10 Video Games That Immediately DEVASTATE You

10. Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

Considering it had the nemesis system, which was all about vengeance, it’s not all that surprising that Shadow of Mordor had a character driven by some pretty traumatic events.

What makes the opening to Shadow of Mordor so impressively powerful is that it’s all told out of sequence and yet it’s still incredibly effective. Talion, captain of the Gondor forces at the Black Gate of Mordor, finds himself lost in a realm between life and death.

The game literally starts with Talion discovering the body of his son Dirhael and then the player is treated to a few flashbacks to get context. We move fluidly from Talion and Dirhael sparring to suddenly fighting alongside each other as Uruk forces come to the gate. Similarly, Talion discovers the body of his wife before the players are then shown a sweet moment between the two and then their attempted escape from the battle.

Despite the fact we know their fate, it’s still not easy watching Dirhael and Ioreth being ritualistically sacrificed in the rain, the whole family screaming and crying before Talion is whisked away into his new un-life. Hope you weren’t coming to Middle-Earth for a simple monster battling adventure game because Shadow of Mordor held no punches with its story set-up.