Middle-Earth: Shadow of War was an epic sequel to Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, but the time has come for speculation on a third game in the series. The franchise’s core mechanic, the Nemesis system, remained largely unchanged from the first game to its sequel, and rightfully so. One thing the developers definitely should remember is that Middle-Earth players don't want microtransactions.
When a third title comes out, Shadow of War's Nemesis system should be given small updates but mainly kept the same. The feature challenges the player by making enemy Orcs remember interactions and battles. For example, if an Orc captain kills the player, he will be immediately promoted and will have to be fought again in the future. This main principle hasn’t been recreated successfully in other games and remains the franchise’s main calling card. A few tweaks in the rest of the game could help it along.
Despite the fact that the Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor series undoubtedly contains some of the best Lord of the Rings games to come out recently, die-hard fans have valid complaints about the lore and storytelling. The plot doesn’t come straight from the original Tolkien literature. The enemy Orcs were hailed as the best characters in the game, due to their depth of individual personality, but developer Monolith Productions needs to figure out a way to blend the Orcs into Middle-Earth 3's storyline better, rather than having the player just bash into enemy castles all the time.
Gameplay Updates Middle-Earth 3 Needs
Serious attention also needs to be given to the skill tree. In Shadow of War, each skill also has two lesser skills available to put points into, which clogs up the organization of the chart. The powers in Middle-Earth: Shadow of War are fun to use, but mostly the skill tree just needs a new look. Inspiration could be taken from games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which blend many types of skills together into one spinnable wheel.
Finally, the combat system needs to be addressed. The free-flowing rhythmic button commands of the previous games were alright in an era that featured games like Batman: Arkham and Assassin’s Creed II. It’s easy blocking and fast pace made the player bounce from enemy to enemy, instantly killing them with one hit. Today’s gamers are past spamming the parry button to get through hoards of enemies and deserve something more. Close combat is preferred to ranged, due to the player’s ability to drain enemies and the unique array of weapons is worth showcasing, however the developers should avoid leaning too far into the Dark Souls combat that many other games are starting to rely on.
Overall, it’s going to be a tough task to top Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. With some new-age updates to the Nemesis system and a retold story, the third game in the series could be a hit. Give it a newly inspired combat system that isn’t spammy and rewards skillful players in new ways and the game could be another all-time classic in this already great series. Oh, and make sure to keep microtransactions out.