When comparing Sea of Thieves 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 open world games on Xbox One?” Middle-earth: Shadow of War is ranked 23rd while Sea of Thieves is ranked 41st. 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
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Hours of content thanks to the the Voyage system
Due to the variety of the voyages and three different factions, things stay fresh and fun for quite some time resulting in quite a bit of content to play through as you sail your ship towards loot and infamy.
The game centers around a quest system, called voyages, which works incredibly well to provide hours of content. Completing these voyages will allow you to build your reputation and earn gold, which in turn, will allow you embark on even more dangerous and exciting voyages, sometimes with multiple parts and their own ministory.
Voyages include sailing your ship on the rough seas to your destination, and then finally following your map to the treasure. But there are a lot of variables involved. Getting attacked at sea, various enemies, islands with different layouts, traps on the treasure chests, and other obstacles are between you and your goal at all times, with each voyage being distinctly different so you'll never be doing the same thing twice.
Pro Rare and random events keep everyone on their toes
For example, your ship may be attacked by a huge Kraken. This can happen anytime or anywhere you're on the open seas. The water bubbles and turns black, the sign of a big and deadly sea monster approaching. Eventually it will be attacking your ship, attempting to drag your ship and your crew down into the depths. You'll have to fend it off and unleash all your firepower on it if you want it to release your ship so you can safely sail away. This can be especially dramatic if you're hauling back a large amount of loot to sell off. Because of the completely random nature of these events and their ability to easily sink an unprepared ship, you will have to stay alert and on your toes at all times.
Pro The ship battles are intense
Other players and their crews can attack you on the open waters in PvP combat, as well as AI skeletal crews with varying strengths and weaknesses, sometimes with little to no warning. This results in some pretty intense and epic battles where authentic pirate warfare comes into play.
Battling involves the coordination of your entire crew as things can get extremely hectic really quickly. Someone will have to run below deck to grab the cannonballs, while another loads them in the cannons and shoots at the enemy. Others may be using buckets to bail out water after your ship takes damage and starts to sink. You'll have to manage damage to your ship while also protecting yourself from enemy attacks.
You can even grab your pistol and sword and jump aboard the enemy ship, swinging and shooting your way to victory. Keep in mind, the enemy will also try to board your ship and cut you down, so you'll always have to stay alert and react on the fly.
Overall, the ship battles are done incredibly well, require teamwork due to offensive and defensive aspects such as shooting cannons and bailing water, and are loaded with fast paced and intense action.
Pro Controlling the pirate ship together provides a great co-op experience
When playing with friends, you can all control the pirate ship together. The sails need someone to control them so that the ship is able to take advantage of wind to propel itself forward. Another in the role of captain may be steering the ship as it rolls over salty ocean waves. A friend might also opt to climb up to the crow's nest to keep an eye out for other ships on the prowl. Additionally, someone will have to be making repairs on the ship with wooden planks or bailing with buckets if the deck takes on water. Working together to control the ship works well and encourages a level of team work that is very conducive to fun co-op play.
Pro A lot of unique ways to customize the look of your pirate
You can outfit your character in a variety of different costumes and outfits, including hook hands, hats, eye patches, and bandanas. While some are open to anyone with the gold or reputation, sometimes the game will put special items on a vendor just for your play style. For example, if you spend a lot of time killing other players, the game will recognize this by putting special items on vendors that you can purchase to denote you are a bloodthirsty pirate who does a lot of PvP. If you want to be the biggest, baddest looking pirate around, there's plenty of ways to unlock the look you want.
Pro A huge open world with lots to explore
For those who enjoy exploration and games without restrictions on travel, there is a lot to see and do here. The game is mainly an open world where you are free to sail your ship around in any direction you choose and explore the various islands at your own leisure. There are reputations to grind, quests from 3 different companies, forts to conquer, shipwrecks to scavenge, and islands to plunder for their treasure. The game world itself is huge, giving you the freedom to traverse it and discover it's secrets at will.
Pro The water looks absolutely incredible
Standing on the port of your ship and looking out over the water makes you feel like you're really standing on a real ship in the ocean. Utilizing the Unreal 4 engine to full capacity, the water itself looks fantastic, with great shimmering effects as waves gently roll or violently crash. Sea foam froths and the sun illuminates the water below. It's some of the best looking water in any game to date and helps immerse you in the world of pirates and ships, as the game world is largely made up of being on the water or surrounded by it.
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 The look of outfits, ship upgrades, and weapons are cosmetic only
The various outfits, ship upgrades, and weapons require you to spend gold in-game, but they are cosmetic only. This can be a huge turn off after saving up a bunch of gold for a shiny new weapon, only to find it's purely cosmetic and doesn't add to any kind of stat pool.
Con Lore can be hard to follow without outside sources
Without the lore book or comic book, characters and lore may be hard to follow. To understand the legends and characters properly, you will most likely need to read from outside sources simply due to the sheer amount of the lore the game tries to tackle.
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.