I’m going to start off by saying that I didn’t hold out much hope for this The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria. The release of ‘The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum’ left a sour taste in my mouth and tarnished the brand for me. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to play a game that was made by fans, for fans, and felt like an authentic continuation of the original Trilogy.
Now (trashy ‘Gollum: game aside) the reason I was sceptical, to begin with was that ‘Return To Moria’ is a survival crafting game compared to the more story based, action adventure games we’ve had previously. That’s not to say that The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria doesn’t have a story at all. No. It’s got a beautiful opening cutscene that establishes the playable character working alongside Gimli (voiced by none other than Gimli himself, John Rhys-Davies) to open the doors of Moria and restore the kingdom to its former glory for Dwarven kind.
After that, the story is then told through NPC’s you meet along the way and collectable lore, but also with environmental storytelling. Some of the locations you stumble across in the depths of Moria speak for themselves and really feel like a second character in the story.
Another aspect of my scepticism was that I haven’t played many survival-based games in the past. I used to play ‘Minecraft’ in my uni days, but since then the only other survival games I’ve touched is ‘Subnautica’.
So I was in two minds whether or not I would enjoy The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria, not having played much of the genre.
But as I’ve said, I was pleasantly surprised.
The gameplay had me hooked instantly to the point that everything now feels so familiar to me. It’s easy to use and easy to navigate. The crafting side is also one of the easiest I’ve come across when it comes down to base building. I’ve experienced having to build bases in the past and get so stressed with working out how to do it that it sucks the joy out of playing the game. But with this, it’s a breeze. Not only because of the interface of the crafting creation menus but also because of the user-friendly controls. It’s fun and creative and will keep you going for hours.
Along with the crafting side, you also have the survival element of The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria. Moria is a vast place deep underground where you will be exploring for hours on end exerting lots of energy as you delve deeper and deeper into its depths. So before you set off on your exhibition you need to take into account a few things. Hunger is a key one. You can pick up food along the way from hunting local wildlife to collecting the local vegetation.
You can eat these during treks between base camps and it will replenish your hunger meter, but if you are low on health you will need the safety of your camp, a hearth and a meal table. Here you can cook a meal from recipes you’ve discovered (and with the right ingredients) to both replenish your hunger meter but also your health.
Your health bar can also be replenished by resting in your bed. However (as I found) this can be risky if you haven’t built up your camp defensively. You’re not alone in Moria. Orcs and Uruk-hai also inhabit the depths. My first camp was open to the elements and I hadn’t built any walls around it to keep me sheltered. So, one time when I decided to let my character sleep I was ambushed in the night by an Orc hunting party.
Ultimately (being early on and with no weapons) I died and respawned at my camp after they had left. I changed tactics with my third camp. I’m now much deeper in the main Mines of Moria with many more Orcs about, so I decided to build walls and a front door around my camp. Now I can sleep safely without the rude awakening.
While on the subject of camps, the map you explore in Moria is vast and if you die while exploring far away from your camp it will take you all the way back to your bed making you start a lengthy trek back to recover all your gear. A way around this is by finding a new camp, building a hearth and also a bed.
Once you claim that bed this will be your new camp. So if you die close to this one on your journey it won’t require you to travel back from your previous one half the map away. I recommend you do this anytime you come across a camp as I’ve done the far-away treks after you die and they are not fun.
One way to avoid getting killed often and losing your gear is to use stealth. If you’re like me and early on in the game all you want to do is explore and forget all about the crafting side you will neglect crafting any armor. Armour is very useful in you have a chance against a pack of Orcs or strong enemies like Bears or Uruk-hai. Blueprints for new armor and weapons can be collected by restoring statues you find throughout your journey.
It also keeps you warm during the night cycles where the temperature plummets. So I recommend making forging armor a priority to improve your odds of survival.
Being that The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria is essentially a journey through Moria and forging your own adventure you want the game to feel personal to you, and it does this in a few different ways. The first is a vast character creation where you can create your very own dwarf, either male or female and both with beards and customise them to how you want them to both look and sound.
I can’t wait to jump onto a multiplayer game and see everyone’s different take on how they like their dwarf to look.
And with the ability to play on multiplayer it gives you a fun co-op experience to explore the vast mines and halls of Moria with up to 8 of your friends. But if you feel like a more chilled and relaxed solo experience then The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria also offers this too. What makes it unique is that the environments you come across during your exhibition are procedurally generated meaning that no two adventures will ever be the same. This makes the experience personal to you.
Overall ‘The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria’ completely took me by surprise and exceeded my expectations. Not being the biggest fan of survival crafting games I found myself losing time by becoming immersed in the world created for me. It’s an absolute joy to play and feels so authentic to the world of ‘The Lord Of The Rings’.
It’s rare a game that I have so low expectations for completely blows them out of the water like this and I’m so glad it did as it restored my faith in the brand after the disastrous release of the truly awful ‘The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum’. So for that ‘The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria’ gets a well-deserved 9/10.
Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria
Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X and PC. This review was based on a PlayStation 5 playthrough.
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