Monolith Productions' Nemesis System made waves when it first came out in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel, Middle-earth: Shadow of War. The basic idea behind the Nemesis System is that, if you are defeated by an enemy in the game, that enemy will be promoted to a bigger threat. This way, the game was able to construct mini-bosses that felt tailored to your specific playthrough and with whom you would have a personal vendetta against. Recently, a former WB Games executive shed some light on the mechanic's origins, and now I'm not as surprised it hasn't resurfaced recently.

Although the concept was interesting, the execution of the mechanics left something to be desired, and the Nemesis System sort of disappeared. 2017's Middle-earth: Shadow of War was the last game to use the mechanic, but the Nemesis System has been getting some recent buzz due to the recent WB Games closures. With WB shutting down Monolith, and the Nemesis System locked behind a patent, it seems unlikely to make a comeback anytime soon. However, I don't necessarily think this is a major loss, as the system never quite worked as intended.

The Nemesis System Was Designed To Combat Second-Hand Sales

According To A Former WB Games Executive, The System Was Meant To Make Games Endlessly Replayable

GamesRadar recently reported on the origins of the Nemesis System, as described by former WB Games executive, Laura Fryer. According to Fryer, the system was designed in response to Batman: Arkham Asylum's sales numbers. While the game initially sold well, Fryer discussed that WB was seeing more players than had paid for the game. Due to sharing game discs, or second-hand sales through retailers like GameStop, players were getting their hands on Batman: Arkham Asylum without profits making their way back up to the developers. WB Games wanted a way to combat this, and the Nemesis System is what they created.

The initial idea behind the Nemesis System, according to Fryer, was to create a single-player game that was so endlessly replayable that it wouldn't result in players selling off their copies. According to PC Gamer, Monolith's first attempt to use the system was for a Batman game that was ultimately canceled and turned into Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. While the game was financially successful enough to spawn a sequel, it never quite reached the same level of popularity as the Batman: Arkham games, despite their lack of a Nemesis System. This calls WB Games' strategy behind deg it into question.

I'm Not Surprised The Nemesis System Never Reappeared If This Was Its Goal

The Nemesis System Didn't Really Make Games More Replayable Than The Competition

If the Nemesis System was originally intended to solve the issue of second-hand sales of video games, I can understand why it stopped being a priority for WB Games. Developers seem to be finding more ways to either avoid second-hand sales, or else monetize their games in ways that make reselling less of an issue for their bottom line. For instance, many games now get a digital-only release, making it much harder for players to share copies, and impossible to turn them back into GameStop where they can be resold. GameStop is, in general, less popular than it was in 2009.

It's also worth mentioning that the Nemesis System doesn't seem to have succeeded in making Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor or Shadow of War more replayable than something like the Batman: Arkham games. From my own experience, I've played through Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City plenty of times, and Batman: Arkham Knight has recently been getting a lot of praise online for how well it holds up. Meanwhile, Shadow of Mordor and its sequel seemed to have a much shorter lifespan in the cultural consciousness despite including the Nemesis System, and I'm not really surprised.

The Nemesis System Wasn't As Compelling As WB Games Hoped

The Nemesis System Didn't Have A Big Impact On Gameplay If You Didn't Die Enough

I see players wishing for things like a Batman: Arkham game with a Nemesis System more than I do people actually propping up the execution of the system in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor or Shadow of War. I think this is because, while the Nemesis System sounds like it has a lot of potential, it didn't really prove to be all that compelling of a gameplay mechanic. This is partially due to how it functions.

In order for the Nemesis System to have a big impact on your game, you have to die a lot. This puts developers in a tricky position, because they are now basically incentivized to design a game where the player is meant to fail more often. While one could argue that this is basically FromSoftware's entire business model, games like Elden Ring function perfectly well regardless of how many times you die. In contrast, if you aren't dying often enough, the Nemesis System doesn't really have a big impact on your game.

I being somewhat perplexed about the hype surrounding the Nemesis System after my playthroughs of Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War. Sure, I saw the Nemesis System in action a few times, but it never impacted my playthrough enough to create the endless replayability that was intended by its developers. This isn't just because of the system's mechanics, but also because of its role in the game's story.

The Nemesis System Was A Poor Substitute For Good Stories

The Nemesis System's Created Enemies Don't Have The Same Weight As Designed Ones

Perhaps the biggest issue with the Nemesis System is that it never felt like more than a gimmick in Shadow of Mordor. Despite the game's best efforts, I couldn't bring myself to care about these random orcs with silly names, even if they did manage to take me out earlier in my playthrough. That's because these enemies had no real ties to the game's narrative, at least not in a way that would make me care about them all that much.

I think a good way to discuss this would be to imagine what the Nemesis System would have looked like had it actually been included in a Batman game. Say one of the Joker's followers knocks Batman out, then gets a procedurally generated name and a bigger health bar. That doesn't magically make that minion even a fraction as interesting of an antagonist as the Joker, because they have no personality and no meaningful relationship with Batman.

I wasn't surprised when I heard reports that part of the reason Monolith's Wonder Woman game was delayed for so long was that the developers were struggling to implement the Nemesis System. I just don't think it works well in a superhero game where players want to fight interesting established villains, not elevated goons they've never heard of. Even if a game with a completely original IP tried to implement the Nemesis System, I think the developers would have a hard time getting me to care about the random mini-bosses it creates because they wouldn't have narrative relevance.

I'm open to the possibility that the Nemesis System could have an interesting application if used correctly. However, I don't think it's a meaningful substitute for creating compelling characters with narrative relevance. That's why it didn't really work for me in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, and why I'm not surprised it wasn't a good fit for Batman or Wonder Woman.

Sources: GamesRadar, PC Gamer