"Shadow of Mordor" was the surprise hit of 2014. The sequel doubled down and expanded where it could. Bigger world? Check. More abilities? Check. More orcs? Check. Unfortunately, more is not automatically better.
Orc sniping never gets old. Not when it's as much fun as in "Mordor: Shadow of War". Cutting the heads off the ugly grimaces with their lazy remarks is still one of your main occupations in the second instalment. However, developer Monolith has massively expanded the game thanks to the success of the first instalment. The world is bigger, more varied and there is much more to do - a little too much.
The first boss: tutorials
Same same, but different
The main attraction is once again the Nemesis system
If you do bite the dust in battle, your defeatist will rise in rank. This changes his name and he now goes by Murg the Skullcracker, for example. The next time you meet, he'll be a little surprised why you're standing on his mat again, but will then immediately attack you with new abilities.
As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.
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In "Shadow of War" you play the ranger Talion, who is connected to the spirit and elven blacksmith Celebrimbor. This gives him superhuman strength, which proves extremely useful in the battle against Sauron's hordes. The game is set between the events of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". Celebrimbor has just created a new ring of power and wants to use it to become king himself. But the story doesn't really matter. In "Shadow of War", the main aim is to beat up as many orcs as creatively as possible. True to the motto: "I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass and I'm all out of bubblegum."
Before you can start sharpening your sword, you'll be interrupted by tutorials every few steps. Learn this, do that, activate that. The game tries to get you back to the level of knowledge you had at the end of the first part as quickly as possible. By then, however, you had around 30 hours of game time under your belt and enough time to internalise the numerous skills. Newcomers in particular will feel a little overwhelmed at first. Especially as there are countless new features on top of that. However, once you have fought your way through the first wave of orcs and menus, the fun slowly picks up.
Little has changed in the gameplay. You still have a relatively open game world at your disposal, which is crammed full of enemies, side missions, ruins and collectibles. Compared to the only two game worlds from the first instalment, the world of "Shadow of War" is significantly larger and offers much more variety, even if the individual areas are smaller. You can find and upgrade new equipment, level up and unlock new abilities. Monsters can be ridden and commanded and you can take control of entire fortresses after a siege. This unlocks bonuses and allows you to call in powerful reinforcements in battle.
The battles against the orc leaders are the most entertaining. Before you can take on the Overlord, you first have to defeat his sergeants. Each orc leader has their own personality and likes to take a moment before the fight to introduce themselves and put you in your place verbally. They sound wonderfully overplayed in English and it's always a pleasure to listen to their silly remarks. Each orc leader has different strengths and weaknesses, which are particularly important to recognise later on in the game. Some are allergic to fire or are afraid of the Caragor, while others are really fuelled by it. If you defeat enough officers, the path to the Obermacker, who poses a particular challenge, is cleared. He is often protected by bodyguards. As Talion can bring orcs under his control with the help of Celebrimbor, you can use your allies to infiltrate and weaken enemy camps.
While it's undoubtedly a lot of fun to slaughter orcs, looking at the map can really put you off. Almost like in "Assassin's Creed", it is plastered with symbols. There's something to collect here, a certain Orc to hunt there, a side mission there, a statue to destroy there. The menu also makes you ask yourself at the beginning: What is this and this and this for? And once you have taken control of a fortress, you feel like a powerful warlord, but somehow also like a manager, because there is a lot to organise. The loot system also feels a bit contrived and I didn't really feel incentivised to find new equipment.
Publisher Warner Bros. had to take a lot of criticism for the loot boxes. These offer tangible gameplay benefits with new weapons and henchmen. You can also purchase the boxes with in-game currency or unlock them through sieges and achievements, but only the paid boxes guarantee legendary henchmen. In single-player mode, you don't gain any decisive advantages with real money. You simply take a shortcut. In multiplayer mode, on the other hand, you can use a purchased army to quickly overpower players who level up more slowly. But fortunately, "Shadow of War" is primarily a single-player title. Nevertheless, the loot boxes have a pale aftertaste and seem out of place in a full-price game - especially as you are repeatedly reminded of them.
The developers have overshot the mark in "Shadow of War". The numerous new systems seem a bit contrived and the progression degenerates into hard labour in many places. The game becomes somewhat repetitive, especially in the later stages. However, once you have made your way through the jungle of functions and possibilities, you have an extremely successful playground at your disposal. And that was clearly Monolith's aim. The presentation is coherent and the sound is just right. The main attraction - as in "Shadow of Mordor" - are the orcs. It's great fun to whirl around the enemies with Talion like a whirlwind and make it rain arms, legs and heads. And when you have finally defeated a particularly tough leader after the umpteenth time, the final blow feels incredibly satisfying. "Shadow of War" is a little rough around the edges, but at its core is a game that will keep you entertained for many hours.
