Highlights
- The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria brings players into a co-op survival crafting experience set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth, offering a never-before-seen story.
- With features like single-player or online cooperative play, resource mining and management, crafting and upgrading, and base-building, Return to Moria offers a unique take on the survival genre.
- The game focuses on the Dwarves of Middle-earth seeking to reclaim their homeland of Moria, offering players the chance to explore the Mines of Moria, discover lost treasures, and uncover the mysteries of light and darkness in an immersive environment.
The newest title in the world of Middle-earth, indie developer Free Range Games and publisher North Beach Games' The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, will bring players into a co-op survival crafting experience loaded with features familiar to fans of the genre. Return to Moria promises to highlight a never-before-seen story in the world of Middle-earth while also providing a unique gameplay experience to the long line of The Lord of the Rings games.
Described as "the only survival crafting game set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth", The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria seeks to bring players into the world originally created by acclaimed author J.R.R. Tolkien in a way they have yet to experience. The story follows the Dwarves of Middle-earth seeking to reclaim their Dwarven homeland of Moria after being summoned by Lord Gimli Lockbearer. Players will assume the role of a company of Dwarves exploring the depths of the Mines of Moria deep below the Misty Mountains to uncover treasures lost by the Dwarven people. Able to be played solo or co-op, Return to Moria will allow players to mine, craft, fight, and survive however they see fit in this unique take on the survival genre.
A New Direction For Lord of the Rings Games
All major features currently confirmed for The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria are:
- Single-player or online cooperative play with up to eight players
- Procedurally generated world allowing unique playthroughs every time
- Resource mining and management with several levels of materials such as iron, gold, quartz, and the legendary Mithril
- Crafting and upgrading of gear and weapons after building crafting stations and forges
- Items to discover such as Dwarven or magic weapons, armor, tools, and structures
- The ability to upgrade and unlock new technologies and fantastical machines
- Base-building and fortifying
- An original story that unfolds as players progress
- Custom character creator
- Dynamic sound and lighting system
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes a popular genre and adds the mystery and sense of adventure beloved by fans of Tolkien's world. With a similar direction to games like Deep Rock Galactic, players may be able to enjoy a familiar gameplay experience while they uncover the unique mechanics that The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria's fantasy adventure has to offer.
For instance, a major mechanic in this game is light and darkness. Not only do fearsome creatures lurk in the darkness, but the shadows can have an effect on the energy and despair of the player. Another key feature to consider is sound. Movements of the player including mining will make a certain amount of noise, possibly alerting dangerous enemies that lie in wait.
With the recent history of The Lord of the Rings games proving to be generally not well received by fans, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria hopes to set a new precedent. Focusing on an original, small-scale story in an immersive environment that is procedurally generated could be the type of variety needed to excite fans once again. Also, allowing players to create a custom character and tackle the depths of the Mines of Moria with friends could make this experience more engaging.
Free Range Games has chosen to focus on a lesser-told point of view in the land of Middle-earth since many stories in Middle-earth of the past have chosen to highlight Elves or Men. However, the recent interest in the lore of the Dwarves may position Return to Moria to do well. Lord of the Rings games have attempted this in the past, but not quite in the same way as Return to Moria. Fans can look forward to experiencing this journey for themselves when The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria releases next month.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria releases digitally on October 24 for PC and PS5. A physical release is set for December 5 on PS5, and an Xbox Series X/S release is slated for early 2024.
