Gaming News The combat in these Lord of the Rings video games is exceptional because of this unique idea: no one picked it up and there’s a reason for it!
It’s not because we’re a licensed game that we can’t innovate! A few years ago, this Lord of the Rings title proved that.
Like any successful license, The Lord of the Rings has been the subject of countless video games, from the most ordinary (think Gollum, “the worst game of 2023”) to the most memorable! And in 2014, less than a year into the PS4/One era, Warner and Monolith Productions (FEAR, Condemned) brought us Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, an amazing open-world action-adventure game. The title was critically well received with an 84 on the reference site Metacritic, but stood out for one reason in particular: its Nemesis system.
An unforgettable system
And what is this famous system? Basically, in Shadow of Mordor, the hierarchy of orcs you face evolves as the adventure progresses. For example, If a servant of Sauron defeats you, he will rise in rank and be stronger in the next encounter (The hero Talion is immortal). By the way, when you meet him again, he will say something like “I thought I killed you”… Conversely, low-level enemies can run away – if they heard about your exploits. Additionally, each Arc Captain has their own personality.
That’s not all, in Shadow of Mordor it is also possible to bend opponents to your will, for example by forcing them to face one of their colleagues (which, in the event of victory, will put one of your “spies” at the head of the world sets). Hierarchy). Three years later, Middle-earth: Shadow of War will improve the Nemesis system, especially with the introduction of the Ring of Power, allowing an Orc to accompany you directly in battle.
A return soon?
This innovative feature has been a dead letter since 2017. It was actually patented by Warner, which doesn’t allow anyone to use it. But Nemesis will be back soon… in a Wonder Woman game. This is actually the new project from Warner and Monolith Productions and it has been confirmed that this system will be in place. However, since its announcement in 2021, the title has no longer shown any signs of life. It is still in development and does not have a release date yet.
