Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor vs Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an action-RPG open-world game from Feral Interactive (2014) while Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is an action-adventure platformer game (2005).
What each one is
Steam files Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor under Action-RPG and Open-World. In contrast, it files Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones under Action-Adventure and Platformer.
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.
The Prince of Persia, a seasoned warrior, returns from the Island of Time to Babylon with his love, Kaileena. Instead of the peace that he longs for, he finds his homeland ravaged by war and the kingdom turned against him.
At a glance
| Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.1/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (93%, 96,948) | Very Positive (80%, 2,795) |
| Critic aggregate | 84/100 | 85/100 |
| Price | $3.99 | $9.99 |
| Install size | 44 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2014 | 2005 |
| Developer | Feral Interactive | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor vs Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, 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 gamePrince of Persia: The Two ThronesAction-adventure platformer 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, FantasyPrince of Persia: The Two ThronesAction, Adventure, PlatformerThe 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 criticPrince of Persia: The Two ThronesScore 7.1 · 80% on Steam · 85 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 GBPrince of Persia: The Two Thrones2,795 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ✓$3.99Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones$9.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ✓VerifiedPrince of Persia: The Two ThronesPlayableValve'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 Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones 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.
- Multi-platform
- 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:
ActionFantasyAdventureThird PersonStealthSingleplayerHack and SlashParkour
Where they differ
Open WorldRPGAction RPGAssassinGoreDark Fantasy
PlatformerTime ManipulationTime TravelClassicGreat Soundtrack3D Platformer
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. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor | Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 | — |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core i5-750, 2.67 GHz | — |
| Minimum RAM | 3 GB | — |
| Install size | 44 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor · Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and 1 for Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones in scope?
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor has drawn 96,948 Steam reviews, ships 16 add-ons and installs in 44 GB. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones has drawn 2,795 Steam reviews.
Is Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor or Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor rates higher (8.1 to 7.1). 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 Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones?
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.
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.