When comparing Resident Evil HD Remaster vs Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the Slant community recommends Resident Evil HD Remaster for most people. In the question“What are the best single player games on PS4?” Resident Evil HD Remaster is ranked 17th while Middle-earth: Shadow of War is ranked 55th. The most important reason people chose Resident Evil HD Remaster is:
The developers have done a great job of balancing difficulty of the puzzles. You'll still have to look for clues, reading through documents and examining objects, but it won't ever feel daunting. It won't feel too easy either, giving you a sense of accomplishment when you open that secret passage or locked door.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro The puzzles feel just right
The developers have done a great job of balancing difficulty of the puzzles. You'll still have to look for clues, reading through documents and examining objects, but it won't ever feel daunting. It won't feel too easy either, giving you a sense of accomplishment when you open that secret passage or locked door.
Pro Immersive exploration
The entire game is set in a massive mansion and its surrounding area. It's very quiet, spacious, and has many locked doors that will pique your interest. You'll gradually unlock more of the mansion, slowly uncovering its mysteries. This includes hidden passages, secret laboratories, and rotting cellars, hiding many dark secrets. You're never quite sure what to expect next, but that's what it keeps it fresh and exciting throughout the entire game.
Pro Fixed camera angles create a cinematic experience
Resident Evil HD skillfuly balances visibility and tension with fixed camera angles. It can be the view from behind a fence as your character passes it by, giving you a sense of looming danger. It can be an upwards angle on a giant statue, making it seem more imposing. Or it can be the zoomed out view of a great hall to make the scale all the more impressive. Many details like this make Resident Evil HD more visually pleasing and atmospheric than most modern games.
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 Combat feels awkward at times
In various areas you won't be able to see the enemies on-screen because of the fixed camera angles. This might make combat somewhat unpleasant since you won't be sure if you're hitting the enemy or how far they are. The auto-aim function helps with that by pointing your character towards them, but you won't stay locked on, so you'll have to constantly readjust your aim.
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.