In fact, very few critics have had anything bad to say about the game. Most have explained how the Batman: Arkham City combat meshes well with a well-realized open world, and praised the story for making clever nods to Tolkien’s universe.
But the real gem of Shadow of Mordor appears to be the game’s Nemesis System, which tracks game-wide vendettas between the player and various enemies. It’s something that Monolith has been touting since day one, and were keen to show us back at E3 2014, but seeing it in the full game apparently tips the experience over the edge.
Check out a few choice quotes from some critics around the web.
IGN (Dan Stapleton)
Score: 9.3/10
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Polygon (Phil Kollar)
Score: 9.5/10
Game Informer (Matt Miller)
Score: 8.25/10
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Gamespot (Kevin VanOrd)
Score: 8/10
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Games Radar (Lucas Sullivan)
Score: 4.5/5
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Joystiq (Alexander Sliwinski)
Score: 5/5
EGM (Andrew Fitch)
Source: 8.5/10
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Games Beat (Jeffrey Grubb)
Source: 80/100
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Eurogamer (Aoife Wilson)
Score: 8/10
Destructoid (Chris Carter)
Score: 6/10
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Despite only a handful of outliers, it seems critics are in a general consensus that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a quality gameplay experience. More than that, though, several reviews point out that the Nemesis System is one of the few gameplay mechanics that truly feels next-gen. They praise the combat and the open world, sure, but it’s that Nemesis System that seemingly pushes this game over the edge. It sounds like we have our first definitive must-play title of the fall, and it’s only late-September.
Have the positive reviews for Shadow of Mordor changed your interest in the game? Do you plan on buying, renting, or skipping it? Let us know in the comments below.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Morder releases September 30, 2014 for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
