Superhero games are on the rise. Marvel games includingMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, Marvel’s Midnight Suns,andMarvel’s Wolverineare all in development, andMarvel’s Guardians of the Galaxyjust won Best Narrative at the Game Awards 2021. While it would seem that Marvel is dominating this style of game, DC also has some projects underway, including a newWonder Womangame. Although there’s not much known aboutWonder Woman,which is being developed by Monolith Productions, Wonder Woman herself seems like the perfect protagonist for a new DC superhero game. She’s a central figure in the DC mythos who’ll provide more than enough source material for her own game.
SinceWonder Womanonly just got announced, fans probably won’t see any new trailers for the game in the near future. For now, the best way to imagineWonder Womanis probably to consider Monolith Productions itself. Not to be confused withXenosagaandXenobladedeveloper Monolith Soft, Monolith Productions has made a name for itself through its recent adaptations of lore fromThe Lord of the Rings. It’s been a while sinceMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordorand its sequel released, but those games still attest to the kind of work that Monolith Productions might be capable of withWonder Woman.
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The History of Monolith Productions
Monolith isn’t a particularly fast developer, often going multiple years between game releases, but it is a long-lived one. It got its start in the late 1990s, premiering with the well-received FPSBloodfor PC and MS-DOS. It continued developing a variety of PC titles into the 2000s, earning some acclaim forThe Operative: No One Lives Forever,a stealth FPS with a 1960s aesthetic. Later in the 2000s, Monolith was also partially responsible forthe creation ofThe Matrix Online,an MMORPG that canonically continued the story of the influentialMatrixfilms. While these various projects earned the studio some attention, nothing would put Monolith in the spotlight in the same way asMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.
InShadow of Mordorandits sequelMiddle-earth: Shadow of War,players control the ranger Talion and his ghostly possessor Celebrimbor, deceived creator of the Rings of Power, on their mutual quest for vengeance.Shadow of Mordorwon a long list of awards, including Best Action/Adventure at the Game Awards 2014, with praise largely directed at its use ofLord of the Ringslore, diverse and gripping combat, and the Nemesis system. The Nemesis system promoted NPC enemies who performed well against the player into stronger units that the player could track and hunt down for increased rewards. These engaging mechanics and worldbuilding were hailed as a major innovation and inspired many other developers.
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The Next Chapter of Monolith
Monolith Productions hasn’t released anything new sinceMiddle-earth: Shadow of Warin 2017, so theWonder Womanannouncement is a big deal. Finally, fans have an idea of what the studio is working on. Although the details ofWonder Womanare still a mystery, it is reportedly an open world action-adventure game, andit’ll integrate the Nemesis system, which Monolith Productions' parent company Warner Bros. Interactive patented in early 2021. Comments from Monolith Productions suggest thatWonder Womanis meant to be focused on player-created experiences, similar to howShadow of MordorandShadow of Warcreated stories based on player actions using the Nemesis system.
Considering Monolith Productions' recent claim to fame, odds are good thatWonder Womanwill serve as a spiritual successor to itsMiddle-earthgames, adjusting many ofits features for the DC universeand Diana of Themyscira’s unique abilities while still reflecting on Monolith’s past successes. The Nemesis system and theMiddle-earthtitles are more than just Monolith’s achievements now, as they’re a crucial part of the studio’s identity. Those games could shape Monolith’s work for years to come.
