Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 300 sampled Steam reviews (270 positive / 30 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing25% mention it
- Combat18% mention it
- Visuals & art4% mention it
- Progression & loot4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Story & writing47% mention it
- Combat37% mention it
- Grind & repetition37% mention it
- Controls & UI27% mention it
- Bugs & crashes17% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
80%
30 reviews
5-15h
88%
89 reviews
15-40h
92%
124 reviews
40-100h
94%
51 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 85 | 30 |
| Creator reviews (4 tracked) | – | 83 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 93% | 87 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 83 | 60 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 95% | 89 | 105 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 300 reviews sampled · 255 total reviews in window · weighted 209.5 up / 11.8 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (140)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“If you embrace the tactical nature of its combat, which is rarely resolved on a single battlefield, then Shadow of Mordor stands largely without flaws.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“The game Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor doesn’t revolutionize the action RPG genre, but it does offer a faithful adaptation of Tolkien’s world, albeit the one from the movies. It makes no secret of its inspiration from famous series and borrows familiar elements from them, combining them in a way that’s both functional and entertaining. The biggest draw of the first installment, featuring the Ranger Talion and the Elven smith Celebrimbor, is the original concept behind the Nemesis system. This system is the game’s main draw and gives combat a more distinctive character, making for a truly unique gaming experience.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Shadow of Mordor takes lots from other games but offers enough originality to make it worth your while. You should be even more interested if you're a fan of Jackson's movies - Monolith's game is based first and foremost on this particular license. The game mixes slasher and stealth elements very well, presents a juicy and brutal piece of Middle-earth's story and proves that neglecting this universe isn't a good thing.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“It's a satisfying game but not one with a whole lot of depth. Combat and exploration are simple but the gratification is quick and the presentation is nice. It won't leave a lasting impression but it's a fun world to mess around in.”
read full review ↗ - 88
“Middle-Earth: Shadows of Mordor is a remarkable game, with an uncharismatic main character surrounded by enemies whose design is really spectacular, lots of content to complete and guaranteed fun. And, on top of that, it's a game that, despite being clearly influenced by others, has its own style. ”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Shadow Of Mordor, though, successfully draws on some of that material in a way that is simultaneously engaging for a fan of Tolkien's extended works but not alienating for those passingly familiar with the story.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“What would have otherwise been a competent sandbox game with solid combat mechanics and an interesting twist on a known fantasy world is elevated by the Nemesis System. Shadow of Mordor is the strategic person's action game.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Shadow of Mordor more than qualifies as being one of the most polished and entertaining games to ever bear the Tolkien namesake.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Shadow of Mordor shows that the Tolkien licence still has a lot of life in it yet. It falls short a little in that some of the aspects feel like they don't quite live up to what they promised, but this is a great first step for a brand new IP. Hopefully this won't be the last we see of Talion.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“We can easily recommend Shadow of Mordor to fans of either aforementioned franchise, action-adventure lovers, and to anyone that won't mind spilling gallons of Orc blood. It's one of the year's biggest surprises.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A highly polished and generally entertaining romp, but it's missing a vital spark to bring everything together.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“[T]his game is like the One Ring: it'll take much for it to ebb away into the shores of time, but will surface in our memories for years to come due to its "preciousss" novelty.”
read full review ↗
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
GRYOnline.pl
FourFaceButtons
The A.V. Club
VGChartz
Cubed3
Pure Xbox
PC Invasion
Push Square…and 128 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- *** NEMESIS FORGE UPDATE ***Jul 6, 2017
- *** NEMESIS FORGE UPDATE ***Jul 6, 2017
- Update: Build v1951.27May 28, 2015
- Update: Build v1951.27May 28, 2015
- Update: Build v1951.11Mar 23, 2015
- Update: Build v1951.11Mar 23, 2015
- Update: Build v1951.6Feb 17, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Update: Build v1951.6Feb 17, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Update: Build v1808.19Jan 9, 2015
- Update: Build v1808.19Jan 9, 2015
- Update: Build v1808.18Dec 15, 2014significant · resets scoring window
- Update: Build v1808.18Dec 15, 2014significant · resets scoring window
- Update: Build v1636.37Nov 20, 2014significant · resets scoring window
- Update: Build v1636.37Nov 20, 2014
- Update: Build v1636.29Oct 17, 2014
- Update: Build v1636.29Oct 17, 2014
- Update: Build v1426.21Oct 11, 2014
- Update: Build v1426.21Oct 11, 2014