Admittedly, most of us are here to slice and dice some orcs rather than to dive into a deep well of characterisation and narrative intrigue, but there was a disconnect between myself and this world that I couldn’t get over there was nothing really to drag me in or make me care about all the people Talion encountered, or even Talion himself. While the original game may have made those fans raise an eyebrow, Shadow of War’s approach to storytelling will likely make them break out in hives. Shadow of War doesn’t exactly play fast and loose with Lord of the Rings lore as much as it does stampede over it like the orcs invading Osgiliath in Return of the King, so die-hard Tolkien fans may be in for a rough ride. Rather than going for a “guerrilla” approach as seen in Shadow of Mordor, the pair instead go all out and wage war on The Dark Lord with massive orc armies of their own, thanks to the new Ring of Power of Celebrimbor’s forging. The reason for its upscaling ties in to the plot, which sees Talion and his ghost pal Celebrimbor enacting revenge on Sauron and his sea of orcs. It only makes sense, then, that Monolith took that USP and innovated it even further, creating a violent, incredibly dense, and charismatic game of chess. The amalgamated gameplay inspired by the likes of Assassin’s Creed and the Arkham series was solid, even sometimes superb, but the Nemesis system is what made it tick, taking it from a seemingly doomed licensed property to a respected game in its own right. The Nemesis system for Shadow of Mordor was its crown jewel, a design choice so inspired that it’s a wonder no other developer has had a stab at aping it since. Shadow of War feels like the natural upping of the stakes for a big budget sequel, but its predecessor’s most prominent and beloved mechanic makes a welcome return to even greater effect. There’s a dizzying amount of content here and certainly enough to tide over the most ardent of trophy collectors – I chalked up roughly 50 hours with the game over four days and was so wearied by it all that my overall trophy completion will likely stay at 77%. The sequel to what I, and many others, believed to be the best game of 2014 and a surprise hit to boot, Shadow of War takes the Frankenstein’s Monster that was Shadow of Mordor and builds on it in almost every regard. As time wears on, though, it comes seriously close to outstaying its welcome. It’s on a larger scale than its predecessor with the dial turned up to eleven on all fronts, creating a breathless spectacle that’s almost overwhelming.

If Middle-earth: Shadow of War was a Lord of the Rings movie, it would be Return of the King.

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