The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Revealed

[TheLostSwede]

Independent developer Free Range Games and publisher North Beach Games today revealed The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, the only survival crafting video game set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth, the iconic fantasy world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Unveiled in the Epic Games Summer Showcase during Summer Game Fest, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria follows the Dwarves of Middle-earth as they embark on an original adventure to reclaim and restore their Dwarven homeland of Moria. The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be available exclusively on PC via the Epic Games Store when it launches in Spring 2023. Players interested in securing their role in the adventure can add the game to their wishlist starting today. "We're beyond excited for the Dwarves to return to Khazad-dûm! Thanks to our friends at North Beach Games and Free Range Games, we'll delve deep into the Misty Mountains together, by this time next year. We do hope you'll join us!" Middle-earth's Fredrica Drotos enthusiastically exclaimed.

The story of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes players beyond the books and into the Fourth Age of Middle-earth, the fantastical world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. Summoned to the Misty Mountains by Lord Gimli Lockbearer, players take control of a company of Dwarves tasked to reclaim the lost spoils from the Dwarven homeland of Moria—known as Khazad-dûm or Dwarrowdelf—in the depths below their very feet. Their quest will require fortitude, delving deep into the Mines of Moria to recover its treasures. Players will join forces to survive, craft, build, and explore the iconic, sprawling mines. Courageous expeditioners will need to be vigilant as mysterious dangers await.




"We at Free Range Games are absolutely thrilled to finally reveal The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria," said Chris Scholz, CEO of Free Range Games. "J.R.R. Tolkien and all of his creations within Middle-earth are near and dear to our hearts, and this project presents an amazing opportunity to create new experiences born from one of the greatest stories ever told. We are pouring a lot of passion into the game to give players an unforgettable experience."

The game offers endless experiences by featuring a procedurally generated Dwarven realm of Moria, so no two adventures will be alike, and every expedition is traversable either solo or online with companions. Players can mine to craft greater gear and resources, but beware, mining makes noise, and noise created in the quiet deep threatens to awaken the dangers below: where there's clatter, there's combat. Excavate the mysteries of three legendary mountains, extract precious metals, scrape to survive, and battle unspeakable forces to learn the secret of the Shadow that lurks within.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Key Game Features:

• Feel the Fellowship: Experience the Fellowship of the Dwarves like never before, with the rich lore of the iconic fantasy world from J.R.R. Tolkien interwoven into the very fabric of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.
• Survive the Dark: To survive the treacherous Mines of Moria players must conserve resources, hunt, and gather for food and manage their sleep, temperature, and noise levels. Utilize dynamic light systems for safety and to blaze a path further into the darkness. Battle unspeakable evils and survive hordes of monstrous Orcs in visceral combat, while uncovering the secret of the Shadow that looms within the mountain.
• Base Building: Find solace from the darkness. Reveal and clear new locations to create architecture on a grand scale. Get creative and construct bases from scratch or build upon the existing environment. Beware the evils which seek to destroy Dwarven progress.
• Rebuild and Reshape Moria: Restore the long-lost ancient kingdom of Khazad-dûm to its former glory, recovering Dwarven landmarks as the story progresses. Resurrect old mines and refire their forges to yield their untouched resources.
• Explore: Delve into the depths of the Mines of Moria. Procedurally generated environments are abundant with resources and fraught with mystery and danger, providing a unique experience each and every time.
• Co-op Multiplayer: Adventure alone or band together with friends in online cooperative multiplayer with up to eight players.
• Craft Dwarven Tools, Weapons and More: Craft and loot legendary Dwarven armor, tools, weapons and structures. Rebuild ancient forges to strengthen, repair and enchant gear. Upgrade and unlock new technologies and fantastical machines.
• Uncover Magic Artifacts: Discover ancient magic items including swords that glow when Orcs are near, maps of long-dormant Mithril veins, books with forgotten crafting plans, and amulets that give strength or wisdom.
• Mine Ore and Jewels: Establish mines to unearth deposits of precious resources such as iron, gold, and quartz, and fantastical materials such as Mithril. Access crafting stations and forges to convert ore to ingots and upgrade gear. But be prepared, mining is loud and can awaken what lurks in the darkness.
• Comprehensive Dwarf Builder: Players become part of Dwarven Legend as they create their own Dwarf in the custom character creator. Dwarves can be customized in a variety of ways to create a unique Dwarven identity. Then, during gameplay, players can find and craft armor and weapons to further enhance their unique style.

Currently in development, more game news and announcements will be shared in the coming months.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[AusWolf]

Is there going to be a one-year wait for release on Steam? Or is it going to stay Epic-exclusive? That would be a great shame.

I'm disgusted by Epic's exclusivity deals, honestly.

 

[Frick]

This actually looks interesting.

 

[DoLlyBirD]

Is there going to be a one-year wait for release on Steam? Or is it going to stay Epic-exclusive? That would be a great shame.

I'm disgusted by Epic's exclusivity deals, honestly.

Same, waited a year and a half to get Tony hawk Pro skater 1+2 as I refused to pay £50 for it, it finally went on sale for 19.99 and I had a 25% discount on epic to use so was happy paying 14.99 though I've now yet to play it as my interest peaked about a year ago

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

While this may be the 'official' reveal, there have been leaks about it for months ( I wanna say since last year even), it was referenced in a stream dev interview with a pseudonym.

I spent some time in LOTRO as a warden a few years ago, it was a major button mash back then, not sure now, still not willing to go back even for this.

 

[Space Lynx]

While this may be the 'official' reveal, there have been leaks about it for months ( I wanna say since last year even), it was referenced in a stream dev interview with a pseudonym.

I spent some time in LOTRO as a warden a few years ago, it was a major button mash back then, not sure now, still not willing to go back even for this.

not willing to go back even for this? I am confused by your wording there. this isn't an expansion to LOTRO, it is a new stand alone next gen AAA game.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

not willing to go back even for this? I am confused by your wording there. this isn't an expansion to LOTRO, it is a new stand alone next gen AAA game.

You right, I did associate the two, I really thought it was an expansion not a stand alone.

This brings sup new questions, but will wait to see promo videos.

 

[mak1skav]

it is a new stand alone next gen AAA game.

Graphics and animations doesn't really look like "next gen AAA game" at least to me to be honest.

 

[Frick]

Graphics and animations doesn't really look like "next gen AAA game" at least to me to be honest.

Yeah. Plus I'd be surprised if someone made an AAA exploration-crafting-survival-basebuilding game with co-op.

 

[Space Lynx]

Graphics and animations doesn't really look like "next gen AAA game" at least to me to be honest.

Even Dragon Age Origins on the Alienware 34" OLED looks next gen. Open your mind Neo

 

[Easo]

Honestly... This looks quite bad. Clearly not a tripple AAA game for sure. Could it be fun? Potentially, but it looks like it came out of mobile gaming/10+ years ago.

 

[Space Lynx]

Honestly... This looks quite bad. Clearly not a tripple AAA game for sure. Could it be fun? Potentially, but it looks like it came out of mobile gaming/10+ years ago.

It depends, I would definitely wait for reviews and gameplay video footage once released. I don't know why, but I am getting a suspicion of cash grab on LOTR name cause of the Prime tv show coming soon. Who knows anymore.

 

[AusWolf]

Honestly... This looks quite bad. Clearly not a tripple AAA game for sure. Could it be fun? Potentially, but it looks like it came out of mobile gaming/10+ years ago.

Does it look bad for you because it's not triple-A (what does triple-A mean anyway?), or are you judging purely based on graphics?

 

[looniam]

well at least it doesn't look like high hardware requirements.

 

[DrCR]

(what does triple-A mean anyway?)

The game features a mapping system and road side veterinarian/vehicle assistance.

 

[Easo]

Does it look bad for you because it's not triple-A (what does triple-A mean anyway?), or are you judging purely based on graphics?

Graphics are obviously outdated, animations are not great, everything looks "plasticky" and reminds me of countless copy pasted games which never went anywhere.
There is no unique style is my best description of this. In short - fears of cash grab due to name.

 

[mama]

Valheim underground?

 

[Dr. Dro]

Let's just hope that the quest to retake Moria is more successful than the one for Erebor

 

[AusWolf]

Graphics are obviously outdated, animations are not great, everything looks "plasticky" and reminds me of countless copy pasted games which never went anywhere.
There is no unique style is my best description of this. In short - fears of cash grab due to name.

So you're judging the book by its cover. Just because you don't have the most cutting-edge RT effects everywhere, the game can still be good, you know.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Looks interesting, and a new type of game for the universe.

 

[Easo]

So you're judging the book by its cover. Just because you don't have the most cutting-edge RT effects everywhere, the game can still be good, you know.

Oh yes, I am. It's quite rare for something that does not look great to actually turn out to be opposite.
Indie games are close to only ones to do that - but this is not an indie game made by 3 people.

 

[big_glasses]

Oh yes, I am. It's quite rare for something that does not look great to actually turn out to be opposite.
Indie games are close to only ones to do that - but this is not an indie game made by 3 people.

Not like much else have been shown but some graphics.
Wow... some gear making and generic building... much gameplay

 

[80-watt Hamster]

Oh yes, I am. It's quite rare for something that does not look great to actually turn out to be opposite.
Indie games are close to only ones to do that - but this is not an indie game made by 3 people.

No, it's an indie game made by a number of people that is presumably less than 87.

Admittedly, I had something of a similar reaction. It's kinda plasticky-looking, and doesn't manage a particularly distinct aesthetic. None of that means it won't be good, though. This ain't an original thought, but we could do with less emphasis on graphics in games. Eye candy's great and all, but if a developer needs to choose whether to de-prioritize graphics, gameplay, design or performance, I know which I'd prefer they pick.

 

[rethcirE]

Valheim underground?

If it's even remotely as fun as Valheim I'm in. 200+ hours in that game and it's still fun for me, especially with multiplayer. Not having the latest and greatest graphics means literally nothing to me, most games I enjoy "look like shit" to the casual internet gamer eye. Fun and graphics are not related for me.

 

[L'Eliminateur]

So you're judging the book by its cover. Just because you don't have the most cutting-edge RT effects everywhere, the game can still be good, you know.

but it's not a AAA title then.

a AAA title uses the latest engine/graphics and have dozen of millions of dollars of development cost and huge dev teams, look at the games being developed with unreal engine 5.
So yes, you can judge a game by it's graphics if it's called "AAA".

this is not AAA, not even near, as everyone said before, graphics look extremely dated the lighting, animations and models are stiff, plasticky and not organic moving, it looks like a 10+ years old "AA" game and even then it's a "maybe", even COD WARZONE has better graphics and animation and it's a F2P MMFPS.

EDIT: to be fair, nowhere in the press release mentions it being AAA or using "next gen graphics" or anything of the sort, it just bullet points "features".

to me looks like an interesting game for when it ends up at -80+% off sale in Steam or free on epic, i wouldn't pay full price -whatever price they ask- for it