Several concepts, themes, and examples of iconography are shared throughout the fantasy genre, such as iron-clad knights encountering dragons and other fantastical creatures in remarkable environments. Dark Souls is popular for its relished take on fantasy, and Elden Ring is an open-world culmination of the fantasy characteristics that came before it.
But when it comes to fantasy in general, fans would be hard-pressed to name an example of the genre that is more profoundly seminal than J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. However, it would be wise in the contemporary era of gaming for The Lord of the Rings to now take a page out of FromSoftware’s fantasy. If The Lord of the Rings had a Soulslike IP, it could follow the open-world blueprint established in Elden Ring and the Soulslike adaptation methods employed in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Elden Ring’s Fantastical Lands Between Inspire Comparison to Middle-earth
It would be fascinating for players to explore parts of Middle-earth that are established in Peter Jackson’s iconic film lore, as well as parts of Middle-earth that have not yet been explored as thoroughly in popular culture, but are still significant to other stories in Tolkien’s Legendarium. Depending on how large of an open world it is, players could explore Gondor, Rohan, the Shire, or Mordor, though Mordor is perhaps an oversaturated locale in modern The Lord of the Rings media already.
A Soulslike game tied to The Lord of the Rings could follow the FromSoftware formula closely and enable players to customize their protagonist in a character creator. This would open up much more freedom than other games from The Lord of the Rings, which typically cast players in a particular role as an iconic character that fans will recognize, even if it feels derivative as a result. Lore is certainly a big part of FromSoftware games and there is a narrative to follow through, despite the fact that it may feel supplementary to gameplay and can oftentimes seem convoluted.
That would be fine in this instance, where fans would already be familiar with most lore from The Lord of the Rings, and the primary satisfaction of a Soulslike game in the IP would be the player’s ability to roleplay as a Man, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, or other characters. Elden Ring has already been used to reference The Lord of the Rings multiple times as fans find thematic or iconographic resemblances between the two.
For example, an Elden Ring player’s message in Mt. Gelmir references throwing the Elden Ring into the molten lava, not unlike how Frodo is responsible for casting the One Ring into the fiery lava of Mount Doom. Moreover, one player has shared an incredibly creative and believable edit of Frodo and Sam trekking through Elden Ring’s Lands Between, simulating the landmark events and encounters they stumble upon in their journey to Mordor from the Shire.
The Lord of the Rings Should Follow In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s Soulslike Footsteps
The Lord of the Rings’ Soulslike could follow a scripted narrative with a new protagonist character to write its own canon. Because Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s Cal Kestis was a fresh face for the franchise, set in a narrative that takes place in an era that could be explored more outside of Star Wars’ typical depictions, he felt like a safe yet amicable protagonist choice.
It has recently been shared that Respawn developers wanted the human protagonist to be more diverse, but their requests were denied. Indeed, it would likely be to the dissatisfaction of many fans and developers if The Lord of the Rings chose another white, male Man to lead its Soulslike title, especially following the fact that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Middle-earth: Shadow of War both featured another white, male Ranger that looks designed to represent Aragorn’s aesthetic.
In terms of gameplay, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order blends Soulslike combat with flourishing lightsaber strikes and upgradable Force abilities perfectly. Stormtroopers can have blaster bolts deflected back at them and held in stasis, and active finishers acted as critical ripostes after successful parries. It worked well for a franchise that could adapt FromSoftware’s combat and level design into its own narrative and iconography, and The Lord of the Rings would do well to adapt it too.
Besides a wealth of locations, characters, races, and enemies that could feature in a Soulslike of The Lord of the Rings, gameplay could emulate Elden Ring’s stat-building, with players using whichever armaments and armor they desired. Otherwise, if it was more scripted again like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, it could follow a more straightforward path in terms of what items and gear are collected.
The Lord of the Rings Deserves Another Rejuvenation in Games
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’s sequel has had rumors shared recently about its official subtitle and how many playable characters there might be. But it seems as if it will still maintain a Soulslike formula, which is the best decision it could make after its predecessor was highly popular.
If Star Wars is receiving a hotly anticipated Soulslike sequel, The Lord of the Rings should take note and capitalize on the genre at the same time. In other news, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has recently received a new release date of September 1, which confirms that it will launch this year as intended.
Unfortunately, the reception toward The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been mostly underwhelming since its announcement and the few snippets of actual gameplay players have been able to take a gander at. Because The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is purely a stealth-adventure game, fans who were wishing for more action-combat or special effects-driven abilities will surely be disappointed.
Gollum is also frankly not a protagonist that many fans of The Lord of the Rings have been wishing to play as, considering the franchise’s wealth of diverse and powerful characters. It may not end up being a bad or undesired game at all, but for these reasons, The Lord of the Rings could certainly use another IP in a preferable genre in order to reinvigorate its presence. With Soulslikes being desirable and show longevity, The Lord of the Rings should absolutely adapt to its gameplay in order to wholly rejuvenate itself in games.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.