Four Ways Middle-earth: Shadow of War Keeps You Hooked

My go-to game for the last three weeks has been Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the sequel to the incredible Shadow of Mordor.  The gameplay is largely the same as the original with the incredible nemesis system still intact.  As fun as it is, though, the dreary kingdom and largely solitary gameplay can make the game feel a bit like a lonely slog.  Talion’s ghostly companion Celebrimbor makes for pretty grim company and the barren, molten landscapes are as inviting as fully-realized hellscapes can be.  Still, I find myself going back to the game over and over and I have been wondering why.  Monster Hunter was much prettier but I got bored in the first few hours.  Grand Theft Auto has more to do but I haven’t finished a GTA title since Ray Liotta.  Now, though, I think I’ve figured out the secret of the game.  Here are four ways Middle-earth: Shadow of War keeps you engaged hour after hour.

The Addictive Arkham-Style Combat

It’s hard to think of a style of gameplay that is as immediately enjoyable as Arkham-style gameplay.  Leaping into hordes of enemies, overpowering them with a series of powerful attacks, and then leaping away to sprint across rooftops on your way to the next battle is endlessly enjoyable.  Your powers upgrade at regular intervals as well, enabling new and creative ways to smash through hordes of villains.  Much like those Batman titles, Shadow of War is fun to just pick up and play for twenty or thirty minutes, even if all you’re doing is wandering through hordes of orcs.  Levels are also pretty bite-sized, much like Arkham City’s approach to side quests.  If you don’t feel that you have an hour or two to advance the plot, there are plenty of smaller missions that are fun to pick up for shorter periods of time.  There are better stories and prettier kingdoms to visit out there, but for a short thirty minutes of fun, nothing beats Arkham-style beat em ups.  And, unlike Batman, Talion’s not adverse to slicing off heads.

Death’s not always a permanent condition for these guys.

The Return of Gollum

I was playing for the first few hours and getting a bit bored with the routines.  I was finding orc captains and opening up the map as I ran errands for Shelob.  It was fun but I was starting to lose interest, but then we ran into Gollum.  Specifically, I found Andy Serkis’ Gollum, and suddenly I remembered why I loved this world so much.  There are some other characters that show up too, and fans of the series are going to find a lot to enjoy.  But nothing beats the perfectly realized character that the series created with Gollum.  He shows up early just as you start to wonder if this is the game you really want to be spending your gaming hours on, and he’s still as amazing a character as he was in the movies years and years ago.  Other interesting characters – new and old – show up at regular intervals as well.  I remain consistently interested in who I might meet in the next level or in the neighboring kingdom.  So if you’re playing the game and start to get bored, just wait; there might be a Balrog just around the corner.

This murderous sycophant is just soooo cute.

The Music is Pretty Great

Music in Shadow of War reminds me a bit of the music of Skyrim, and feels almost out of place in this grim adventure.  The optics are usually pretty bleak, barren and nightmarish in design.  The music though is more reminiscent of a typical fantasy game.  It feels sweeping and inviting and much more adventurous and than the game would lead you to expect.  And given that the game has some really unforgiveable loading times (ARGH!), it’s good that the music is well designed to invite you back to the adventure.  Again, soundtracks like this help you feel the sense of adventure the game is trying to convey but here it’s even more important given the grim settings and pretty dark gameplay.  There’s not a lot of levity or light moments in Mordor (though there is some, see below), and in that environment, having a music that can draw you back into that world becomes all the more important.

Yes, you get to smash a Balrog.

The Orcs Are Still Really Fun

The orcs are definitely the best part of the game and the few scenes where you interact with them are funny and fun (particularly your first siege).  Wild bosses with crazy names still randomly appear and some seem to hold more of a grudge than others.  As gross and evil as they seem, though, you do kill a lot of them.  But don’t worry, orcs also come back from the dead pretty consistently.  In terms of enslaving them, don’t worry about that either.  The game goes out of its way to alleviate your conscience about that, too.  Orcs don’t view you as being any worse a leader than the Witch King (so you are told, anyway), so it’s all the same to them.  Plus, I was surprised to learn that the orcs can apparently shake off your influence sometimes, suggesting that they may have more free will than I thought.  One very difficult Warchief took me a long time to enslave and I sent him off to attack another orc Captain.  As soon as I turned my back, he reappeared to inform me that he had changed his mind and preferred our original arrangement.  This time I just cut off his head and didn’t feel a lick of guilt about it.

Feeling bad about all the enslaving of orcs? Bruz is here to make you feel better. Enslaved to the Witch King, enslaved to you…whatever. It’s all the same to an orc.