Titles that take inspiration from FromSoftware's highly acclaimed Soulsborne series or Soulslikes seem to be popping up more frequently in video games in recent years. From upcoming titles like the Pinocchio-inspired Lies of P to releases of the past such as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, each Soulslike often sets itself apart with its own interesting twist, but many share similar features such as challenging combat, intricate level design, and different ways to build a player character. There are a lot of IPs that could fit this genre well, but one that seems a stand-out pick is The Lord of the Rings.
There hasn't been an official confirmation on a Soulslike set in The Lord of the Rings IP as yet, but if the fantasy, open-world adventure of Elden Ring taught gamers anything beyond how to beat a certain Blade of Miquella, it's that Tolkien's world thrive in the genre. With plenty of established lore to explore, characters to play as or meet, and enemies that could make for incredibly challenging and awe-inspiring boss fights, The Lord of the Rings could make for a successful Soulslike if one were to ever be developed.
What a LOTR Soulslike Could Borrow From Soulsborne Games
There are plenty of reasons why FromSoftware's Soulsborne series has seen incredible success. Whether it be bosses like Margit the Fell, Orphan of Kos, or Sword Saint Isshin that have been the cause of so many rage-induced gaming moments, or the rich world building that series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki puts into each entry in the series, fans have been praising FromSoftware titles emphatically ever since the release of Demon's Souls back in 2009. It would make sense, then, for a Lord of the Rings Soulslike to take a lot of what makes the Soulsborne series work in order to boost its own chances of success.
The first and likely most obvious feature a Lord of the Rings Soulslike could borrow is the challenging combat featured in the Soulsborne franchise. While The Lord of the Rings movies, novels, and TV shows can feature the protagonists fighting off hundreds of Uruks without so much as a scratch, there are forces in Middle-earth that would prove an immense challenge to defeat, such as the big bads of the setting in Morgoth and Sauron. Sauron may not work in a Lord of the Rings Soulslike as a boss purely because of his ultimate villain, but he has filled that role before. Even if Sauron weren't to make an appearance, a challenge that can give players a similar sense of immensity could certainly create some epic boss moments.
Another major feature a potential Lord of the Rings Soulslike could take on is an open world. Open worlds are certainly not exclusive to the Soulsborne games, and the mechanic only made it to the series' most recent entry in Elden Ring, but it is still something that could improve the experience of a Lord of the Rings game. This would especially be the case if the Lord of the Rings Soulslike could pull off the sense of scale that Elden Ring's Lands Between exudes. Middle-earth has plenty of impressive locations and an expansive world, something that previous Lord of the Rings games have touched on, but there is still plenty of space to make an impressive, open-world version of Tolkien's work that can be explored for dozens of hours.
It would also be interesting to see a character creator come to a Lord of the Rings Soulslike. Again, a character creator isn't an exclusive feature from the Soulsborne series, but fans of FromSoftware titles often see it as an important part of the games. Elden Ring players enjoyed utilizing the character creator to make their own Tarnished, for example. From the serious to the wacky, different Elden Ring characters help give a sense of variety to each player's journey. In a Lord of the Rings game, this could mean letting players choose from the different races of Middle-earth, allowing them to venture through the fantasy land as an elf, human, dwarf, or hobbit.
What a LOTR Soulslike Can Learn From Other Adaptations
Plenty of Lord of the Rings video games have been released over the years and a potential Soulslike could learn a lot from them as well as the Soulsborne series. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War both gave players an open-world experience, something that a potential Soulslike could build upon as stated. Middle-earth: Shadow of War also introduced mounts, which would prove vital in traversing any large game world, as well as letting players take part in huge-scale battles over the fortresses of Mordor.
The Rings of Power, despite heavy backlash from certain fans of The Lord of the Rings, has been praised by many for its cinematic approach, giving Middle-earth the big-budget treatment the setting often demands and setting an example for the ambition a video game adaptation should have. The Rings of Power has also managed to tell a story somewhat detached from The Lord of the Rings movies, something that has proven controversial to some but shows that there are plenty of areas to be explored outside what Tolkien fans may already be aware of.
This means that a Lord of the Rings Soulslike could strike out utterly on its own, devoid of most of the ties that linking it to previous adaptations would create. Considering The Rings of Power gives viewers a look at the Second Age of Middle-earth, and The Lord of the Rings books and films center around the Third Age, a video game set in the First Age of the setting could prove to be an interesting development, giving a greater visualization to something fans have previously only seen on the page of a book. With Embracer Group owning the rights to The Lord of the Rings games as of August this year, it is likely that some new projects will be on the way soon.