Do you know what the mark of an exceptional game is? It’s when I’m lying in bed, about to fall asleep, yet struggling because I’m thinking about playing. I’m imagining my next step, like where I can find an iron ore deposit that I perhaps missed. Or, where to find elven wood so that I can craft a steel pickaxe? The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria provides this experience. It’s a game that combines Valheim with Lord of the Rings, and I’m here for it 100%!
Note: For transparency’s sake, I was provided a copy of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria by the developer, but this does not impact my experience or review whatsoever.
Diving Deep Into Moria
Straight off the bat, we’re introduced to an incredibly timeless cutscene narrated by none other than John Rhys-Davies, of The Lord of the Rings fame, reprising his role as Gimli. He’s much older and wiser, now leading Dwarves in a venture to retake Moria from the forces of evil. I’m more impressed that they managed to entice John Rhys-Davies into voicing a video game character, though.
Shortly after, character creation. It’s rather extensive, with plenty of options to build out the Dwarf of your dreams, including females with full beards. I wound up as a grizzled Dwarf with ringlets throughout his hair and beard, hailing from The Glittering Caves.
From there, you’re thrust into an almost-jarring first-person section for a moment as the game sets up why you’re alone in Moria instead of with the growing band of Dwarves topside. It’s a forgivable transition, as before long, we’re back in third-person and scampering through the darkness of the mines, torch in hand and weak pickaxe mining away at crates and tables left behind.
The world itself is absolutely stunning, despite being completely underground and pitch black at times. It’s the iconic Lord of the Rings aesthetic that captured the hearts and minds of so many, myself included. Up ahead, there are crumbling Dwarven statues standing ten or more feet tall. Pillars of stone intricately molded into the rockwork, and stairways leading to forgotten encampments.
If The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria does anything well, it’s the setting. They’ve nailed the look and feel of the world, and it’s exciting to explore every nook and cranny.
Mining Away
But what about the actual gameplay? Sure, you’ll spend a lot of time exploring, and that’s fun. How about mining, crafting, building, and fighting? They’re hit-or-miss. I found the fighting to be lackluster—simplistic and basic. You block with your weapon or, better yet, a shield. Then when an opening arises, you strike. Repeat. It’s bland, and I would rather spend my time exploring and crafting.
As for building, I saw so much potential. I wandered through entire Dwarven cities lost to time, but their structures still standing strong. I could almost imagine rebuilding, with Dwarven NPCs filling the streets to show my progress. Instead, we focus on building up small encampments. You can craft your own, using a small campfire or a large hearth, or repair abandoned camps. The latter proves more effective. You’ll stumble upon various camps tucked into structures, and these prove easily defensible when the inevitable horde of Goblins or Goblin-men come to attack.
Lastly, we have the crafting and mining. The only bad thing I have to say about mining is its limitations. You only have specific points of the map that you can actually mine. You’ll find these areas due to their lighter color than the surrounding, un-mineable rock. More often than not, I found myself spending quite a bit of time searching for iron ore. I wound up with a lot of coal.
Tip: Do not waste your iron ore smelting iron ingots beyond what you absolutely need. You’ll need iron for other crafting materials down the road, and there seems to be a limited supply.
A Dwarven Party
Lastly, we come to the multiplayer. As The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria features an extensive cooperative game mode, where you and your pals can band together to retake Moria and rebuild as time goes on, how does it hold up?
While I enjoyed myself playing solo, as I often do in such games, I had ten times more fun playing with friends and my wife. Just knowing that someone else was gathering, crafting, and had my back during brawls with the Goblins made my time in the depths of Moria more entertaining and rewarding.
Furthermore, while many of us experienced slight lag and rubber-banding issues, it was never game-breaking. We never once crashed or had to restart the player-hosted server to improve performance. The issues simply resolved themselves over time.
I have to say, it’s quite a stable and fun experience in the horde of poorly optimized games lately.
Final Thoughts
As of right now, after having played the game for the past week, I highly recommend The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. It’s a thrilling adventure for fans of Valheim, The Lord of the Rings, and crafting/base-building games as a whole.
My primary concern with the game lies in its unexplored opportunities, like the ability to reform an entire Dwarven Kingdom in Moria, but perhaps that is too ambitious. Otherwise, the combat holds back a lot of the experience, and crafting can oftentimes be confusing as you never quite know what you require and when.
At the end of the day, I’m still satisfied with my time in Return to Moria, and I’ll return frequently. I recommend you give it a try, too!