The second Middle-earth: Shadow of War trailer of the week hit YouTube on Tuesday morning, continuing the series of tribe-focused videos that began a week ago. Last week, we met the Terror tribe; a group of merciless butchers willing to cut and maim their own flesh, and even display the flayed remains of their victims to strike fear in their enemies’ hearts. But the Machine tribe takes a demonstrably different approach to gaining power in Shadow of War.
We’ve known about the Machine tribe since June, when Monolith Vice President of Creative Michael de Plater confirmed a handful of details about the group in a chat at E3. But it sounds like the faction will be even more interesting than we expected. The Machine tribe might even have some lingering loyalty to Sauron. We had originally believed all the tribes were comprised of orcs who’d broken the Dark Lord’s grip on their minds; however, this week’s trailer confirms the Machine tribe still builds all manner of weapons for Sauron’s forces. It’s possible the two sides have worked out some sort of trade for the equipment. But it does create new questions about the story we’ll experience in Shadow of War campaign, which many had assumed would follow Talion as he lead the various Orc tribes against Sauron and his army.
Eurogamer also published new Shadow of War footage on Tuesday, showing Talion and a large, dragon-like creature going toe-to-toe with a Balrog. Teases for the encounter were spotted in the first Shadow of War trailer released this week, a spotlight on the many monsters scattered throughout Mordor, but it sounds like it might be more fun to watch than experience.
For an early look at Middle-earth: Shadow of War and the Machine tribe that Talion will meet during the next leg of his journey, take a couple minutes to watch the game’s latest trailer. Then head down to the comments and let us know if you’re planning to work with the Machine tribe when Shadow of War hits PC and consoles in October.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game hits all three platforms on Oct. 10.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Middle-earth: Shadow of War news in 2017 and as long as Monolith supports Shadow of War after launch.
- Nemesis system does an even better job of letting players witness and tell unique, action-driven stories
- Most of the narrative content is just plain boring
