Shadow Of War: 10 Brutally Honest Impressions You Need To Know

4. The Scale Of The War Is Jaw-Dropping

Middle Earth Shadow Of War
Monolith

Although the original Shadow of Mordor could get pretty hectic at times, it never got to the point where combat was overwhelming. Never throwing too many enemies at you at once, once you got the hang of the combat system the battles in the first game became pretty manageable no matter how far through the title you were.

Moving into the sequel however, Monolith has been able to perfectly capture the 'war' part of Shadow of War's title, pitting players against more enemies than ever before. The scale of every fight is massive, and it's rare that you're ever fighting less than ten enemies at a time, with the odds often feeling just insurmountable enough to make victories seem earned.

The epic scale extends to more than just the combat however, as the map of the sequel in general is more populated than ever. The cities you're trying to defend or attack are full of hundreds of enemies and allies, and it's easy to get in over your head just by heading down the wrong street.

Some fans might miss the more focused fights of the first game, but there's no denying that Shadow of War lives up to what its title suggests.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.