3.5/5 ★ – jkrgamer's review of Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

Overall Shadow of War hasn't aged very well... but mannnn the nemesis system is really something else! You wouldn't think that the Lord of the Rings game that makes orcs the star of the show would be good, but it absolutely works! I was curious how this system would prove itself gameplay wise, but truthfully it's really just a storytelling mechanic more than anything. There is something really enticing and rewarding about remembering the quirky personalities these minions have, recruiting them, shaming and banishing them, or killing them and seeing what the ramifications are. It also feels SO satisfying to hunt down and kill one who took you down you last time. Count me impressed, this is awesome. The rest of the game is only OK. It has so much open world bloat that we have come to expect from that era, and unnecessary parkour system, too much incremental loot, combat lifted straight from the Arkham games, and visuals that occasionally look nice but more often make it seem like this was originally a PS3 release. Credit where it is due, I grew a really like some of the cool abilities that give you on the skill tree, a rarity these days, but outside of playing around with the nemesis system, I did not enjoy the games scripted story moments, especially with boss fights that can only be won by perfect parrying. Truly, it is the nemesis system that makes this game not worthy and worth experiencing. Despite them pattening it, I sincerely hope we get to see interesting storytelling systems like this going forward in more games.