Highlights
- Return to Moria offers fans a fresh look at Middle-earth by focusing on the underground mines and crafting elements, providing a new perspective on a beloved location.
- The game's emphasis on the Dwarves and their quest to reclaim their home makes Moria a crucial and central part of the gameplay and storyline, adding depth to the world and its characters.
- After the disappointment of the Gollum game, Return to Moria appears to be a promising title for Lord of the Rings fans, combining exciting survival and crafting elements with an underrated Middle-earth location.
When it comes to fantasy, Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest franchises in the genre, and The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is bringing yet another story to life that takes place within Middle-earth. The beloved book series by J.R.R Tolkien has been adapted into an enormously successful film series and various video games. Through the years, many fans of the franchise have been able to experience Middle-earth in various games, but Return to Moria is promising players a completely new look at the iconic world that fans have come to love.
Although Lord of the Rings has been a beloved franchise for decades, there has been a new uptick in popularity when it comes to the Tolkien's creation. With a recent Amazon Prime television adaptation and a potential revamp of the films, Lord of the Rings has been brought back into the spotlight. Return to Moria is set to come out soon, which means the game has a chance to be a new hit in the Lord of the Rings franchise. Taking a survival crafting approach, Return to Moria focuses on the Dwarves as they work to reclaim their home of Moria held within the Misty Mountains, and it will likely be a fresh look into Middle-earth.
Return to Moria Will Be a Fresh Look at Middle-earth
There have been some wildly successful Lord of the Rings games, like Shadow of Mordor, but Return to Moria is looking to offer players something different when it comes to the world of Middle-earth. One of the unique aspects of Return to Moria that is likely going to set it apart from the other Lord of the Rings games is that this particular title is focusing on what's underground. Thanks to its focus on mining and crafting, Return to Moria takes place completely below the surface, and this will offer a fun opportunity for many fans to see a different side of Middle-earth.
Other games inspired by the franchise have explored underground, like the ill-fated Gollum game, but it seems like this may be the first game in the Lord of the Rings franchise where the main gameplay is not only reliant on the underground mines of Moria, but the entire overarching narrative relies on it as well. There have of course been levels that take place in these mines, but Moria has mostly been set aside as a specific set piece and not as its own character. Allowing the location and setting in a game to become its own character can help make a game feel more alive, and it seems like Return to Moria might be able to do just that.
Since Return to Moria is a crafting survival title that follows the Dwarves reclaiming their homeland in the mines, Moria is clearly crucial to the entirety of the game, and this could be an exciting look into an area of Middle-earth that usually isn't explored as deeply as some fans would like. One of the most notable glimpses of Moria was in Fellowship of the Ring with some of the film's most important scenes taking place in the mines, but being able to explore this area in a game could be a dream for many fans who love the Dwarves and want to learn more about their home.
After the Gollum game flopped, Return to Moria looks like a more promising title for Lord of the Rings fans to look forward to. The crafting and survival elements sound like an exciting way to experience Middle-earth, and making the Dwarves and Moria essential to this game only make sense, given the crafting elements. There's no telling what secrets Moria will hold, but bringing Lord fo the Rings into the survival crafting genre is a great way to showcase an underrated Middle-earth location.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be available in 2023 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S
