15 Essential PS4 Games Every New Owner Must Play

9. Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

The one and only really big takeaway from 2014 (aside from Hotline Miami 2), Shadow of Mordor was a staunch reminder of what an Assassin's Creed game could be like if Ubisoft took the time to perfect their own formula.

Brilliantly gory and downright fun melee combat, stealth that always feels confident and rewarding, enemy orcs that can be turned to aid you in battle and an entire 'Nemesis system' of antagonists to dismantle, Shadow of Mordor was as surprising to play back at launch as it is cheap to find today.

Ostensibly letting you remix Mordor's key players by mind-controlling or killing certain chieftans, you'll develop dynamic antagonistic relationships with specific enemies that'll repeatedly come back from the dead to at least attempt their revenge. All of this factors into an endlessly experimental feeling when exploring and fighting, culminating in a final boss encounter that's entirely customised based on who killed you along the way.

Insanely neat, it remains a hugely missed opportunity that more games don't utilise this very system.