Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Reviews
Check out Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Review Scores from trusted Critics below. With 15 reviews on CriticDB, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor has a score of:
A triumph of emergent gameplay, slightly let down by a heavily scripted ending.
Read Full Review
“Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor nears perfection, but the demands of a scripted narrative work against its freeform structure.”
Read Full Review
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is the biggest "pleasant surprise" of 2014. A solid side-story from an established universe with spot-on gameplay makes this a surprise contender for one of the year's best games.
Read Full Review
It’s been said that a man seeking vengeance should dig himself two graves, but perhaps that doesn’t apply when said man is already a bit dead?
Read Full Review
Shadow of Mordor is an extremely fun action/adventure game set in middle-earth. Fans of the books and those who want to learn more will both enjoy the experience that this game has to offer.
Read Full Review
That's right — you can add Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor to the growing list of stellar licensed games that deserve your consideration. While it does blatantly borrow from both Arkham and Assassin's Creed, there are enough meaningful and innovative layers — like the Nemesis System, wraith abilities, and mission freedom — piled upon familiar mechanics to keep things feeling fresh. And with a dark fantasy setting based on the Lord of the Rings universe, the open world has a distinct presence, even if there isn't much environmental variation. We can easily recommend Shadow of Mordor to fans of either aforementioned...
Read Full Review
Shadow of Mordor is without doubt the best Middle-earth game available on consoles. Though not entirely original (then again, what is nowadays?) all of the elements which it borrows flow in sync with Monolith’s intuitive Nemesis system, creating something both immensely fun and replayable. That’s not to say the game doesn’t start to lose steam, especially once you’ve hit the thirty-hour mark, long after you’ve finished the story and explored the world. Still, when you eventually come to that milestone you will undoubtedly have had your fill.
Read Full Review
It’s natural to be sceptical about licensed video games, and everyone has the right to feel this way about them, especially when a blockbuster-sized one comes around with a burden of expectations and hype to live up to, despite having a broad ancestry of mediocre releases. Of course, we’re referring to Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and the many Lord of the Rings titles before it. Much of this problem could be attributed to the Tolkien Estate, which has been difficult with game developers about the IP since the beginning, or you could say that game developers have just never done...
Read Full Review
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a strong foray into the Tolkien universe, backed up by popular combat from other major action series, with its own free-running style to boot. The Nemisis system does keep things a little fresh even if after a while it’s illusion of orc and uruk society does start to break down. The fact these captains are going about their business just as we are helps it feel more chaotic. It is without a doubt the best experience set in Middle-Earth, but also stacks up a...
Read Full Review
So many orcs, so little time! Here's our review of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor...
Read Full Review
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor stands out from other open-world action games by putting a great new layer on top of the trail that Batman blazed. I was surprised at how well it integrates its excellent combat with rewarding feedback and progression not just for me, but also for my enemies. I’ve had many more memorable and unpredictable battles with its randomized Warchiefs and captains than I did in the scripted campaign missions, and I expect those to keep on coming.
Read Full Review
Shadow of Mordor is influenced by other games, but not defined by them. Instead it takes pieces from some of the best games of the last few years, augments them with RPG mechanics and the new Nemesis system, and integrates them all so well together that it's sometimes hard to tell where one system begins and another ends. It's a remarkable achievement, and should justifiably establish Monolith as the torch-bearer for the Lord of the Rings series.
Read Full Review
Open world games often struggle to find balance between two extremes – the ability to craft a custom experience, and a linear progression that provides satisfying narrative. Shadow of Mordor explores a unique solution to the dilemma, offering an unfolding story that reacts to the player’s choices. It’s a fascinating experiment in emergent action on a grand scale, but the focus on those emergent elements can lead to frustration in the early game, and too much repetition later on.
Read Full Review