Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor vs Might & Magic: Heroes VI
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an action-RPG open-world game from Feral Interactive (2014) while Might & Magic: Heroes VI is an RPG strategy game from Blackhole (2011).
Quick answer: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor rates higher, 8.1 to 5.4 on the GamingPickz Score, and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is the cheaper at $3.99.
What each one is
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is filed under Action-RPG and Open-World. In contrast, Might & Magic: Heroes VI under RPG and Strategy.
Fight through Mordor and uncover the truth of the spirit that compels you, discover the origins of the Rings of Power, build your legend and ultimately confront the evil of Sauron in this new chronicle of Middle-earth.
Heroes VI is a fast-paced epic story where Angels plot to end -- once and for all -- an unfinished war with their ancient rivals, the Faceless.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting Shadow of Mordor is based on Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium and Peter Jackson's movie franchise. The game takes place in the 60-year gap between the events of Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . The family of Talion (voiced and motion captured by Troy Baker ), a ranger of Gondor responsible for guarding the Black Gate of Mordor, is killed by the armies of Sauron, but Talion is revived with "wraith-like abilities" and heads into… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic . The Nemesis system was praised by critics. According to Lucas Sullivan of GamesRadar , the system elevated Shadow of Mordor to excellence by making its villains memorable and adding personality to its protagonist. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting Heroes VI takes place on the continent of Thallan in the fictional world of Ashan, a setting developed by Ubisoft between 2004 and 2008 for use in all of its Might and Magic -related projects, starting with Heroes of Might and Magic V in 2006. Ashan is populated by approximately eleven factions inspired by those appearing in previous Heroes games and real-life cultures, five of which are showcased in Heroes VI . Many of those factions have… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Might Magic Heroes VI Might Magic Heroes VI Initially, the game was plagued with numerous in-game crashes, lock-ups, errors, and bugs; poor artificial intelligence; significant faction/hero/creature imbalance; and the usage of DRM. The game has been updated with several patches, bringing the version to 2. 1. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Might & Magic: Heroes VI | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.1/10 | 5.4/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (93%, 96,948) | Mixed (48%, 9,256) |
| Critic aggregate | 84/100 | 77/100 |
| Price | $3.99 | $9.99 |
| Install size | 44 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2014 | 2011 |
| Developer | Feral Interactive | Blackhole |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor vs Might & Magic: Heroes VI, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorAction-RPG open-world gameMight & Magic: Heroes VIRPG strategy gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorOpen World, Action, FantasyMight & Magic: Heroes VIStrategy, Turn-Based Strategy, RPGThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ✓Score 8.1 · 93% on Steam · 84 criticMight & Magic: Heroes VIScore 5.4 · 48% on Steam · 77 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor96,948 reviews · 16 add-ons · 44 GBMight & Magic: Heroes VI9,256 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ✓$3.99Might & Magic: Heroes VI$9.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ✓VerifiedMight & Magic: Heroes VIPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor takes 3 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Might & Magic: Heroes VI on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
- Xbox
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (GamingPickz Score 8.1)
- The cheaper right now: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ($3.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (verified)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (96,948 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
FantasyAdventureSingleplayerRPGMagic
Where they differ
Open WorldActionThird PersonStealthAction RPGAssassin
StrategyTurn-Based StrategyTurn-BasedMultiplayerTacticalBase-Building
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Might & Magic: Heroes VI is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Might & Magic: Heroes VI | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 | 512 MB |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core i5-750, 2.67 GHz | Intel Pentium Core 2 Duo E4400 @ 2.0 Ghz, AMD Athlon X2 5000+ @ 2.6 Ghz |
| Minimum RAM | 3 GB | 1 GB |
| Install size | 44 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor · Might & Magic: Heroes VI.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and 0 for Might & Magic: Heroes VI. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Might & Magic: Heroes VI in scope?
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor has drawn 96,948 Steam reviews, ships 16 add-ons and installs in 44 GB. Might & Magic: Heroes VI has drawn 9,256 Steam reviews.
Is Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor or Might & Magic: Heroes VI better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor rates higher (8.1 to 5.4). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor or Might & Magic: Heroes VI?
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is cheaper right now at $3.99, against $9.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor or Might & Magic: Heroes VI?
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor rates higher, 8.1 to 5.4 on the GamingPickz Score, and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is the cheaper at $3.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.