When I was growing up, there was a fierce battle of the franchises raging which split opinions between pretty much everyone I knew. Were you a Lord of the Rings fanatic, or a Harry Potter obsessive? My preference was always Lord of the Rings and I was blown away by Peter Jackson’s trilogy. In fact, I still am today when rewatching the super extended editions. Also, a small confession, I only ever watched the first two Harry Potter films…
Anyway, like any good intellectual property Lord of the Rings has been adapted across pretty much every format of entertainment you can think of, most recently into a television series thanks to Amazon’s megabucks. The Fellowship are no stranger to the video game world, however The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria shifts the focus to the Fourth age of Middle-earth, to a time after the big box office blockbusters.
It’s all about the Dwarves in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria as the legendary Lord Gimli Lockbearer (voiced once again by John Rhys-Davies) tasks you with reclaiming your homeland and restoring it to its former glory. It may sound simple enough, but buried in the deep labyrinth are ever present dangers and rich rewards.
As you would hope, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is steeped in Tolkein’s lore meaning everything you discover is recorded in your journal, and there’s a lot to find. Not only this, but events from the films are skillfully woven into the game which will no doubt delight fans.
What we have here is a survival crafting adventure game, which you can tackle on your own or with friends. The difficulty can be adjusted accordingly and I would recommend dialling things down to “solo” if you are going it alone. But if you can get some mates to come along for the ride, it’s absolutely worth it.
Before you even take your first step, you’ll need to personalise your character to make them your own. The Dwarf Builder has a healthy amount of options, and despite not being the most comprehensive character creator I’ve ever seen, there’s more than enough to shape your own identity without the need to spend hours tinkering with every little detail.
You can only survive in harsh environments for so long, for so many different reasons. This is why it’s imperative to set up camp, a place of refuge you can head back to when you need a break. This is where the building element comes into play, starting off simple with a camp hearth for heat and the means of cooking food.
Of course, you’ll need resources to get building, and the early structures are very simple and require little. There are several key structures you’ll need to erect, but you will also be able to fortify your defences as well as decorate your new abode with cosmetic items. As you progress and discover new raw materials out in the wild, your portfolio will grow and grow. You can also build whilst out in the field, this being platforms and ladders to help you get around. Usually, if you can see something off in the distance, there’s a way to get to it. Wooden planks can be daisy chained to build bridges, but getting them to fit together solidly without crumbling can be a huge faff.
During your perilous journey you’ll need to manage your energy, health and hunger levels as well as your general sanity. Other affiliations such as getting poisoned and cursed are a constant threat, as well as your mental state due to being in the darkness for too long. Scavenging for ingredients will unlock new recipes to be cooked at camp, which will replenish both hunger and health. You can also sort yourself a packed lunch (of sorts) to keep you going out in the wild. Various ward items can be found and eventually crafted to protect you from the dangers of Moria too, as well as offering temporary buffs.
A big part of your progression in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is tied up with mining for precious stones and ore. These rocky areas are coloured with a telltale sign, and can be chipped away to collect what you need, as well as reveal new routes and shortcuts. These materials are also key in crafting weapons, shields, armour and essential tools. You’ll need a pickaxe for mining and a hammer for restoring and repairing the long-lost structures of Khazad-dûm, including everything from simple statues to firing up the great forges once again. Your crafted items do have limited durability, so getting a repair smithy setup at camp is essential too.
Away from crafting and building, exploring is probably the most exciting part of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. Your map comes in very handy, charting areas as you discover them. You can also mark areas of interest with a variety of icons making it easier to head back later when you are better prepared. You’ll occasionally come across map stones too, which act as fast travel points. These can also be built at your camps, but it’ll take a while to get the resources needed to do this.
The environments themselves are procedurally generated, meaning no two playthroughs will end up exactly the same. This shows at times, especially when it comes to interiors, as you’ll notice the same template repeated pretty frequently. However, this feature does add to the vast, maze-like feel of the mines and keeps you guessing what’s around every corner.
There’s tons of loot to get your mitts on in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. You’ll be tripping over building materials, ingredients and other resources as you gingerly explore the mines. That’s not to mention the goodies enemies drop, and what can be found in the numerous treasure chests dotted about the place. The temptation (if you’re something of a hoarder like me) is to try and collect everything and get it back to camp. This would be a mistake however, and it certainly is not the way to play the game. It’s mainly because your inventory space is limited, forcing you to make decisions on what you will actually need to hold on to. You do have storage options, such as chests, that you can build at your camp and store all sorts of stuff to your heart’s content if you wish.
Khazad-dûm isn’t overrun with monsters, but you’ll end up scrapping with them often enough. Whether it’s patrols, boss characters or ambushes triggered by making too much noise, ensuring you are kitted out for the job is very important otherwise you won’t get anywhere fast. Your weapons, shield and armour are tiered, and can be crafted only with the right materials. Repairing damaged statues will reveal new blueprints, allowing you to upgrade.
The combat itself is pretty simple, especially for this type of game, and plays out in real time. Basic moves are backed up by more powerful attacks, and you can block and push enemies back with your shield. Dodging is important too, as well as knowing when to get the heck out of there if you get overwhelmed. I found it a little frustrating that at times those I was fighting with would stick to me like glue, floating across the floor as I moved away, before getting a cheeky swipe in. It didn’t happen too often thankfully, but did end up with me dying a few times whereas I might have escaped.
Death is inevitable in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, but thankfully is only a temporary inconvenience. You’ll start back at camp, specifically where you last rested, and will need to make the journey back to collect all your belongings whilst completely stripped of your weapons and items.
It’s fair to say that The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria looks very pretty indeed, bringing a diverse set of underground environments to life. You can swing pretty quickly from a dark, monochrome cave to an opening lit up by fluorescent flora and fauna. The lighting is also used effectively, which is shown off through the day/night cycle in the areas that daylight can penetrate.
Unfortunately, I experienced a pretty persistent framerate drop as I entered new areas, or encountered a mob of enemies. Things recovered quickly, but it made for a jarring few seconds each time. There were also temporary walls put up between areas when I came back after dying, to give the game time to load them in.
However, there were a few occasions where something more drastic happened. The textures suddenly changed and started strobing bright colours at one point, whilst at another everything went dark and the text on screen was reduced to white boxes. A quick reboot did the job and thankfully the autosave system prevented any noticeable loss of progress.
It’s not only looks, the use of sound in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is also impressive. Most notably the Dwarven songs your character will sing when mining, repairing Durini’s lamps or even just having a tankard of Ironheart Stout with friends. There’s something quite beautiful about these tunes, again adding that layer of authenticity fans would want from a Lord of the Rings game.
As I mentioned earlier, you can play The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria alone or with friends, but the release of the game for Xbox also sees the inclusion of Sandbox Mode. This offers players a way to experience the Moria mines without any progression or narrative limits, giving freedom to explore without any hand holding.
If there’s anything that will split opinion in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, it’s the pacing. Progress is purposely slow, don’t expect to blast through the campaign in a few hours. This is down to several reasons, but at the core you’ll be doing a lot of backtracking as you need to improve your gear to keep up with the evolving threat around you. For example, your basic tools won’t be able to carry out repairs, or carve out certain resources, meaning you’ll need to upgrade them. However, to do this you will need certain materials, only found in certain places. You’ll also need these to advance the main story, and progress to the next area.
The best example of this is Black Diamonds. These are hoarded by Orcs, but have a very low drop rate meaning you’ll need to hunt down Orkish chests and strongholds to get the amount you need. This is time consuming, dangerous, and will require you to head back to camp regularly to recover. The other thing? You need those Black Diamonds before you can build your own map stones for fast travel too. In short, you’ll be getting your steps in.
The same can be said when it comes to your weapons. As you progress, your enemies will be stronger so your attacks will do less damage, and your armour will be penetrated much more quickly. Trying to rush through the main story just isn’t possible, you’re in for the long haul here
If the idea of this puts you off, then The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria isn’t for you. However, I lost hours at a time exploring, looting and building my way through Khazad-dûm. I had an awful lot of fun. There were times when I reached my limit though, and needed a break before I jumped back in. But I did frequently go back for more.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a deeply entertaining adventure that will please those who are happy to sink some serious time into exploring the dangerous but delightful Dwarrowdelf.
Is Return to Moria the LOTR Game We’ve Been Waiting For? – https://www.thexboxhub.com/is-return-to-moria-the-lotr-game-weve-been-waiting-for/
Buy The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/the-lord-of-the-rings-return-to-moria/9n96t1s3l9sb
