When people think about Mordor, most of the times the images that come to mind aren’t exactly the most visually appealing, yet Middle-earth: Shadow of War might surprise you, as shown today by Monolith Productions.
In about half a hour of gameplay, we get a deep dive in Cirith Ungol, one of the most sinister and terrifying places of Middle Earth, mostly because it’s tied to the lair of Shelob (who actually turns into a waifu in this game, go figure). What will probably surprise many is just how beautiful the vistas are, while remaining rather terrifying.
Thanks to the narration of Director of Art Phil Straub we also hear how the folks at Monolith used photogrammetry to add a sense of realism to the game’s visuals, including walls and rocks.
We also get some look at concept artwork for the area, and we hear about the orc tribes. At launch there will be seven of them, with the Terror tribe controlling Cirith Ungol. As the name indicates, they’re all about being terrifying, so they display their tortured victims on the walls.
Incidentally, we also hear that the game is played on PC, and more precisely on Windows 10.
You can watch the video below, and if you want to see more of the game, you can check out more footage showing the marketplace, some recent gameplay from San Diego Comic Con, the latest trailer featuring Shelob, another story trailer, and one introducing the Nemesis Forge system.
Also, don’t forget to read our hands-on preview. At E3 2017, Middle-earth: Shadow of War won our staff-voted Game of Show award.
The game will release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on October 10.