Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition is the definitive version of Monolith Productions' dark fantasy action game, bundling the base adventure with The Lord of the Hunt and The Bright Lord story missions, the Trials of War challenge series, extra Warband missions, and every rune and skin released for it. You play Talion, a ranger of Gondor slain at the Black Gate alongside his family, then dragged back from death and bound to a Spirit of vengeance. Together, ranger and wraith go into Mordor to hunt the ones responsible, and along the way uncover the origins of the Rings of Power and what the spirit really is. Winner of over 50 "Best of 2014" awards, including Game of the Year, Best Action Game and Most Innovative Game.
The Nemesis System remembers everything
Sauron's army is not a faceless horde. The Uruk captains and warchiefs you meet are individuals with their own names, strengths, fears and grudges, and the Nemesis System tracks every encounter. Kill a captain and someone rises to take his place. Lose to one and he gets promoted, growing stronger and more confident each time he sends you back to the grave. Survive a fight against him and he carries the scars into your next meeting, and he will bring up the burn you gave him. No two playthroughs produce the same rivals, which is why this mechanic earned the game its innovation awards and why its enemies are still talked about years later.
Ranger skills, wraith powers
Talion fights with a sword, a dagger and a bow, and the combat rewards rhythm: counters, dodges, brutal finishers, and a growing set of executions that thin a crowd fast. When you would rather not be seen, the ranger side of the kit takes over with stealth takedowns, high perches and patient stalking through orc strongholds. The wraith adds the tools no mortal has: slowing time to line up arrow shots, draining an enemy's mind for intel on the captains above him, and eventually dominating Uruks outright so they fight for you. Skill trees, runes slotted into your weapons and a steady flow of upgrades let you shape Talion toward whichever style suits you.
An open Mordor to roam
This is an open-world game built for parkour and exploration. Talion scales towers, ruins and fortress walls freely, and the map rewards wandering with collectibles, lore and side content that feeds back into the Nemesis hierarchy. The story is rich in Tolkien-adjacent lore, touching on the forging of the Rings and the figures around Sauron's rise, and the world is suitably grim: expect frequent strong violence rendered in a dark fantasy register, with plenty of blood in the finishers. This is a mature title and plays like one.
What the Game of the Year Edition includes
- The Lord of the Hunt Story Pack
- An additional story campaign that sends Talion after new beast-mastering threats in Mordor, complete with its own missions, challenges and rewards that extend the main adventure well past the credits.
- The Bright Lord Story Pack
- A second story expansion that reaches back into the origins of the Rings of Power, letting you experience a chapter of the lore the base game only alludes to, with new missions and unlocks of its own.
- Trials of War and Test of Defiance
- A full challenge series: Test of Power, Test of Speed, Test of Wisdom, Test of the Wild, Test of the Ring and an Endless Challenge mode, plus Test of Defiance, each stressing a different part of Talion's toolkit.
- Warband Missions
- Five additional Warband missions, Guardians of the Flaming Eye, The Berserks, The Skull Crushers, The Bloodhunters and The Flesh Burners, pitting you against themed captains and their followers.
- Skins and Runes
- Six skins (The Dark Ranger, Captain of the Watch, Lord of the Hunt, The Bright Lord, Power of Shadow and Lithariel) and nine runes, including Hidden Blade, Deadly Archer, Flame of Anor, Rising Storm, Orc Slayer, Defiant to the End, Elven Grace, Ascendant and One with Nature.
- Photo Mode
- A built-in photo mode for freezing the action and framing your own shots of Mordor, its Uruks and the finishing blows you land on them, useful for sharing the rivals the Nemesis System hands you.
Single-player, start to finish
Shadow of Mordor is a solo campaign with no multiplayer component, so the entire experience is yours to pace as you like. Full controller support, achievements and cloud saves round out the package, and the game ships with full voice audio in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, with Polish and Russian text as well.
Mordor is waiting, and so is the captain who will make your life miserable before you finally put him down. Pick up the Game of the Year Edition and go build a legend of your own.
