The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria doesn’t give a ton of reasons to play it over its genre peers – and its poor combat, building, and mining mechanics make those other options sound even more appealing.

Don't be a fool of a Took and rush into Moria. An authentic and authentically grueling game.

There are moments when The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria hints at what it could have been, such as when you’re mining a rich vein of ore in some dark tunnel, and your dwarf becomes inspired to sing. They’ll clear their throat and give voice to a story of trolls and orcs and the beating that will rain down on them if they cross your path. The game briefly feels alive, the story making the cold mines warm. But then the song stops, and you’re still mining, and all you have to look forward to is a long walk back to the forge.

The Lord Of The Rings: Return to Moria is less frantic than other survival games, and your wins take longer, but despite some charming jank this is a very cosy adventure to take on with friends.

Another miss for the Rings franchise, then. There are bursts of quality here, and the potential for fun when playing with others. However, it ultimately fails as an adaptation and a survival game.

I just didn't really want to do any of the other things Return to Moria expected me to.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a fantastic multiplayer survival game. The mining is fun, the fighting is serviceable, and the progression feels really nice. The fact that it brought back Gimli and is set in the Fourth Age is really cool, especially since the player has a custom character in the story. Best experienced with friends, but totally fine to play alone. This title really deserves more attention than it got! Highly recommended to all fans of Middle-earth.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria aims to find its place among fans of the Lord of the Rings series by relying on the world created by Tolkien. The diverse gameplay, beautiful environments, suitable voice acting, and loyalty to the world of the Lord of the Rings are among the features that attract the audience. However, the game's story is not deep enough and some of the gameplay mechanics could be improved. Ultimately, if you are looking for an adventure game focused on exploration and construction and are interested in the world of the LOTR, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria could be a good option for you.

Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a great time exploring, mining, drinking, singing, and more with friends on multiplayer than is steady with crossplay while also providing a solo mode for those wanting to handle things on their own and explore the mysteries of the Mines of Moria on their terms. With moments from John Rhys-Davies as Gimli, to lore drops in-game from characters such as Gandalf; Return to Moria will be a game any Lord of the Rings fan should have a fun time putting hours into.

I am quite glad that Free Range Games kept their head down and turned around Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. It is a fun experience for fans of the survival genre and I can say that you don’t have to be a fan of the LOTR franchise but will love it even more if you are. The team has polished quite a few systems that some of the other survival games employ and it makes for a much better crafting and building experience. While the game still has some goblins messing with the combat and causing issues, this is one game that deserves a delve.