Middle-earth: Shadow of War review — a grind as epic as its story

Any review of Middle-earth: Shadow of War has to acknowledge that it is a monumental achievement from developer Monolith and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It’s a huge open world that I have enjoyed exploring over the past dozen days, and I could easily see myself spending many more hours exploring. It is full of new characters, new stories, and new adventures that take place in the 60 years between the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Monolith has done a great job fleshing out the culture of the flesh-eating orcs of Mordor. That said, I found some sticky issues that the game raises that aren’t so easy to digest, and they detract from the story’s impact. [Updated] I have finished all of the 63 story-based missions, and I would estimate I’m well into 50 hours of gameplay on my PlayStation 4 review copy.