At the Epic Games Show, a new “Lord of the Rings” game was surprisingly announced. Return to Moria is exactly what one wouldn’t expect from Lord of the Rings: a survival game. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus could hardly be happier.
After being so excited about Nightingale, I didn’t think this year’s – admittedly somewhat disappointing – event season could get much better.
But the new Lord of the Rings game has proven me wrong. Dwarves, beards, beer. The gameplay of Return to Moria showcases all the things that make every game better and builds a new survival game around them.
The trailer for the new game lasts just 1:16 minutes, but even the first 30 seconds grab me as a fan of the Lord of the Rings. The films and books are for me the best fantasy epic ever and Return to Moria directly lures with the legendary “Friend” door.
Right after that comes what every survival fan wants to see: crafting and building. The game doesn’t just show boring pickaxes and wooden huts, but true dwarven art: intricate, sturdy armor and weapons, hopefully made of mithril, and massive stone constructions for protection.
Everything that makes the heart of dwarven ancestors soar. And as a cherry on top, there are also enemies to test the new blacksmithing products. Wonderful! After a thunderstorm of horror trailers, Return to Moria is just right. But see for yourselves:
Surviving on Gimli’s Command from 2023
What kind of game is this? Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes place in the world of the Lord of the Rings. At the behest of Gimli himself, a group of dwarves returns to Moria, or Khazad-dûm in their native tongue.
We are that group, can create a dwarf according to our preferences, and play alone or in co-op with up to 8 players. Apparently, the focus is on PvE and exploration.
In the game itself, it’s mainly about exploring the Misty Mountains and securing the lost treasures and resources. Ores and precious metals can be found in 3 different mountains, all procedurally generated for more variety.
The main feature, however, is the noise system. When mining rock, you make noise and noise awakens things you would rather let sleep. This causes enemies to appear, which we must defend against – or we hide in the shadows until we can continue.
But every fan of the Lord of the Rings knows what happens when dwarves dig too deep…
When will the game be released? So far, there is no concrete release date for Return to Moria, only “Spring 2023” is targeted. The game is to be released for PC on the Epic Games Store. Other platforms are not yet known.
Return to Moria is being developed by Free Range Games, who have already worked on Oddworld: Soulstorm and are currently supporting The Callisto Protocol, which was presented at the Summer Game Fest.
The studio is supported by North Beach Games, who have also helped the developers of Stranded Deep and 7 Days to Die with their releases. So we have some experienced, albeit smaller studios on board. I hope for success!
7 Days to Die is already one of the best survival games ever. Let’s see if Return to Moria can also find its way onto that list:
