When comparing Monster Hunter: World vs Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the Slant community recommends Middle-earth: Shadow of War for most people. In the question“What are the best singleplayer games on Steam?” Middle-earth: Shadow of War is ranked 93rd while Monster Hunter: World is ranked 105th. The most important reason people chose Middle-earth: Shadow of War is:
Shadow of War uses the Nemesis system to create a more immersive and alive-feeling world. Thanks to it, orc leaders have names, ranks, titles, tribes they belong to, and most importantly, connections to other orc leaders. For example, an orc leader might be at war with another orc leader. This conflict won't end until one of them dies. There are also orcs that are considered blood brothers, having unwavering loyalty to each other. Because of this, don't be too surprised if you ever get betrayed by one of your followers that's trying to do right by his blood brother. Additionally, the leaders you fight will also develop connections with you. Orcs that you've killed or spared, may come back with scars, recalling your previous encounter and vowing to exact vengeance. Orcs that you've escaped from will mock you for being a chicken, and so forth. The gradual creation of this web of connections is very enjoyable and sometimes even more compelling than the game's main story.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Dynamic and immersive world
You're not just stepping into an arena to fight monsters, you're entering a living and breathing world where monsters go about their daily lives - eating, fighting, hunting, and resting. It's very interesting seeing carnivores assault a flock of herbivores or two winged creatures having a territorial dispute mid-air. These type of events considerably add to the immersion, making you truly feel like a hunter that's intruding upon an ecosystem.
Pro Exhilarating hunting gameplay
MH:W is a game about hunting wyverns, dragons, and many other monsters.
You track them down in their natural habitat, be it a giant forest, a valley littered with dead bodies, or an active volcano, engaging them in combat that quickly turns in a struggle for survival.
You use any weapon or tool at your disposal to kill or subdue the monster, while it relentlessly chases you, slashing with its claws, biting you, swiping with its tail, and using any breath attack it may have.
Sometimes the monster might even try to escape, forcing you to chase it. Or it might become enraged, causing it to attack you more ferociously. As a result, you always have to be on your toes and react accordingly, which makes it a really thrilling experience.
Pro Awesome graphics
The graphics look simply stunning, featuring very detailed environments with a great amount of flora, accompanied by great lighting and shadow mapping. The monster designs are especially noteworthy, allowing you to make out even the tiniest details on scales, feathers, and claws. All of this is brought to life by a very vibrant color palette, making the game a treat for the eyes.
Pro Engaging crafting-based progression system
Monster Hunter: World is considered an action-RPG, but you don't level up or learn any new skills like in most RPGs.
Instead, progression is heavily reliant on your skills as a player and the crafting system, requiring you to craft gear to improve your character. This creates an unusual gameplay loop where you hunt monsters, collect their body parts, and use them as materials to craft better gear, allowing you to hunt even stronger monsters.
If you can't beat a monster, you either need to get better at fighting the monster or improve your gear. When you finally beat the monster, it's thanks to your skill and effort as a player, which feels both rewarding and gratifying.
Pro A great variety of weapons to choose from
There are 14 weapon types total, primarily split into melee weapons and ranged weapons. This includes dual blades, longswords, bows, bowguns, and even hybrids called gunlances. Each weapon type has its strengths, weaknesses, unique combos, and even upgrade paths.
For example, the dual blades allow you to move faster, chain quick combos, and enter a “demon mode”, which let you to deal more damage. The downside is that the dual blades have a short reach, so you have to be willing to throw yourself into danger by staying as close to the monster as possible. Another example, the bowgun, can be used to fight monsters at a safe distance and multiple ammo types, tailored for specific monsters and situations. The downside is that reloading leaves you defenseless, ammo can run out, and being too close or too far to the monster reduces the damage effectiveness.
As a result, there’s enough variety and depth that most players will be able to find a weapon that suits their playstyle.
Pro A lot of cross-title integration/seasonal events and in-game decorations
Cross-title integration such as FF15, Devil May Cry, Megaman, Horizon Dawn, Street Fighter, Assassin Creed add new challenges to the game, as well as new equipments setup.
Pro Character connections make for a compelling experience
Shadow of War uses the Nemesis system to create a more immersive and alive-feeling world. Thanks to it, orc leaders have names, ranks, titles, tribes they belong to, and most importantly, connections to other orc leaders.
For example, an orc leader might be at war with another orc leader. This conflict won't end until one of them dies. There are also orcs that are considered blood brothers, having unwavering loyalty to each other. Because of this, don't be too surprised if you ever get betrayed by one of your followers that's trying to do right by his blood brother.
Additionally, the leaders you fight will also develop connections with you. Orcs that you've killed or spared, may come back with scars, recalling your previous encounter and vowing to exact vengeance. Orcs that you've escaped from will mock you for being a chicken, and so forth. The gradual creation of this web of connections is very enjoyable and sometimes even more compelling than the game's main story.
Pro Addictive gear collection fuels your thirst for orc blood
As you kill orc leaders, they'll drop random quality gear items, ranging from common rarity every-orc weapons/armor to legendary rarity artifacts with unique names. Each item serves to improve your character, providing various stat increases and damage bonuses. You can also upgrade gear with gems or via challenges that usually involve killing orcs, bolstering your strength even further. On top of that, there are set bonuses for legendary items, giving you special abilities such as your hits applying explosive poison on regular enemies. It's very exciting seeing what gear piece an orc leader will drop once you lob his head off, causing you to constantly seek out new victims.
Pro Satisfying combat
Shadow of War gives one of the better feeling combat systems in recent times, allowing you to be either stealthy or go for direct confrontations.
If you choose to be stealthy, you can skewer unsuspecting orcs from behind with your dagger, drop onto them from a building while impaling them with your sword, or just pierce them from afar with your bow.
If you choose a direct confrontation, it's a really quick-paced and brutal showdown against your enemies with your chosen melee weapon. You weave combos against enemies, dodging, parrying, and countering enemy attacks, which ends in a devastating finishing move, resulting in a mutilated or decapitated orc.
Whichever method you choose, the combat flows really well and you always feel like a force to be reckoned with.
Pro You can lead an orc army and expand your own dominion
As part of the Nemesis system, you can recruit orc leaders after you've bested them in combat. Each one has his own unique strengths and weaknesses, so making the best possible army for conquering enemy territories might take a while.
For example, an orc leader can be completely immune to ranged attacks, but can take increased damage from explosions. You should take such an orc leader on assaults against fortresses filled with archers but be wary of the slightest hints of any bombs.
Once you've finished building a sizeable force, you can assault a fortresses. If you succeed in the assault, you'll take over a territory, allowing you to install your own orc leader as the ruler. With enough effort you'll gradually take over Mordor and its surrounding lands.
Shadow of War makes you feel like a recruiter, general, and a ruler, which is very empowering and a lot of fun.
Cons
Con Too much of reused monster animation
In mid-late game you will notice most of the High Rank monsters are just another spin-off of a previous monster, where the behaviour is mostly the same, just with higher damage modifier. Where at this point you will easily figure out how to beat it.
They could alter some HR mobs behaviour to make hunting trickier instead of just adjusting the damage/hp/defence modifier.
Con Frustratingly difficult at times
Even though MH:W has been made slightly more accessible to new players of the series, it still has some of the most difficult combat seen in games with a very steep learning curve.
You need to memorize the various map layouts, as well as each monster's habits, attack patterns, and weaknesses, to make beating them even remotely possible.
It might also take while before you fully master your weapon of choice because the tutorials are too basic, instructing you just on basic controls and combos.
Even when you finally manage to beat a difficult monster, your short-lived triumph will soon turn into dread, causing you to wonder about how difficult the next monster is gonna be.
Con Can get repetitive
The overall gameplay formula doesn't change much over the course of the game. You fight orcs, take over strongholds, upgrade your character, and collect blips on the world map. After a while it can start feeling like a grind, especially during long play sessions. This is made worse in the final stretch of the game where you have to fight through 20 consecutive stronghold battles without any story segments or exposition.
Con Unskippable cutscenes disrupt the flow of the gameplay
Every time an orc leader enters the screen, there is an unskippable cutscene where he rambles a bit, focusing the camera on him and halting combat until the cutscene ends. This usually happens as you're fighting another enemy, potentially disrupting your rhythm, which can be really frustrating, especially if mess up your combo or take an unnecessary hit after the cutscene.