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If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our benchmarking of Shadow of Mordor on Nvidia hardware. We are working on getting AMD hardware too, but supporting us on Patreon will speed up that effort.
Disclosure: This review is co-written by Samsai, Liam’s key was provided by Feral Interactive.
What we think - Spoilers will be plentiful!
It’s pretty rare for Linux to have such a high quality open-world game, and Shadow of Mordor has delivered something pretty special.
The game is pretty bleak, as can be expected fighting through the hordes of Mordor, and the opening scene is especially savage. It lulls you into a false sense of security, as you are playing happy families one minute, and being brutally executed in a sacrifice shortly after.
One of the best things in Shadow of Mordor is the fear and annoyance that comes with being killed, as it really isn’t a laughing matter. If you’re killed, the Uruk that killed you will become more powerful, and harder to defeat the next time. They also might get promotions and you could potentially see a grunt turn into a warchief’s bodyguard. This is what’s called the “Nemesis” system, and it rocks.
We mentioned Uruk’s getting promoted and those are quite important in Shadow of Mordor. A big part of the game is actually about messing with the internal “politics” of Mordor. I use the term “politics” very loosely, since the Uruk usually use their swords rather than their words. This means that in order to progress you must kill certain captains and even warchiefs and replace them with your less powerful Uruks or ones that are loyal to you. This involves assassination attempts, making servants betray their masters, invading feasts, hunts and executions and using a form of magic to turn Uruks into your own servants. However, you cannot just go barging in and expecting to win the fight. Each of the Uruk captains has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some are completely invulnerable to ranged attacks, others have poisoned weapons and some are even scared to death of the local wildlife. Gathering intel about the captains either by interrogating other Uruks or by stealing documents is vital to your success if you want to take them on.
The combat is also where the game shines, it may not be the single most exciting combat experience around, but it’s incredibly accessible. Most of it is just attacking enemies and countering their attacks to keep your hitstreak up to do executions on the Uruk-hai around you. The combinations are easy to do, and you don’t feel overwhelmed when lots of Uruk’s are attacking you. We aren’t saying it’s easy, as you can get beaten down pretty hard if you miss a counter attack.
Sometimes a head-on approach is not the best option to kill Uruks and this is where stealth comes into play. Shadow of Mordor features a stealth system that allows you to sneak past guards right into the Uruk camps and strongholds and silently and swiftly kill your opponents. So, if you are of the sneaking type you’ll probably love the open map design that allows, and requires, you to plan carefully where to go and who and when to kill in order to stay protected by the shadows. I think the stealth system in Shadow of Mordor is one of the best we’ve seen on Linux and the wanna-be assassins behind monitors will definitely appreciate it. There is something quite special about stalking your target, isolating it from the groups of other enemies and then striking deadly and silently. The stealth is sometimes a necessary mechanic too, as we mentioned the Captain’s strength and weaknesses earlier and some can be killed instantly using a stealth kill from above. Things like that help keep the game interesting, as you will need to know that to actually be able to kill the captain, so that’s where intel comes into the equation again. We actually came across one of these captains, and had to seek out some intel on them to stop us getting our buttocks handed to us when trying to attack them normally.
The main strength of the game really is the various ways in which you can complete your objectives, so it would suit button bashing players, and more stealth focused players alike.
The story is a little bit of a let-down, though a relatively gentle one. As you might be aware, the events of Shadow of Mordor happen between Hobbit and the Lord of The Rings trilogy and aren’t directly tied into one or the other. It does share a lot of the elements in both trilogies and especially some of the references to various characters might require knowledge of the LOTR universe. A lot of the game is leaving you to just fend for yourself, without much input in the way of story. If you’re an open-world fan you will love it, but people looking for a deep story-based experience will probably be let down by it.
In Shadow of Mordor you play as Talion, a ranger captain from the kingdom of Gondor who was brutally murdered along with his family after an Uruk attack. But a curse was placed on him at the time of his death which prevented him from entering the void beyond. He is now stuck between the spirit world and the real world with an elven spirit and tries to find a way to break the curse and avenge the death of his loved ones. His state however allows him to resurrect after death and the elven spirit inside of him gives him superhuman powers.
It’s a rather unique approach, but the story doesn’t really suck you in. The game also introduces various sub-plots that seem at least a little bit weird. It sometimes seems like the story was come up with on the spot instead of after careful planning and writing. The story alone might not be strong enough to keep you interested in the game but luckily other aspects of the game are good and the game doesn’t rely solely on the story.
Shadow of Mordor is definitely one of the most graphically heavy games we’ve seen on Linux. Especially the VRAM requirements are something I don’t think we’ve seen before. Up until this point you have been able to max out pretty much anything with just 2GB of VRAM (in 1080p of course). However, that is not the case with Shadow of Mordor which can require up to 6GB of VRAM if you have the HD Content downloaded and enabled. You can do fine with just 2GB but don’t expect to be able to play on Ultra. That said, the graphics even on Low are actually still quite acceptable. If you are interested to see how different hardware works with Shadow of Mordor, check out the benchmark article we linked in the top bit of the article (re-linked here).
You can see two shots here on Low settings:
Now see two shots in the same area, with the same weather effects on Very High:
It’s also worth noting that the game does not work properly on systems that use AMD GPUs. We tested the performance on an R7 370 4GB and we got sub-optimal framerates and turning down settings yielded very little performance gains. This one is something to avoid for the AMD folks. You can check out the following graph for some performance statistics.
How many of you have completed the main campaign now? Let us know what you think to the overall game in the comments.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
Quoting: edqeIt is great to have this game on Linux although personally I don't like the game at all. The game is way too simplistic, repetitive and easy (at least with m+kb) for my taste. Nemesis-system is fine but Crusader Kings has it already but in much more deep and versatile form.I have no idea how you thought to compare this game to Crusader Kings 2.
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Much like Dying Light, this game is really great right up until the really terrible QTE final boss fight. Still a great game overall, I had a blast with it.
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Quoting: Mountain ManQuoting: edqeNemesis-system is fine but Crusader Kings has it already but in much more deep and versatile form.I have no idea how you thought to compare this game to Crusader Kings 2.
Quoting: OZSeafordHaha, a comparison with Crusader Kings was the last thing I was expecting to see. Good game as well by the way.OK OK ;), quite far fetched but the Nemesis-system has been so praised while I don't see anything special about it although it may be new in button mashing games. Shadow of Mordor won many GOTY titles which I found it quite surprising. Nemesis-system was one of the most praised features and the game was given "most innovative" titles as well.
In CK I build bigger army for example by taking allies by using other "commanders" (baron, count, ...) weaknesses. Weak "commanders" gets stronger if they are able to beat the stronger ones, etc. The system is just way more complex and versatile,
Last edited by edqe on 21 August 2015 at 4:43 am UTC
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So anyone facing similar issues:
View video on youtube.com
???
I just want to know if this is specific to my configuration ([email protected] GTX960), because I stopped playing now, waiting for an eventual performance update...
View video on youtube.com
???
I just want to know if this is specific to my configuration ([email protected] GTX960), because I stopped playing now, waiting for an eventual performance update...
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Quoting: vulturewhen you hit with wraith stun you SHOULD NOT wild tap X. press only once per hit (it is just as fast or a little slower) and you have execution available in 2 hits from tier 2 on, since you do critical hits with multipliers. correct flurry almost like having ultimate sword skill full time. if you combine that with runes that give 2 elf-arrows+hp on execution and hp on critical hits... at tier 5 with double execution...
You know, articles with gameplay tips like these - without spoilers - would be a great addition to this site. Just general gameplay tips and suggestions for a title, what a noob should be aware of.
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I got one - ONE - complaint about SoM, and that's about the game and not Ferals porting. It's in regards to the skins. In every cut-scene or even some special effects ingame the default skin is used.
This looks particularly idiotic when you use the female skin. She fades over to being a male now and then, and gawd how that spoils the immersion.
But even while using the male protagonist it is quite annoying to not have the outfit consistent throughout the experience.
This looks particularly idiotic when you use the female skin. She fades over to being a male now and then, and gawd how that spoils the immersion.
But even while using the male protagonist it is quite annoying to not have the outfit consistent throughout the experience.
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Quoting: BeamboomI got one - ONE - complaint about SoM, and that's about the game and not Ferals porting. It's in regards to the skins. In every cut-scene or even some special effects ingame the default skin is used.
Fortunately, I read this before (here on GoL) an thus chose the default skin. Thanks to the one who was posting this.
Last edited by Eike on 21 August 2015 at 9:35 am UTC
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Quoting: ColoneilI just want to know if this is specific to my configuration ([email protected] GTX960), because I stopped playing now, waiting for an eventual performance update...
I get good performance with a GTX660 on medium, so no, this is not to be expected.
Which driver version are you using?
Though I did not hear about probles with that for Mordor, did you set CPU governor to performance?
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Quoting: ColoneilSo anyone facing similar issues:
View video on youtube.com
???
I just want to know if this is specific to my configuration ([email protected] GTX960), because I stopped playing now, waiting for an eventual performance update...
I'm playing with a 960 with settings between high and very high and I'm not experiencing that. i5 processor/8gb ram.
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I tried to get into this game a few days ago, but its using the same old boring Batman Arkham battle system that other AAA games use. I'm honestly sick of the same boring button mashing until counter type system. I ended up refunding the game to buy Shadowrun Hong Kong instead. I guess I'll use the rest of the money to buy Pillars of Eternity expansion.
Last edited by BillNyeTheBlackGuy on 21 August 2015 at 11:46 am UTC
Last edited by BillNyeTheBlackGuy on 21 August 2015 at 11:46 am UTC
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