Essays 22 September 2022, 17:35

Best Lord of the Rings Video Games - Editors' Choice

"One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them." In other words, we're looking at the best games set in the Lord of the Rings universe!

9. Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Genre: TPP action game
Year of release: 2017
Platforms: PC, PS4, XOne
Developer: Monolith Productions

On the one hand, I am not surprised that Middle-earth: Shadow of War was ranked so low in our ranking – the game bored with me after just a few hours, although I finished the original with pleasure. On the other, it is a bit of a surprise. This production didn't receive any terribly low ratings. Yes, it turned out to be longer and more derivative than the original, and the abundant microtransactions didn't help either. Nevertheless, it could appear to be an ideal sequel on paper. So what went wrong?

I was so excited before the release of Shadow of War. It's a pity the enthusiasm ended right after the release. Image source: Steam / Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

The worst part of Shadow of War for me was the lengthy plot, which didn't follow the Lord of the Rings lore. Not to mention the fact that the real ending was blocked off by a wall of grind and / or micropayments. If not for that, maybe my experience with this production would last longer – the nemesis system was a lot of fun in the end, and the possibility of riding the drake was pretty nice. Ania Garas has an even more critical opinion than mine.

MIDDLE: THE SHADOW OF WAR – HOW TO CHANGE FIELD OF VIEW

Middle-earth: Shadow of War works well on modern PCs. The only real problem with the game is small FOV, which makes the game rather claustrophobic. Fortunately, there's a mod that lets you change that.

FOV Fix for Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Middle-earth: Shadow of War in our encyclopedia

Table of Contents

9. Middle-earth: Shadow of War