Shadow of War lets You Bring Your Old Orc Pals

Back in 2014, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor was released, and while the combat may have been lifted directly from the then-popular Batman Arkham games, and the story was as generic as stories can get (Dead family revenge story, in case you glazed over it with the rest of us), what really made the game shine was the unique nemesis system, where individual orcs would have names, personalities, and remember you if they happened to eviscerate you earlier. It allowed you to craft your own interesting story that could at least enhance the boring main plot, and it meant you always had a cast of interesting characters to both care about and struggle against.

Given it's prominence, it can be little surprise that the system returns for Shadow of War. But developer Monolith has really gone above and beyond in service of this new feature, as they've implemented a patch in Shadow of Mordor that will allow you to import your most hated enemy, as well as your most trusted ally, into the new game.



It looks pretty rad, actually. I never grew a particular attachment to any of the enemies, I found the game a bit easy and it's even easier to ensure no one comes back to haunt you, but I did have a few allies I found myself invested in. Plus, I've seen enough people play online that I'm something of an outlier.

Still, the fact that it's free makes it all the cooler. Now if we could just get some sweet Talon x Orc action then my wish-list for this game would be complete.

Oh, and a better plot, because seriously.