10 Unique Open-World Games With Awesome Mechanics
5. Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Now, you might be wondering why I've put Shadow of War on here over the more beloved original Shadow of Mordor. That's a fair question, as after all this maligned sequel caused huge controversy at launch thanks to its lacklustre endgame which seemed entirely designed to sell the player microtransactions.
While that is true, Shadow of War in 2021 is a far more refined game, with most of those issues smoothed out (though the endgame still sucks). Taken as it is now, it's a solid follow up to the original, especially in how it doubles down on its core Nemesis system.
If you don't know, this mechanic sees certain orcs you kill return in later fights as actual named characters vowing revenge. There's a RNG element to it, but essentially it allows you to naturally create rivalries with these enemies, who will reference your prior battles, wounds they received or insults they threw at you the first time around.
It's such a robust system, and nobody has been able to rip it off anywhere near as well in the years since, and it allows the experience of each player to become incredibly personalised.
The other open world elements might not be that inspired, but when you have the Nemesis system, who cares?