Better than the rings of power show.

Despite playing this game for so long, I cannot recommend it. Part of it is due to the stupid rating system Steam has. So, if I have to choose between a yes or no, it's gonna be a no.

The game is painfully repetitive. You keep doing the same ♥♥♥♥ over and over again. Defeated enemies rise again and again. This leads to there being no sense of accomplishment whatsoever.

You need to upgrade various things, and to get the currency for it, you're gonna need to grind like hell. This is especially true in the last part of the game. And how do you grind? You guessed it! By doing the same ♥♥♥♥ over and over. This made me quit it in the end.

The lore of this game is non canon! And it's even lore breaking! Whenever you learn something, you're gonna be asking yourself if it's actually part of the LOTR world at all. I am a story driven person, and this game is simply horrible at it. The story is mediocre at best and for the LOTR fans it's gonna make no sense, and just make you mad about how lore-breaking it is.

I suppose the best part of the game is the combat. But even that is kinda ruined since you're almost always outnumbered hard. Not to mention there's no way to counter ranged attacks, and those bastards will keep killing you randomly simply because you're unaware of them.
It has the assassin's creed mechanics, and let no one tell you otherwise - it is heavily inspired by the assassin's creed series. Calling it a copycat wouldn't be far off either.

The captains keep popping out of nowhere all the time. And every time they pop up, YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THEIR DIALOGUE. Which is completely meaningless. It's trying to be funny, and maybe it is the first time you hear it. BUT YOU'RE GONNA HEAR IT A DOZEN TIMES EACH. I must have wasted an hour on those dialogues alone.

And finally, the nemesis system... It's the crown jewel of the game. It's so complex, and filling the game with so many repetitive mechanics, I just stopped caring pretty early on. You do one of those quests and the army structure changes. You kill a warchief, only to have it replaced immediately by another one.

So, there you have it. It started as being super fun, but the more I played it, the more infuriating it became.
It's a heavily gameplay/combat focused game. If you enjoy combat before all, it is probably going to be a fun game for you.
If you enjoy good stories, rich lore, consistency in the world building... stay away. You're not missing on anything.

Incredible game. The story is immersive and fun, the gameplay is the best of any game I’ve played, and the role playing potential is endless. Definitely recommend