When comparing Battle Chef Brigade 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 Action RPG games on Steam?” Middle-earth: Shadow of War is ranked 32nd while Battle Chef Brigade is ranked 47th. 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 An enjoyable blend of puzzle solving and action gaming
Battle Chef Brigade combines action gaming and puzzles in an enjoyable way. It makes cooking up your perfect dish a little more interactive than just slapping together ingredients, as you'll be actively hunting and gathering them all yourself.
At the beginning of each timed cooking challenge, the featured ingredient and the judges' culinary preferences are announced. It will be different every match, meaning you'll have to stay on your toes.
From the kitchen, you step out into the world to hunt animals for their meat and gather ingredients in an action platforming setup. At first you'll just be using your dagger, but as the game progresses you'll unlock more moves, magic spells, and even a few combos to beef up the action.
When all your ingredients are collected, you'll rush back into the kitchen and mix and match everything you've gathered in a frantic match 3 puzzle setup to prepare your ultimate dish.
Pro Good difficulty progression pacing
The game has a very steady difficulty ramp, meaning you'll never be overly frustrated or bogged down by too many mechanics at once. At the start, it's your typical match three game where you'll be preparing simple dishes. It's easy to learn the basics. As you progress, modifiers are added such as tighter time limits and being required to cook multiple dishes. Some ingredients are also poisonous, requiring you to carefully avoid the poison gems so you don't spoil the food. The end result is a difficulty level that feels natural since the game becomes gradually harder as you go.
Pro A new in-game challenge every day
Even if you've beaten the game, there is still an exciting reason to keep coming back for more. Every (real time) day, the game gives you a randomized set of gear and ingredients, and sends you into the kitchen for a cook-off. Since this daily challenge is completely random, it provides a fun challenge by requiring you to think and react quickly. While there is no multiplayer mode, it is still a fun way to put your skills to the test and race your friends to the highest score on the leaderboard.
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 guesswork in the cook-offs
You choose your cooking equipment, such as pans, prior to each cook-off. However, until the cook-off actually begins, you aren't given any information on each judge's culinary preferences. Some judges may prefer their food cooked in a fire or earth pan, whereas you brought a water pan. Due to this, having to replay cook-offs happens often.
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.