Game

Middle-earth: Shadow of War

2017

Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, AndroidGenres: Action, RPG

22Score

Very Little Woke

Mostly focused on storytelling.

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Game metadata from RAWG.

Is Middle-earth: Shadow of War Woke? Quick Answer

Middle-earth: Shadow of War scores 22/100 on the IsItWoke scale and falls into Very Little Woke.

Messaging can show up, but it is not the main event in this game.

Dialogue serves the narrative rather than pushing an agenda. Characters are primarily driven by their roles in the story, though some feel less developed.

See the full breakdown below.

Signal profile

What is driving this verdict

Story impact

Lore / logic break: High

These are structured scoring signals, not standalone factual claims. Read them together with the source-backed receipts and full analysis below.

Woke profile

How the score is shaped

Eight stored dimensions, each scored from 0 to 20.

Message

Characters

Story

Legacy

Politics

Lead

Tradition

Norms

Column height is the stored score out of 20

Message-first dialogue
2/20
Tokenistic characters
3/20
Ideology over story
4/20
Legacy rewriting
6/20
Modern politics injection
1/20
Protected protagonist pattern
3/20
Anti-traditional framing
2/20
Cultural normalization framing
1/20

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Why it received this score

Based on: Published title analysisConfidence: MediumLast updated: 2026-06-13

Key reasons

Dialogue serves the narrative rather than pushing an agenda.
Characters are primarily driven by their roles in the story, though some feel less developed.
While there are some ideological elements, they do not dominate the gameplay experience.

View full breakdown

The game takes liberties with established lore, which may frustrate purists.
The protagonist faces challenges, but some of his abilities can feel unearned.

Score signals

Signal	What was measured	Strength	Impact
Legacy rewriting	How much an existing franchise, adaptation, setting, or known property appears significantly altered, reinterpreted, or re-centered in ways that feel driven by modern ideological priorities rather than faithful or organic storytelling.	6/20	+4
Ideology over story	How much the overall storytelling prioritizes ideological framing, message delivery, social commentary, or activism-coded narrative choices over pacing, conflict, immersion, and entertainment.	4/20	+3
Tokenistic characters	How much characters feel inserted or shaped primarily for symbolic representation, political signaling, or demographic checkbox value rather than narrative depth, organic fit, or strong characterization.	3/20	+2
Protected protagonist pattern	How much the protagonist fits the protected-protagonist pattern (agenda-driven character construction) rather than competence fantasy. Score HIGH only when: competence appears unearned or unexplained; protagonist rarely faces consequences; antagonists exist mainly to demonstrate protagonist superiority; narrative treats protagonist as symbolically superior; plot shields protagonist from vulnerability. Score LOW when: competence is grounded in training, profession, or past experience; protagonist suffers damage or setbacks; real physical danger and survival tension exist (normal action storytelling). Do not penalize competence fantasy.	3/20	+2
Message-first dialogue	How much the dialogue, monologues, or character interactions feel driven by overt messaging, moral lecturing, ideological framing, or making a point instead of serving the story naturally.	2/20	+1

AI cultural analysis

A short read on tone, themes, and messaging — not a plot synopsis.

AI read

Middle-earth: Shadow of War is primarily an action RPG that emphasizes gameplay and player choice over overt messaging. The dialogue is functional, serving to advance the plot rather than deliver ideological lectures. Characters, while generally fitting into the established lore of Tolkien's universe, sometimes lack depth, leaning on familiar archetypes rather than fully fleshed-out personalities.

The game does alter certain events from the source material, which could be seen as a legacy rewrite, yet it remains entertaining and engaging for players unfamiliar with the original texts. The protagonist, Talion, does experience setbacks and challenges, grounding his journey in a way that feels more authentic than many modern titles.