tl;dr paragraph at very bottom

What can I say? The game is a lot of fun, and still holds up well despite coming out around 10 years ago.

There is a newer game, Shadow of War, that came out some time after. I have not played it, but I would encourage you to check that out (if you haven't already) before looking into this.

Compare prices and reviews. I have heard that Shadow of War improves upon many of the mechanics and systems in this game, including the Nemesis System.

Anyway, this game—Shadow of Mordor—has a decent enough story. I don't think it's considered canon in Tolkien's LotR universe, but in my opinion it treats the source material respectfully, unlike "Rings of Power" and some of the other hot garbage that has come out in recent years.

All of the various abilities and powers that you unlock keep the game fresh, and the Nemesis System is pretty great. Just the right amount of difficulty, and there's quite a bit of depth to it, but the game does a decent job of explaining all of the mechanics for the Nemesis System; it's pretty intuitive. Same goes for the controls (I played on a wireless Xbox360 controller).

Buy on sale. I got a full 60 hours of playtime out of this game, and unlocked all achievements. The combat is so much fun, very satisfying.

tl;dr I give it an 7/10 because again, the story is just OK, the movement isn't as fluid and responsive as I would like (a bit of jankiness when climbing / parkouring around led to a good amount of frustration), and I have heard *overall* that Shadow of War improves on the best parts of this game, such as the combat and Nemesis System. So I don't know if there's really a "reason" to buy this game instead of the newer game, unless you are restricted by your wallet or by what your computer hardware can handle... If you want to know Shadow of Mordor's story before you buy the new game, I'm sure all of the cutscenes can be found on YouTube, or you can find excellent breakdowns on the internet somewhere.

The greatest orc butchering experience that gaming has to offer.

Wanted to check the nemesis system. How is it legal to patent stuff like this? Don't know why I didn't play it back in the day. Overall good game. The bright lord DLC is a must.

It's okay, just a little disapointing and f@ck this company that patents good mechanics

It's a game where you kill orcs, do I need to say more?

For real though, I'v only played 8 hours so far but I'm loving the game.
The combat while simple work really well! It's super fun fighting a swarms of orcs with your sword or picking them off one by one from afar with your bow.

The stealth system is also fun to do though it's rather favored towards the player as the orcs seem to lose you rather easily. As the game isn't really focused on stealth this if fine though it is noticeable.

I should also mention that i found the controls to be rather strange. As you play you do get used to them rather fast though it can be odd for the first time.

Overall I would recommend this game, especially if it's on sale!

Do you like lord of the rings but wish you could be someone in that world and kill orcs, well now you can, good game, amazing orc killing time and even more so as they know me, so now I can kill but personal :D

I liked this game. It reminded me of some games like Batman Arkham Asylum and Assassin's Creed because of the combat and parkour style. If you're good at quick-time events, like the block defense in Batman's games, you can fight against 100 enemies and still do well. It's fun and simple. You can choose your gameplay style, whether you prefer the bow, sword, or dagger. You can complete missions in combat or stealth—with exceptions.

You also have a really good variety of skills and upgrades, which makes the gameplay more frenetic and exciting. There is something that I didn't understand very well: you can complete side quests that are challenges, and if you complete all of them (10 missions for each of the 3 weapons), you'll get 'the great weapon upgrade.' It apparently changes your weapon's skin, but I didn't notice any difference in combat. Is it supposed to deal more damage or something like that? I took so long to complete all 30 missions, and it's just for a skin? But no problem, it was fun.

About the story (maybe this will contain spoilers):

Do you know the quote, 'What matters is the journey, not the destination'?

This game represents this quote perfectly because the journey is awesome—very fun and exciting—but the ending is sooooo terrible. You think to yourself: Well, I'll fight against the Bdass Sauron, so I will max out all my character's skills and talents, and I'll complete all the 30 challenges to upgrade my weapons and kill him. Then, when you reach Sauron, you kill him in 6 quick-time events. I mean, you probably will kill him in less than 30 seconds. I was hoping for a better fight, but it's so simple. The only good part of the ending is the battle with your warchiefs against Sauron's warchiefs—that part is epic and happens before you reach Sauron's position. But once you beat it, it's done.

10/10.

great combat and warlord system ... not so much the story or diversity but still fun

i have played this game outside of steam before. i i got this game while on sale last time. it is still amazing game even this game has been out for years ago. :3

A very good game. Designed for console so controls a little clunky without a controller.

Un peu répétitif comme jeu par contre très le fun comme un Solo je recommande. Les graphiques ont bien vieilli.

The best way to describe this game is WOW! One of the best games out there, I didn't expect it to be as good as it was, especially since this game is kind of old.

Would I ever replay it again? Yeah, definitely!

Even if you're not going trough the campaign, you can easily spend tons of hours having fun by just facing all these randomly generated orc captains/warlords etc.
You can kill them, make them become your allys and help them climb the ranks, scare them off
+ Sometimes they'll survive fights and return with certain visible injurys and they will remember your previous encounter, even if you've fled from them, they will remember that aswell.
That feature is called "The Nemesis System", it's very unique and it makes this game incredibly fun.

How much time will you spend on campaign alone?
Around 15 hours.
What if I have a season pass? (2 DLCs)
Around 6 more hours.

BUT if you wanna have fun with orcs and "The Nemesis System" you can easily spend tons and tons of hours on this game. I'm telling you you'll enjoy this game, especially if you're LOTR fan. This game isn't a canon to the movies/books, but it's super fun and you can still enjoy the story.

Gameplay: Awesome
Controls: Great
Graphics: Not God of War kind of graphics, but they're still good, you won't have a problem with that

Downsides to this game?
None, none at all.

So I'd suggest you to get the bundle that contains both games (Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War) + Season Pass, it's very worth it.

Everything about it. By the way living a life of a ranger is enough for me, that is all i need to play this game again and again.

Runs butter smooth, good LoTR content, good DLCs??? Simple but fun gameplay loop, nemesis system is amazing and even better in SoW. Unlimited replay time, worth picking up.

Story 6/10
Gameplay 10/10
Music 5/10
Graphics 8/10
The Nemesis Mechanics really is awesome. I hope few developers adapt this mechanic. Vengeance felt really good.

If u like lord of the rings this might end up being you're favorite game. 10/10 got this AND shadow of War in a bundle for like 15 bucks for both unbeliveable price for such phenomanl games.

9/10 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor the story bridges the gap between The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. The villains are compelling: The Black Hand (Hammer, Tower, and Black Hand).
Story however is predictable. The other characters in the story are not explored or developed enough. Side missions, like in any game longer than 10 hours has many optional activities. The game play and combat is hard in the begining, and can be hard if you don't do the side missions and power up. Hated the cinematic button mash boss fight at the end. The ending felt rushed, it was like the ending was just there to promote the sequel. However, the gameplay was awesome.

So I went into this game already playing the Shadow of war and thought I'd give it a go to understand the story more, I expected the experience to not be as fin as shadow of war and maybe more dull because of how old the game was but I am very glad to say I am very pleased with the game.

First I'd like to say I'm glad I played Shadow of War first as it gave me experience like seeing a character like ratbag that had really no impact in the story of SOW have a really big impact in Shadow of Mordor and being able to experience him as an actual character and truly start to care about him.

The game in my opinion has way better character development and overall characters as a whole. Everytime I saw Torvin It would make me smile and seeing his story be fleshed out over the course of the story was truly remarkable. Coming from that something SOM did better than SOW was the diversity of characters, It was mostly just human companions and sure you had the orcs but they were everywhere. I also missed seeing the human slaves as I got really tired off only seeing only orcs in SOW main story.

I also really like the slower nature of the game as I felt like I could explore more freely instead of SOW which felt way to fast with it's traversal and sure I know its because the maps are much larger but with how fast you traveled they smelt smaller at the same time.

I also saw myself using stealth alot more as combat imo was alot more dangerous in SOM and being more sneaky actualy felt alot more refreshing than the constant hardcore fighting you'd do in SOW

Overall the game is so much better than its sequel in terms of character development, gameplay and story

Fun and unique ways to slash your way through hordes of Uruks in Mordor. Lots of enjoyable collectables and quests. Good story too.

Great game. i dont care about the problems people have with the lore. Its very fun and the plot is enjoyable. im a huge lotr and hobbit fan, the books in particular, so i enjoy this game a lot.

fun gameplay and a solid story. you have so many tools at your disposal for battle, which is a good thing because it's fun, but also the game can quickly get too easy when you have all the right runes and abilities. I died twice towards the beginning of the game but haven't really even come close since then, and i've 100%ed the main game. So yea not a super challenging experience but quite fun, makes you feel like a badass

Shadow of Mordor Review

Pros:

• I kept wanting to clear the list of captains by hunting them all down.
  
• I wanted to find all the artifacts and ithildin as they helped to upgrade Talion.
  
• I was able to unlock many skills even before getting into the main story stuff.
  
• I sowed glorious chaos by shooting all caragor bait, shooting the caragor cages and the all fly nests. After the carnage I tamed one of the caragors and rode off into the sunset.
  
• Map is not too large and can be crossed just using running/sprinting.
  
• Combat is 1000 times better than Batman. I can slaughter enemies in this game. As opposed to cyclic power tickling enemies in Batman.
  
• Second map has vegetation providing a much welcome change of scenery. It showed a side of Mordor I hadn’t seen previously.
  
• I didn’t really allow the nemesis system to nemesis me. I grinded a few levels and skills at the start and started killing the entire back row of the orc hierarchy. As such, the option to opt out of the nemesis system is appreciated.
  
• 3 interesting side characters, e.g. the exile, the sorceress and the hunter to aid Talion.
  
• Very good voice acting by all the characters.
  
• Free roam, exploration, collectibles and randomly taking on strongholds comprises the best parts of this game.
  
• Weapon upgrade system that encourages experimentation.
  
• Simple story of vengeance enhanced by Tolkein’s world building.
  

Cons:

• Index finger hurts holding down the stealth button on the controller. A toggle would have been better, as it's a stealth heavy game.
  
• Story and weapons missions severely restrict the stealth focus, in this stealth heavy game.
  
• Auto cover and auto sticking to walls can get annoying.
  
• Grinding out levels initially is not very satisfying as many cool skills are story locked.
  
• About 5 or 6 story missions are actually skill tutorials.
  
• The game enforces the nemesis system via combat lock on. It's incredibly difficult to tear the camera lock-on away from a losing fight. A cheap tactic in my opinion.
  
• The legend of sword missions were very tedious. Usually they are inside orc strongholds. The alarm is raised and hordes of enemies join the fight, thus making it very difficult to target the actual targets of the mission. Because all the orcs are mixed up.
  
• Missed opportunity to lay physical or magical traps, especially when orcs investigate dead comrades.
  
• The number of times Talion stabbed his own orcs instead of the enemy captain is countless. There is no useful lock-on system.
  
• Talions biggest enemy is Batman. Slice an orc a few times, render enemy to downed state. I want to finish off the orc. But the game makes Talion auto jump/slide to another orc 3 meters away. I slice that orc to a downed state. Previous orc gets back up. Repeat entire process. Its tiresome, lengthens fights, reminds me of Batman gameplay.
  

Advice:

• Upgrade elfshot to level 3 or 4 as soon as possible. Grind out the first map for this.
  
• In the orc hierarchy (Sauron’s Army) you can identify and take out the nemesis in the 2 back lines leaving the front lines intact. It's always the front line that gets replaced. The back lines stay empty.
  
[*]The forge towers offer refuge and sniping positions. Use them if you end up being chased by multiple captains. I took down 4 at once by using the forge towers this way.

Just started and the time I have spent on it is not much but from what I have played so far , it's really good, too good for a really old game. The cinematic are very good, the combat is fun and I love the story so far.

Returning to this game has been a surprisingly enjoyable experience. I initially came back to complete some lingering achievements, but found myself immersed in the game all over again. Despite its age, the game still offers a rich, engaging experience that stands the test of time. I really like the Nemesis system—it's one of the most innovative features in gaming, making every encounter with the Uruk captains feel personal and dynamic.

The gameplay, while dated in some aspects, still holds up well. The combat is fluid and satisfying, with a range of abilities that allow for creative and strategic play. Traversing through the open world of Mordor, completing side quests, and uncovering collectibles is just as fun as it was when the game first launched. The storyline, steeped in the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien's universe, provides a compelling backdrop to your adventures. I really love the ambience of Middle-earth; it adds an extra layer of depth and immersion to the game with its rich, dark landscapes, ancient ruins, and eerie atmospheres.

Overall, Shadow of Mordor continues to be a fantastic game, even years after its initial release. The challenge of earning the final achievement was borderline impossible, but it made the experience even more rewarding. Whether you're a newcomer or a returning player like me, the game offers a satisfying and enjoyable journey through Mordor. If you haven't played it yet, it's definitely worth a revisit.

i got this game recommended by a friend and honestly it has for now been the best recommendation that ive ever had,
the game has and okay story which isnt all that long and is probably a very good game for the lovers of lord of the rings
ive found almost no bugs in my game and ive 100% which was not too hard but for one achivment which took too long but other than that i would say the game is in itself really badass and the satisfaction in executions on an uruk makes me feel so good 10/10 would recommend to anyone

good game. fun ripped off combat. fun ripped off map system. fun ripped of stealth. Takes all those other mastered stuff from other games and turns it into a fantastic game

Excellent game, excellent writing, excellent lore. The opening cutscene is epic.

10/10 in all aspects.