‘Middle-earth: Shadow of War’ mobile game rekindles the Tolkien magic

By Gabe Gurwin Published July 27, 2017

Middle-earth: Shadow of War Mobile Announce Trailer

Mobile spinoff games don’t have the best reputation among more dedicated players. They can often feel like watered-down knock-offs of the console experience rather than their own separate game, but Warner Bros. and developer IUGO Mobile seem to be taking a much different approach with Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Its mobile counterpart doesn’t attempt to replicate its big brother’s gameplay, but it still shares its Tolkien essence.

Available for pre-registration now on iOS and Android devices, the Middle-earth: Shadow of War mobile game is a free-to-play “real-time RPG” that follows Talion, the star of Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War. Sauron continues to threaten the people of Middle-earth, and in the game’s trailer, Talion remarks that it is time for a “new ring.”

Recommended Videos

“We need to build our army,” says his wraith companion Celebrimbor, who had actually forged a ring when he was still alive.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Who will make up this army? Not only will Talion be able to recruit characters seen in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, including fan-favorite Uruk Ratbag, but also a selection of characters from other Tolkien works. Gimli will make an appearance, as will Boromir, but if you know anything about Sean Bean, you probably shouldn’t get too attached to him.

Unlike the main Shadow of War game, the mobile game will have you control four of these heroes at once in a top-down perspective similar to the Diablo series. Combat is very number-heavy, but it appears to still contain some gameplay mechanics from the console and PC games. At one point, an ambush is set up by a nemesis named “Orthak Who Devours,” and you can fully customize your heroes for their upcoming battles. Several different currencies are listed at the top of the screen, including a lightning bolt — if you’ve ever played a free mobile game, you know that this icon almost always represents how much “energy” you have left before you have to either wait or pay real cash.

No release date was given for the mobile game, but Middle-earth: Shadow of War launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 10. The game was delayed after initially targeting an August release.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

A busy 2023 wasn’t enough to pull me away from my go-to mobile game

Ms. Marvel listening to lo-fi in Marvel Snap.

I play lots of games across every platform for work, but my most-played game in 2023 was one I primarily engaged with for personal enjoyment. While I sunk dozens and dozens of hours into games like Baldur’s Gate 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Fire Emblem Engage, Fortnite, Starfield, and more, my most played game was something that didn’t even come out in 2023.

That honor goes to Marvel Snap, a collectible card game from Second Dinner for PC and mobile

Gaming

The best free-to-play mobile games

Marvel Snap running on the OnePlus Nord N30 5G.

The realm of mobile gaming has come a long way since the days when you were lucky if you could play a game of Snake on your brick of a phone. Today, we all have essentially a modern console in our pockets with games that look and play just as good as what is offered on current consoles. Unlike the console or PC space, mobile games have mostly stuck to either being extremely cheap or simply free-to-play. While that sounds great on the surface, it also means that the storefronts are filled with thousands of games looking for your attention, with only a select few worthy of your time. If you're looking for your next mobile go-to with no upfront cost, here are the best free-to-play mobile games you may never delete from your home screen.

Honkai: Star Rail

Gaming

One year later, Marvel Snap is my favorite mobile game of all time

Marvel Snap card list.

One year ago today, I gained access to the closed beta for an intriguing mobile collectible card game called Marvel Snap. I’d flirted with collectible card games (CCGs) like it before, but had dropped off titles like Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra due to problems with their structure, monetization, and complexity. Within a few matches of Marvel Snap, I saw how disruptive it was into the CCG genre, circumventing many of my problems with it. I’ve been hooked ever since.
In the year since I first played Marvel Snap, rarely does a day go by where I don’t log in. On the first anniversary of its beta, I’m confident enough in the game to declare that it has become not only my preferred CCG to play, but my favorite mobile game of all time.
Why Marvel Snap stands out
Marvel Snap has been praised a lot, especially after it saw a wider release in October 2022, and everything said about it is true. It’s much faster-paced than most card games, as it’s only six turns and both people in a match play cards at the same time. This makes rounds enthralling across all six turns and quick enough that I never play only one battle when I boot Marvel Snap up. Couple that with all the potential deck builds that can be played and possible locations that can spawn during a game, and each Marvel Snap match feels very different from one another. They can be fun, frustrating, and even funny.

That’s even the case if you’re using the same deck for a while. For quite a long time, I was using a Patriot and Mystique deck that powered up cards with no abilities. As developer Second Dinner continued to introduce new cards, I started to experiment with different types of decks, like a Morbius/M.O.D.O.K. discard-focused deck, a Collector/Devil Dinosaur one where the goal is to get as many cards into my hand as possible, and most recently, a High Evolutionary/Hazmat setup that unlocks the secret abilities of some cards and greatly debuffs the enemy.
After a while in Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra, I’d feel limited in the decks I could build and the viable enough strategies I could use. Neither are issues for me in Marvel Snap. Even when certain decks dominate the high-level metagame, that doesn’t mean other types of decks aren’t viable. Additionally, the number of recognizable characters turned in the cards encourages me to experiment with and use them.
There’s also the fact that I have an inherent familiarity with the cards I use. While I casually enjoy the worlds franchises like Warcraft and League of Legends occupy, I am less familiar with them than the Marvel Universe, and thus less excited when I pull a creature that I know nothing about. As a die-hard comics fan, though, I get excited each time I earn a new character in Marvel Snap. This game also allows me to play with weirder, obscure characters -- like Hell Cow, Orka, Aero, Darkhawk, or The Infinaut -- that are extremely unlikely to ever appear in a more traditional video game.
Good cards also aren’t usually locked behind paywalls, but that’s not to say Marvel Snap’s microtransactions are perfect. The $100 offers in the store are eye-raising, but I don't feel punished for not spending.
And unlike many mobile games, Marvel Snap’s progression is fair and engaging. Daily and seasonal challenges exist to keep players coming back and they refresh often enough that it’s usually worth booting up Marvel Snap a couple of times a day whenever I have a break. The objectives are all achievable enough for those with good knowledge of the game’s systems and they reward ample credits so you typically can upgrade a card or move up a tier in the battle pass within a day.