Too often, we see games that get remastered that sincerely didn’t need the facelift. All jokes about things like The Last of Us aside, gaming companies seem hellbent on simply reaping quick cash for running a relatively recent game through a series of upscales and minor tweaks and calling it a day. While something like Dynasty Warriors 3 completely revitalizes a game made before a majority of gamers were born, you have things like Lunar where the anime cutscenes just look washed out and only emphasize what’s lacking in the game. So when you have relatively young games like Middle-earth: Shadow of War on the dais for the remaster effect, what can you expect? As it turns out, some really important tweaking, some full packaging, and a chance at redemption for a successful game that fumbled their own launch almost a decade ago.

Even Gollum is trying to get in on this redemption arc!

When we originally reviewed Middle-earth: Shadow of War, our writer took a very generous approach to the game. While I agree with a majority of the scoring, it’s incredible that we have a screenshot that looks like it should be PlayStation 3 era on the PS4 and still landing an 8.5 on the graphical scale. The original review lauds a lot about the gameplay and scoring, but also gives a lot of softball wiggle room to the fact that the plot is borderline enigmatic. For fans of the original game, I cannot stress this enough: the plot is not better, or different, or more complete. It’s still the same saga where Talion gets a Ring of Power, promptly loses it, and then immediately gets sucked into more fighting because why not. There’s two additional DLCs that came out after the base game, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

In contrast to the review for Shadow of Mordor, I was pretty impressed by how far the Switch 2 is taking the graphics and design of this older game. Not only does it look really solid, it also runs incredibly smoothly even in handheld mode. For a game that is focused on fast twitch combat, spinning perspectives and needing to sometimes have multiple sprites on camera at once, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of stuttering, even during the earlier stages where there’s literally a massive siege happening. The strong performance is slightly counterbalanced by the massive install size, but that’s something we just have to get used to as games continue to expand and publishers refuse to put games onto carts anymore to save money.

You gotta admit, it gives cowards something to strive towards.

Additionally, the Nemesis system still remains one of the most unique experiences in gaming and incorporates perfectly into this world. Being able to elevate an enemy’s status by having them survive a battle and setting up future, important combat was incredible, and it gave you actual incentive to let an enemy escape from your wrath. I mean, if you’re looking to simply “win,” you’ll brutalize a foe before they can get anywhere, but the possibility of additional experience and loot waiting if you show patience and let the game develop a true foil for your character is genuinely cool. Why can’t I see this elsewhere? Imagine a Nemesis Pokemon system. I need a Magikarp that’s out for blood, and I needed it yesterday.

Plus, the expanded version for Shadow of War really makes you believe that games can be incredible. It’s not enough to have enemies come back and try to seek revenge on you for past transgressions, but to have it customized with bandages and artificial appendages that accurately represent the damage you inflicted is deliciously chilling. Further upping the ante and having Talion be able to recruit orcs to his side, making them his own personal army and entourage, and then even having them decide to betray you in the heat of battle? This is a complex, brilliant bit of AI that was put together back in 2017, and has been praised ever since, even more so today.  It’s a peak example of an idea coming to life and executing in a way that might have even exceeded original expectations. Good thing Monolith continues to make incredible games, right?

Shadow of War feels like Crank 2, if you’ve ever seen the movie. If you were actually paying attention to the first Crank, you understand there’s no reason whatsoever for this second movie to be happening, and it’s just a shameless excuse for Jason Statham to be weird and chaotic for 90 minutes or so. In that same vein, Shadow of Mordor was a thrilling and exciting departure from a lot of games at that time, packed with dense lore-adjacent characters, the Nemesis system and tons of weapons, accessories and ways to do wild action. The unholy combination of Talion and Celebrimbor is a fascinating situation that creates a fluid motif of vengeance and power that culminates in the destruction of the Black Hand and a versatile, if pointed, ending moment. I personally felt the whole thing was wrapped up neatly by the end of Mordor.

URGH! Stabbed in the stomach! My one weakness!

So Shadow of War doesn’t need to exist, but, if you got hooked on what you were doing mechanically in the first game, then I’ve got great news for you. This is more of that, but…spread out. It feels like Shadow of War has you running great distances to get to different areas where you go into the same flowstate of combat that has the same degree to it depending on difficulty. While I normally advocate for normal or easier, I highly suggest anyone wanting to experience the game at its full potential begin on Nemesis. Normal actually felt kind of easy, as long as you were fast on the QTE. Just keep hitting one button, quickly strike X when you need to, and reign hell down on everyone.

That might be another issue, and it stems from not being fully immersed in the Tolkien realm. I get that every game that has action contains a degree of power fantasy. You wouldn’t usually go out into the street and fight a stranger, and, if you do, then you’re too busy doing the graveyard shift at a Piggly Wiggly to play video games. The point is that every hero, antihero and villain story has a bit of the “watch me kick some ass” with the caveat that there’s balance. When you play a Superman game, there’s some kind of reasoning for why Superman can take damage or be defeated, even if it’s “Joker murdered my girlfriend and now I’m Super Hitler.” Sonic’s Golden form is temporary and a reward for patience and quick reflexes. You aren’t always God.

And yet when I tell my brother this while he holds an umbrella, I’m the bad guy.

So why the hell is Talion and company always the most powerful things forever? I’m not just talking about fighting, though the fact that Eltariel the Elf can just merc a group of eight orcs without even caring is still questionable. I mean even traversal is ridiculous. You can jump from any height and land without damage. Sensible if you’re a zombie ranger, not so much when you’re an arguably magical but still fleshy Elf. You scale any wall like a more unwashed version of Spiderman. What was originally something novel and kind of exciting when you first realize it quickly becomes stale and boring. The expression is “as the crow flies,” not “as the lich hero walks.” Combine that with the fact that Eltariel can just heal on a whim and the other two can always throw a saving throw, and you lose incentive to stay invested.

Don’t get wrong, Shadow of War is enjoyable, almost pointlessly so. I have never read The Silmarillion, and I don’t know if I’ll ever get the itch to do so. So all the incredible voice work, well scripted moments and designed areas that I’m sure are bang on with the rest of the world are totally lost on me. It’s pleasant and epic, but it’s the same as taking me to the best Vietnamese restaurant you’ve ever had. I’ve never eaten Vietnamese food, so I’m going to like it, but I come from a position of just being happy to be here with no comparison to another experience. While I did enjoy Mordor, there’s tons of new stuff here, so it’s a good time to be held overall. Particularly if you never bothered to follow up on the original release  of Shadow of War and want to see what the DLC added to the game.

Which is…fairly significant. Each of the two bonus campaign settings not only take you out of Talion’s position, but also give you further beats to show what else was happening during the course of the main game saga. There’s some different elements of combat, such as blinding enemies with light and using Batman adjacent gadgets (for Eltariel and Baranor, respectively). These side campaigns probably add eight to ten more hours, respectively, so they’re hardly minimal drops in the bucket. All of the DLC content regarding items and accessories are baked in, and the icky feeling of microtransactions that support a dead man’s family have been surgically removed. There’s a ton of game here, and it’s honestly been well polished to show up on the Switch 2, ready and willing to be exemplary. 

Seriously, does this game just love watching me die from falling?

Also, Baranor’s side quest is a good deviation from the formatting of the other two stories. There’s more reliance on recruiting and building a posse of bodyguards and designating other mercenaries/humans to your cause. The likelihood of death is SIGNIFICANTLY higher, and you lack any of the immortal flair that Talion has, so there’s real stakes to things. Plus, you’re limited in your mobility and can’t just go hog wild. Sure, firing a grappling hook and launching explosive charges isn’t just run-of-the-mill adventuring, but, compared to sucking the souls out of NPCs and exploding like a neutron bomb, Baranor feels downright relatable. If you get too overwhelmed with the nonstop madcap of the main adventure, this girthy side journey through a different part of Middle-earth is really enjoyable.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War was an amazing feat at release, and this modern publication underlines the strengths within. The action, the systems and the expansive world are all incredible, and conforms to be either a brutal breeze for relaxed players or a challenging game of strategy at higher difficulty levels. It has its faults, and I don’t personally subscribe to the degree of untamed energy, but it can be wildly fun in the moment, and Middle-earth fans deserve great games after some really rough releases. A fantastic example of a game way ahead of its time, this new chance to engage with the energy, power and classic momentum of Monolith’s swan song should not be missed.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is available now on Steam, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series One X/S and Nintendo Switch 2.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.

A copy of Middle-earth: Shadow of War was provided by the publisher.