Middle-earth: Shadow Of War one of the 'most under-appreciated games of all time'

Fans of Middle-earth: Shadow of War have deemed it to be one of the “most under-appreciated games of all time”. They have a point - it is a banger.

It’s no secret that The Lord of the Rings fans were hugely underwhelmed by Gollum earlier this year. In fact, ‘underwhelmed’ feels too kind. Fans were appalled with the shocking state of the game. The studio behind the release, Daedalic Entertainment, has actually shut down as a result of the game’s terrible performance. They’ll now simply focus on publishing ventures, cancelling development on a second Lord of the Rings title and another unannounced IP. Hopefully, Private Division and Weta Workshop will dazzle us with their upcoming Middle-earth set open-world game which is in development. That’s likely several years away from release, but we can enjoy some old classics in the meantime.

Want to see Gollum in action? Take a look below.

I say old, Middle-earth: Shadow of War released back in 2017 so it’s not old at all. Developed by Monolith Productions, the game is a sequel to 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor which, I don’t need to tell you, is widely considered to be one of the best Lord of the Rings games out there. As such, Shadow of War sort of fell into its shadow (no pun intended) a little upon release, perhaps because of the microtransactions and lighter story.

It received its fair share of praise, but not enough according to fans on Reddit. One user said, “Is Shadow of War one of the most under-appreciated games of all time?” to which many said yes. Another user wrote, “Its deff not as popular as it could be IMO. Definitely an overlooked title,” while Leonel979 wrote, “YES YES YES YES YES YES.” Simple, but to the point.

Lawlcopt0r commented, “I think it was pretty successful, doesn't get enough credit for being well-made though,” plus Drwho201 added, “Definitely, Shadow of War is probably one of my most favourite games of all time but the loot box system probably gave it a bad reputation when it came out even though I personally think it hardly affected the game. It’s a shame too, the nemesis system is one of the most unique and incredible features I’ve ever seen in a game.” Maybe it’s time to dive back in.