It’s a flexible system that only gets more flexible as you progress and unlock new abilities. You can interrogate orcs to learn about their boss’s weaknesses, or you can utilize explosive barrels or caged animals to thin out the ranks before you strike.

The game offers a good amount of freedom for how you do this. Missions generally involve sneaking into an orc camp or base, wreaking some havoc, and then taking down the bruising hulk in charge. This was all true in the original game, and - at least early on - Shadow of War feels almost identical. In my case, the newly mechanized Tark kept beating me, and so I’ve spent a good portion of my time in the game beefing up my abilities so I can finally take him down. These kinds of relationships grow and change over the course of the game, and they’re especially powerful because they’re unique to you no two playthroughs of Shadow of War will be the same. He was also nursing a powerful desire for revenge. A few hours later, he snuck up on me as a new man, completely changed thanks to a series of mechanical implants that made him stronger than before. When I chopped up a low-ranking orc named Tark, for instance, he managed to escape. When you defeat one of them in battle, or if they defeat you, they’ll remember it. Essentially, the idea is that there are certain orcs - captains, warchiefs, and other powerful leaders - who have distinct personalities and, more importantly, memories. The scripted cutscenes are just filler: the important part is the nemesis system. The story is loud and bombastic, but for the most part it’s pretty forgettable stuff, with numerous twists that don’t always make a lot of sense.īut that’s okay, because just like in Shadow of Mordor, the best parts of the game are the ones that are unique to you. Overall, the game’s dark and violent tone feels like what would happen if Zack Snyder tried to adapt J.R.R. There are other curious changes as well: Shelob, a massive spider from the books, spends most of the game in the form of a young woman in a slinky black dress. At the outset, the protagonist duo are seen forging a brand-new ring that they can use to defeat Sauron. Once again, the game plays fast and loose with the Lord of the Rings canon.

He’s joined by the elf wraith Celebrimbor, who a) is the one who forged the rings of power in the first place, and b) joins Talion in his quest, lending him his ghostly powers. There’s the human ranger Talion, who can’t die and is on a never-ending quest for revenge following the death of his family. Like the original, Shadow of War follows a pair of protagonists.

“It’s kind of our Terminator 2 to Terminator.” - creative director Michael de Plater

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