Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™
Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ screenshot 1Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ screenshot 2
ActionAdventureRPGOpen WorldSingleplayerFantasyThird PersonViolent

1,770 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 2,556

Peak in the last 7 days: 3,030

Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ Steam store

Game description

Experience an epic open-world brought to life by the award-winning Nemesis System. Forge a new Ring of Power, conquer Fortresses in massive battles and dominate Mordor with your personal orc army in Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™.

Basic info

DeveloperMonolith Productions
PublisherWB Games
PlatformsWindows
Steam DeckVerified
Release dateOct 9, 2017
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows 7 SP1 with Platform Update
ProcessorAMD FX-4350, 4.2 GHz / Intel Core i5-2300, 2.80 GHz
Memory6 GB
GraphicsAMD HD 7870, 2 GB / NVIDIA GTX 660, 2 GB
Storage70 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 430 reviews from the past 1 year

84.5/ 100
Top 40%

Steam rating: Very Positive (89%)

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

Built around orc rivals who remember every fight, Middle-earth™: Shadow of War™ scores 84.5, top 40% of games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

129 reviews find it fun, and some praise the territories and forts it adds. 78 praise the rival system and the strategic depth of its captains, with some calling it one of the greatest systems in games and others enjoying gear sets and build synergies. Gameplay ranks 222nd of 1396. 27 like the story, and some say the rivalries create a personal tale that keeps you on your toes. Content Volume ranks 456th of 1351. A few also enjoy the power fantasy of building an orc army.

👎 Where it falls short

57 reviews find it repetitive, and some point to grindy fortress battles at the end, unskippable orc taunts and a checklist heavy map. 30 dislike how combat feels at times, with some reporting inputs that do not register, frequent cutscenes and awkward camera or flight controls. 24 criticize the story, and some find the later chapters rushed or the plot nonsensical. Story & World ranks 717th of 1096, and Visuals & Sound ranks 746th of 1249.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“enjoying this game and it is fun” · 129 reviews
“Nemesis system is one of the greatest things ever” · 78 reviews
“amazing setting and graphics” · 23 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 59% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +3.79 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “Nemesis system is one of the greatest things ever” · 78 reviews
Negative “combat system lacks variety despite skill tree” · 4 reviews

Progression 17% · Difficulty 10% · Onboarding 5% · Freedom 5% · Controls & feel 27%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 47% of reviews · Bottom 40% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.21 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “good memories with the game and its world” · 22 reviews
Negative “world is constantly gloomy and dark with little respite or beautiful scenery” · 1 review

Story 36% · Characters 16%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 40% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +2.85 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “tons of things to do before and after finishing the game” · 9 reviews
Negative “becomes repetitive after 50 hours” · 4 reviews

Variety 24% · Replayability 8%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 21% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Visuals +3.09 · Graphics, art style, and animation
Positive “amazing setting and graphics” · 23 reviews
Negative “sanat tasarımı hoşuma gitmedi” · 2 reviews

Audio 8%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 8% of reviews mention this.

Playing together +3.29 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals

Community 0% · Servers & Connection 1%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 15% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.10 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “blocking and backstab mechanics create frustrating, unintuitive combat system” · 4 reviews
Positive “Nemesis System still shines, best part of the game” · 4 reviews

Anti-cheat 2% · Pricing 9% · Matchmaking 1%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 15% of reviews · Bottom 50% of the games we've analyzed

Developer support -0.14 · Updates, patches, and how devs respond to players
Negative “Devs locked Nemesis behind patents for a decade and did nothing with it” · 10 reviews

Stability 5% · Performance 4%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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