Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Ranked 5 of 5 open world games by recommenders
Recommended for its interlocking Nemesis procedural systems and satisfying open-world play. Critics note an IP royalty agreement scars its good mechanics.
Recommended for its interlocking Nemesis procedural systems and satisfying open-world play. Critics note an IP royalty agreement scars its good mechanics.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Interlocking procedural systems and open-world play
“an amazing set of interlocking procedural systems”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Why No AI Games?” “the nemesis system, movement and general open worldness of it was all so satisfying”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “Outside, Dungeon, Town: Integrating the Three Places in Videogames (2024)” Innovative ideas that pushed games forward
“Real cool stuff and definitely pushed the industry forward.”
Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “Valve Responds to Developers Fearing AI Slop and Clones” “Great idea, would've been neat to see in other games.”
Comment from 22 Dec 2025 in “Clair Obscur having its Indie Game Game Of The Year award stripped due to AI use”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
IP royalty agreement scars good mechanics
“good game mechanics scarred by an IP royalty agreement”
Comment from 30 Dec 2025 in “Outside, Dungeon, Town: Integrating the Three Places in Videogames (2024)”
Other open world games people recommend
The four most recommended other open world games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 21 | 23 | 48% | 11 | 2 yrs4 owners | — |
| Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | 10 | 5 | 67% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Hedra | 7 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Grand Theft Auto III | 6 | 5 | 55% | 3 | — | — |
| Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorThis page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Real cool stuff and definitely pushed the industry forward.”
“the orcs from Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor”
“Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, and its an amazing set of interlocking procedural systems”
“an amazing set of interlocking procedural systems”
“the nemesis system, movement and general open worldness of it was all so satisfying”
“good game mechanics scarred by an IP royalty agreement”
“Great idea, would've been neat to see in other games.”
“I despair and abandon them.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.