Shadow Of War And All Of Its DLC Is 92% Off, So Now’s Your Chance To Ruin Sauron’s Day

I miss it when movie or book tie-in games looked at the canon and said, “Nah.” Sometimes, taking something respected, well-known, and so beloved and deciding to completely demolish everything that had existed in favour of making something wholly original and unique is my cup of orc bone tea. Shadow of War is a canon-breaking beast of an action RPG that, years later, I still play regularly. And right now, you can get the game and all of its DLC for under $5. Sauron won’t know what hit him.

Taking place after the events of the excellent Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War takes the Arkham-style combat and turns it up to 11. However, the fighting wasn’t what made Talion and Celebrimbor’s adventure so engaging—it was the Nemesis System. That name may stand out to you, but it doesn’t do it justice. Imagine making an enemy of an orc that not only remembers you, but actively despises you for it, ruining your plans until you eventually kill him or, hopefully, brainwash him into joining your army. If it sounds awesome, and it should, that’s exactly what Shadow of War lets you do.

The goal throughout the game, which is tied directly into Talion’s narrative, is to take the fight to Sauron and weaken his grip on Middle-earth by building your own army of (sometimes) loyal, (mostly) gross orcs and Uruks. That requires a dash of brainwashing, starting orc civil wars, or sometimes taking advantage of existing rivalries to eventually storm each region’s fortress, claiming it as your own and moving on to the next. It’s a simple loop that, while occasionally repetitive, still brings a smile to my face. And, admittedly, I’ve spent over 300 hours in this single-player game. That should give you an idea of how great it is.

While the standard combat remains deliciously brutal, seeing you eviscerate standard orcs with a buttery-smooth blade that frees limbs from their bodily prison, it’s all practice for when you eventually meet stronger enemies. These captains aren’t as weak as your typical fodder and will have their own weaknesses and strengths—whenever I find a captain that can’t be vaulted over, I cry a little inside. That random element keeps you and Talion on your toes, requiring you to change how you engage with the game. Of course, you can just whammy enemies with the sword, but that might become futile later on.

Nine years later, there are very few games I look back on as fondly as I do Shadow of War, and you don’t need to pay full price as I did. In fact, you can get Shadow of War: Definitive Edition, which includes all of the DLC with new stories and more orcs, for just $4.79 / £3.19 at Fanatical. That’s a Steam key with the entire collection of content, giving you plenty of opportunities to whoop Sauron’s butt. Go ahead, I know you want to.

Oh, and another thing: that orc you just converted to your side who has no weaknesses and isn’t vulnerable to anything—the one you spent hours trying to whittle down and force to join you? Yeah, he’s betraying you as we speak. Have fun.

Disclosure: GameSpot and Fanatical are both owned by Fandom. This story was created in collaboration with Fanatical’s deals team.