Middle-earth: Shadow of War

R.I.P. Monolith Productions
1994 - 2025
Killed by the Corporate F*cks at WB and that Sh*thead David Zaslav. This game being an example of their meddling. (had loot boxes at launch before being taken out later)
Is this game bad, no, far from it.
Is this game perfect, same answer, no.
But despite the grindy nature of this game, Monolith really put the effort in this sequel. the characterization of it's orcs, it's world, the VAs (especially the orcs) really don't get enough credit for their performance.
You will be sorrowly missed Monolith, I hope the talented devs you housed get back up their feet soon.

Game is fun, the nemesis system is masterpiece, it is fun, engaging and interactive.
Dev is bad, patent the nemesis system, they are st**id, gr**dy, short sighted
EDIT: oops not the dev, but warner bros
EDIT 2: The problem is not the patent itself, but they patented, and just put it asides, no innovation, and also preventing other people from developing something more fun with the mechanic

RIP Monolith Productions.
The Middle Earth games, especially Shadow of War, are easily in my top 10 games of all time. It’s a shame that we’ll never see a third installment or even the other projects they were working on. Warner Bros truly screwed up this time, especially after patenting the Nemesis System. Goodbye Monolith, you’ll be missed.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☑ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☑ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

After hearing that WB was shutting down Monolith, I came back to pay tribute to an old friend (Monolith, not WB) by replaying the Middle-earth games. I first played Shadow of War on PlayStation when it launched, excited after loving the first game—but my enthusiasm soured thanks to the infamous microtransactions and loot box fiasco that plagued the endgame.

Now, in 2025, with all that monetization removed, I’m glad to finally experience the game as it was meant to be. Beneath all that corporate greed was always a solid game. Playing both Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War back to back, I appreciate their evolution—the improved combat, tactics, and enemy variety, even if some aspects can feel repetitive. But ultimately, it’s the Nemesis System that truly carries the experience.

The main story is fairly forgettable, but the personal stories forged through battles with the Orcs make it all worthwhile. One of my favorite moments?

I killed an Orc named Krakhorn. He came back as "Krakhorn the Machine," now sporting mechanical limbs after I had previously mutilated him. Naturally, I killed him again—only for him to return once more, taunting me for failing to finish the job. This time, he managed to kill me and was promoted to Warchief. Determined to put an end to him, I tried again… and again… but he kept returning. Eventually, I attempted to recruit him, but his Iron Will resisted, so I resorted to shaming him repeatedly.

That backfired spectacularly. Instead of breaking, he became a Maniac, growing even stronger and capable of one-shotting me if I so much as slipped up. He climbed the ranks until he became Overlord, and at that point, I knew I couldn't take him down alone. So, I planted four bodyguards in his inner circle, waiting for the perfect moment to betray him. When the time came, my minions turned on him mid-battle, while I spent the entire fight dodging like my life depended on it—because it did. Eventually, my conspirators took him down, and I made his killer the new Overlord of Gorgoroth. So far, he hasn’t betrayed me… yet.

Looking back, Shadow of War is a flawed but truly special game. Even after all these years, nothing quite compares to the chaos and emergent storytelling that the Nemesis System creates. Monolith’s work here was remarkable, and their innovation will leave a lasting impact on gaming. It’s a shame to see such a talented studio go, and their Nemesis system locked behind a patent, but their legacy lives on in the stories we’ve all created.

Thank you, Monolith. You deserved better.

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☑ Beautiful
☐ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS
---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☐ Decent
☑ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☑ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☐ Good
☑ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
---{ Gameplay }---
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't
---{ Audio }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf
---{ Audience }---
☐ Grandma
☑ Adults
☑ Teens
☐ Kids
---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Top tier
☑ Fast
☐ Decent
☐ Potato
---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☑ Big
☐ Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War (175 GB)
---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls
---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding
---{ Story }---
☐ It'll replace your life
☑ Lovely
☐ Good
☐ Average
☐ Some lore
☐ No Story
---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ Too long
---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money
---{ Bugs }---
☑ Never heard of
☐ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ Cyberpunk 2077
---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 10
☐ 9
☑ 8
☐ 7
☐ 6
☐ 5
☐ 4
☐ 3
☐ 2
☐ 1