With Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, a new survival game set in the world of The Lord of the Rings is set to be released in 2023. At the Summer Game Fest, a new gameplay trailer was revealed. Fans compare the game to a popular co-op shooter.
What kind of game is this? “Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria” is an upcoming survival game set in Tolkien’s world of “The Lord of the Rings” that can be played cooperatively with up to eight players.
In Return to Moria, you will be sent as part of a chosen group of dwarves to return to the great dwarven realm of Moria. You will encounter various dangers and monsters that you must fight to secure your own survival. Generally, the focus of the game will likely be on PvE and exploring the Misty Mountains.
Furthermore, farming various resources will play an important role. There are ores and precious metals that are procedurally generated in 3 different mountains. However, mining these resources makes noise, such as the clanging of your pickaxe on solid rock, waking things that are better left sleeping.
At the Summer Game Fest 2023, we saw new gameplay for Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. You can watch the corresponding trailer of the event here:
When will the game be released? With the new trailer, there is also a new release window. Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is expected to be released in fall 2023 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and on PC in the Epic Games Store.
An exact release date is currently not known. A Steam release is not planned at present.
What do fans say? Many fans express concerns about the game in the comments on YouTube under the trailer and on Reddit, mainly due to the disappointing release of “The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.” The game released on May 25 struggles with very poor reviews and is considered a major flop.
However, there are also some players who find positive words about the trailer and the game on Reddit:
- Croswynd: “Unlike many others, I really like this. Dwarves are my favorite race.”
- NKevros: “I think it looks really cool and I love the idea of being the dwarves who may have dug too deep.”
- MuchosCarpinchos: “Super excited for this game. I love LOTR and crafting/survival games, and setting it in the Fourth Age is honestly a really cool and interesting time period that we haven’t seen much of in LOTR media.”
Other players compare Return to Moria to the popular shooter “Deep Rock Galactic” (97% positive on Steam). For example, one user describes the title on YouTube as “Deep Rock Galactic, Fantasy Edition.” Another jokingly asks: “Did they just give us Deep Rock Mordor (via YouTube)?”
Even in Deep Rock Galactic, you take on the role of dwarves and must gather resources and fight various creatures with different weapons – even if in Deep Rock Galactic they are aliens and not giant spiders or the like. Likewise, in Return to Moria, you will likely rely more on swords and bows rather than flamethrowers and rocket launchers.
The creators of Deep Rock Galactic are already working on a new game that will neither be a shooter nor a survival game. The release is planned for 2023:
New game will be an exciting mix of 2 of the best games on Steam
