The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™
The only survival crafting game set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth™. Embark on an epic journey to reclaim the Dwarven homeland of Moria, and explore, craft, and build in procedurally generated worlds. Play as a solo adventurer, or join friends in co-op gameplay for up to 8 players.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™ is a dwarf, survival and open world survival craft game
developed by Free Range Games
and published by North Beach Games.
Released on August 27th 2024 is available only on Windows
in 9 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil and Simplified Chinese.
It has received 5,122 reviews of which 4,342 were positive and 780 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.2 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 15.68€ on Steam and has a 36% discount.
The Steam community has classified The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria™ into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 10/11 64-bit
- Processor: Intel® Core i5 (Quad Core or better)
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 20 GB available space
- Additional Notes: SSD Recommended
Reviews
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
I absolutely loved this game. I finished my playthrough of the story at just shy of 70 hours. I love nearly everything about this game. The graphics are good, the crafting is good, the story is good....its just a well rounded survival/crafting game that leans more into the crafting side. My entire playthough was also done co-op with a friend on PS5, which connecting with them was smooth and easy. The combat can be a little janky and sometimes there are some jumps in difficulty that made me want to rip my hair out, but the difficulty settings are decently modifiable, more than the standard Easy, Medium, Hard. Plus having a procedurally generated environment, the terrain and buildings can sometimes be a little wonky. If you're a fan of The Lord Of Rings universe, I truly believe you will like this game. Theres a ton of lore and backstory to the dwarves, including the mythical Durin. It also has nods to the Fellowship peppered in throughout the entire story. Overall I give this game a solid 9.5 out of 10. I adore this game so much.
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The problem with these reviews is that they demand my opinion on the game, and with "Return to Moria", I'm having a hard time sussing out my overall feelings about it. The game itself? It's one of many open-world survival games. You know the type; you start the game naked and have to build up your gear from local resources. This game's hook --the thing that sets it apart from similar games in the genre-- is that it's set in the "Lord of the Rings" universe. I suppose it does that fairly well; it doesn't quite ape the Peter Jackson aesthetics, but the similarity is easy to see and it looks quite nice, if a bit cartoonish. But it doesn't really do anything with the license; for all that it's called "Return to Moria" and features some known characters and monsters, it all comes across as pretty generic fantasy. Of course, this is somewhat expected, given the genre of game (survival games aren't known for their characters or narratives) but the use of the IP seems a bit wasted. Mechanically, the gameplay itself is fine. Set within the confines of Moria, it's not really open-world. The maps are procedurally generated, but there are very definitive borders; stone walls that you just can't hack through no matter how strong your pick-axe. This limits how expansive your constructions can become, and this may turn off some fans of the genre. Similarly, being constrained by the "Lord of the Rings" license, you don't get the same range of upgrades you might find in other games. This isn't a title where you start banging two rocks together but by the end you're building jet-packs and robot-miners. An hour into the game you'll have a pick-axe and be building wooden stairs; sixty hours later its pretty much the same, even if your pick-axe is now made of mithril and your stairs of adamant. The mining is surprisingly fun; there's a lot of procedural deformation that lets you hack away at the terrain and at buildings. It's not quite up to the standards of "Red Faction: Guerrilla", as a lot of that destructibility is limited to specific areas of the map, but it's still fairly impressive tech. My biggest problem with the game really has nothing to do with the game itself. Nominally, I think the developers expected players to enter the world, explore a bit, mine for resources so they could build up their equipment and bases that would then let them explore the next bit of Moria (there are five 'regions' in total, each locked behind certain tech upgrades). There would be a constant sense of momentum as you moved ever forward through the game. Except... that's just not how I play games. Give me a map, and I'll want to explore every bit of it. Give me a map where good chunks of the maps can be picked away, and I will mine every bit of rock until I hit the inevitable unbreakable borders. And when I entered the fourth region --a vast underground city of ruins-- I gazed at the wreckage and sighed, knowing I'd just have to repair every single building before I'd let myself move forward. You can imagine, this slowed by progress to a crawl... but what was I to do, not explore every nook and cranny, and not vacuum up every piece of loot or vendor-trash? Nosiree! I'm leaving Moria in a better state than I found it. It's only considerate, after all! Which is why, I am embarrassed to admit, I didn't actually finish the game. (Actually, it being a procedurally generated survival game, I'm not entirely sure it has an end, but I didn't even get into the fifth region). Ultimately, after 70 or so hours, I just ran out of steam. I don't entirely blame the game --a lot of the tedium I faced was of my own making-- but I might have lasted a bit longer if there was more variety and atmosphere. As it was, by hour fifty I felt as if I was just exploring for the sake of exploring; there was nothing driving me forward except for the fact that the game expected me to do so. The TL;DR is that the game is fine; it's an average example of the genre that will probably satisfy most fans of survival sims. But it's definitely not a game for an obsessive explorer and collector like myself. There's too much to explore, and not enough to collect. But at the same time, "Return to Moria" did occupy me for over 70 hours, and I don't consider that time entirely wasted. So that's gotta be a positive. If you're a more sensible player and aren't expecting anything too novel, it's fine; not great, but a fair example of the genre. But if you're an obsessive explorer/collector like me, maybe wait until the game is on sale.
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It plays a bit like Enshrouded, as an over the shoulder POV combat/mining/crafting/sandboxy game. Within the story, you unlock recipes through advanced work stations, or by finding schematics in the world. Combat is a bit simplistic, but fairly smooth overall. *Combat roll intensifies* Mining is loosely voxel-based, though there are areas and walls that cannot be destroyed, though they can be built upon. Harder modes yield bigger rewards, but progression even on the easiest story mode isn't sluggish. There's a grind for resources, but we're Dwarves. That's what we do. Diggy-diggy-hole. Probably best with friends, but a sole Dwarf *can* survive if he keeps his wits as sharp as his axe.
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I've played this game since its launch on Epic a year ago (it released as an Epic exclusive). Epic says I have 648 hours played on the game at the time of this review. Feel free to verify it, my tag is FireManeDavy. The developers of this game are a tiny team, but, they are nerds for Lord of the Rings and that love shows throughout the game in its lore, plus its attention to detail. When this game launched, it needed some TLC. It has gotten that in the form of a handful of massive updates that add new content and fix tons of issues. I love Dwarves, I love LOTR, and I love survival craft so I love this game a lot. A year ago this was priced at $40 on Epic, I'd say I've gotten tons of value out of that $40 and now it's a steal for its new regular price of $20 or $25. The developers are really receptive to feedback and always help out in their discord. They deserve all of the good fame they get from this game IMO. Edit: I have adjusted some information in my original review. I am going to go more into depth with my review of the game and review the aspects for which I love it. COMBAT: This one is a huge one that seems to irk a lot of people. It can feel hack and slashy at times. But, you can change the difficulty settings to tune combat to how you'd like. In a world, scroll over to settings and difficult. You can change things such as: 1) Aggressiveness of enemies (how frequently enemies attack and how many attack you all at once). 2) Combat difficulty (how much health enemies have and how much damage they deal) 3) Patrol Frequency, Siege Frequency, and Horde Frequency (these settings change how often patrols and sieges on your base happen. For hordes, it affects how much noise you make and how frequently hordes can ambush you when it happens). There is a new item called Abakhs which are basically just temporary buffs to give yourself as well which you can find in barrels, crates, or chests found around Moria. Some such as the Power Abakh give you a boost to attack damage which can help you if you prefer to fight your foes, like me. You also have Cleansing Abakhs to get rid of poison, and a Resolve Abakh to get rid of despair and shadow. There are 8 different kinds. There are also a couple of other difficulty settings to adjust now as well such as mining drops and drops from enemies. Fine-tune combat the way you'd like it. I do think the telegraphing of enemy attacks could be better, but, the game stands to get better over time. BUILDING: This is not as robust as other survival craft games like Valheim. You have a grid system to place your pieces on and currently, you can only rotate the pieces 90 degrees. The building in this game shines in the late game, which is unfortunate because I feel like a lot of people base the building on the early game, where you do not unlock much in the way of building options other than function. There are tons of building accents to build, pieces that can be phased into each other, golden floors, golden walls, Dwarven banners, rugs, and furniture! There are also monuments of the various Durins to build. The only downside IMO is that you have to build some things within the radius of a hearth, not unlike Valheim where you have to build within the radius of a workbench. Building is one of my favorite things to do in games like this, I like building my own buildings and tearing down the RNG ones. Though, sometimes, the RNG ones are pretty nice and, if they're intact enough, I will repair it use it. Indeed, you do not have to build a base if you use an RNG building, but, it's more fun for me to tear things down, clean up an area, and then build my imagination of things. I love how everything looks when I have crystal lamps everywhere in various colors. Feel free to check out some of the cool builds we made before the update on the discord in the challenge #3 thread. One of my submissions is on there as well. STORY (SPOILERS) The story is simple. You are a company of dwarves led by a descendant of Thorin and Gimli himself who cannot get into Khazad-Dum. You accidentally find yourself in Khazad-Dum and must survive with the help of a loyal friend and raven of Erebor, Aric, son of Arac. Throughout the game, your character(s) will have dialogue on various things you see in Moria. With plenty of lore to find and read, including lore surrounding Balin's attempt to reclaim Moria. You encounter a dragon which uses dark magic to cast cursed runs and shadow all over Moria, preventing the dwarves from entering outside. After slaughtering a massive Troll King, and with the help of Thorinn, you learn an ancestral recipe to slay the dragon. The final fight is pretty typical. 2 Phases. 1st Phase a large arena with dialogue fitting of a Peter Jackson film of how the dragon's own horde is not gold, but, the bones of fallen dwarves. You go on to the second phase to kill the dragon. It ends with you walking out of Khazad-Dum and you being crowned as the new Lord of Moria. Not before a 1-on-1 talk with the Gimli himself. SANDBOX VS. CAMPAIGN What's the difference? For beginners, I recommend campaign mode. Think of campaign mode as a ride on a roller coaster. It is scripted and there is linear progression and certain areas that you progress through. The way you learn recipes is different as well. You will typically progress to new areas, rebuild statues to learn recipes, get new materials or gems that unlock other recipes such as upgrades to workstations, and then build those to level yourself with enemies. Or you can use Abakhs to level the playing field as well while you explore. There is a clear beginning, middle, and end to the game and your progression. Seeds can still vary, such as the rooms that make up those areas. In Sandbox, the equation is flipped a bit. There is still a "story" to beat the dragon. But, it is not linear at all nor scripted. There are 4 levels (floors up) and 4 deeps (floors down) that are their own miniature maps. Room generation is different and even room types are different as well. There are different weapons and armor that you wouldn't find in the campaign. But, like Valheim, you can bring your character between worlds and so long as they have things in their inventory they'd bring that with them. Everything is "scrambled" so to speak, the second you leave the "beginning area" where you find yourself in Moria and hop the wall it is randomly generated. Pros and Cons of Sandbox? Pros are: there tend to be way more resources to gather overall in the sandbox. Sandbox feels more like a traditional survival craft experience with unexpected areas at every turn. Every new area feels cool to explore (and that is true even in the campaign). Cons are: that the map is 2D atm. You have to get creative with waypoints when there are multiple floors within a "level" or "deep" that technically do not breach the height for the next floor. It does get a bit confusing too. But, it's not completely unmanageable with the filters in the map pane. MISCELLANEOUS THINGS I LIKE: SINGING: Singing for almost everything. I love the mining songs and the drinking songs. They give buffs too which is really cool. Singing to the monuments of Durin about his founding of Khazad-Dum honestly never gets old. QOL: Tons of QOL since this game launched. Ambient music while exploring and music when you're next to a hearth. It doesn't play constantly which is a good mix of their original intention of you hearing the vast emptiness of Moria, but, with periods of nice music too! Additional chests for increased storage space - and they look cool! Increased pallet sizes too are nice. Depositing similar items and sorting inventory is also a lifesaver. Scooping up tons of items on the ground by pressing and holding the pickup button was SO necessary (we remember the days of picking up everything 1 by 1). More voice lines! There's new voice lines after you finish a song. It's a small change, but, I enjoy it. Out of space. 10/10!
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The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria isn't a great game. I'm not even sure it is a good game. But, if you approach it right (and note the budget price point!), it can be a fun game. All the parts seem to be there. A top-tier world to build on, all the survival/building elements you might expect, a campaign storyline and a sandbox to play in. Yet, they never seem to gel, often due to odd game design decisions. At its core, the gameplay loop is you're dropped in a new area with gear that is weak to the enemies, typically with a ready-made base already waiting for you to repair. You then proceed to collect knowledge to unlock new items. Sometimes you can immediately craft them (in the beginning of the game), but normally you learn about them but can't craft them until the next area. So you complete the zone with weak gear, unlock the next zone, craft the new gear and are immediately weak to the new zone enemies. And you will know this because your dwarf will remind you every time you hit an enemy ("I need a better weapon!"). Yes you do, my little dwarf, but there are no better weapons, it's not how the game works. You'll also note that they deliver ready made, repairable bases in most new areas. This rather removes the need for building, and once they give you access to fast travel, it's even less useful. It seems like the original idea was not for much building at all, but rather you moving always forward to complete the campaign. Additionally, the areas you can build are rather constrained and there is no free-form digging. There are just little areas you can clear out for resources. And there is also a lot of walking. You'll be walking from places to place, back to another place, etc, and it can be rather dull there. Fast travel requires rare resources, so it's not as common as you might expect. Combat is serviceable but not outstanding. There have been some modest improvements, but generally combat will start okay and get tedious pretty quickly, since you'll be fighting stronger mobs and getting that constant stream of "I need a better weapon!". The rewards for fighting are also low, so be prepared to avoid it when you can (just to not waste your own time). The campaign story itself is rather dramatic and overwrought given the source material, and entirely linear. There are tender moments, and I do think the team are Lord of the Rings fans, but the gameplay undercuts it. On the procedural generation, I appreciate the attempt, but it skews more to random rooms connected in odd ways, rather than anything that seems like a dwarf would make. Why is it all breezy halls? Where did everyone live? Feels like it is just intended to create that linear experience. It has been improved a good bit from the initial release, where it was rather twisty and seemed more like a time sink. But I would have preferred a hand crafted Moria that actually made sense and save the randomness for the Sandbox. This makes it sound like a pretty bad game, but really it's not. It's a serviceable game, with a great setting, and it has dwarves! I was hoping that the dev team was up to really fixing things, but in the last year the improvements have been modest. Better, but modest. If you're a lover of survival builders, or Lord of the Rings, or dwarves, you'll be able to find some fun. At this price point of $20-25 its more than a fair value. I wish it was a great game, truly, but for now, it's merely ok. Here's to hoping for the future.
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Last Updates
| Steam data | 23 December 2024 01:06 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 18 December 2024 18:57 |
| Steam price | 23 December 2024 12:52 |
| Steam reviews | 21 December 2024 13:55 |
Online players
2,950
Developer
Free Range Games
Publisher
North Beach Games
Release
27 Aug 2024
Platforms