Set During the Fourth Age

It’s tough to talk about The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria without acknowledging its background. Set during the Fourth Age, it sees Lord Gimli Lockbearer (yes, the same Gimli from the Fellowship of the Ring) who calls upon his fellow Dwarves to reclaim Moria. The plan needs some work, to say the least, as the main entrance is blocked by some mysterious means. After players end up trapped inside, it becomes a journey to reunite with the other Dwarves and learn more about the shadow curse afflicting the region.

Character Creation

Unfortunately, you won’t be playing as Gimli, creating a custom Dwarf instead. The range of options is decent, from beard color and styles to various faces, hairstyles, eye color, tattoos, scars and much more. You can also choose a personality, from Grim to Happy Go Lucky, with a matching voice and suitable origin, whether it’s a Dwarf from The Glittering Caves or The Lonely Mountain (which determines your starting outfit).

Procedurally Generated Caverns

Return to Moria features procedurally generated caverns. Like Terraria or Valheim, you generate a world and make your way through it. Some locations, like the Elven Quarter and the Lower Depths, are preset and don’t change, but the halls and corridors you traverse are all random in their layout, placement of resources and more.

Gameplay Loop

If you’ve played any of the previously mentioned sandbox titles, you’ll have some idea of how Return to Moria’s gameplay works. Explore, mine resources, craft better armor and weapons, expand your base with different structures, explore some more, and repeat. You’ll fight enemies and hostile creatures while environmental hazards like the mysterious shadow curse and corrosive geysers get in the way. The overall pace of the campaign is quite linear – you have to visit specific landmarks in a predetermined order with no opportunity for sequence breaking.

Darkness

Of course, there’s also darkness. At nighttime, your Dwarf will tire and their maximum stamina reduces, so resting becomes important. However, the darkness is ever-prevalent and causes your morale to drop. Placing torches as you venture the caverns of Moria is key, especially since they keep you warm, but you can also light various braziers with whatever fuel is on hand.

Carrying a torch in your offhand as you explore Moria is important, though switching from it is necessary when wielding a bow or two-handed weapons. It also doesn’t warm you up, so you’ll need to rely on external torches and other sources of light when necessary.

Enemies

It wouldn’t be a survival sandbox without enemies to fight, and it certainly wouldn’t be a Lord of the Rings title without the forces of evil – or their remnants. Orcs, Goblins and other threats await, including wild creatures like wolves and bats. As you venture through Moria, various bosses – like The Watcher in the Water – may emerge to impede your progress. Upgrading and improving your gear is necessary to progress forward in these cases.

Combat

Perhaps one of the weakest aspects of the game is its combat. You can use regular and charged attacks – with different weapons like axes having spinning attacks – and block attacks with the shield or shield bash enemies to knock them down. The bow and arrow allow for long-range attacks, though there’s no drawing of the bowstring for stronger hits. Based on the PC version, combat feels clunky and repetitive, especially when surrounded, not to mention tedious as you run around, picking off scores of enemies.

Crafting

On the other hand, the crafting isn’t too shabby. As you forge different hammers, you can repair statues throughout Moria to unlock blueprints for new armor and weapons. Discovering new materials affords opportunities for new structures, whether it’s Piers for traversing the water or Rope Ladders to climb higher. Armor and weapons must be repaired regularly, so a Repair Station at your base becomes necessary.

Base Construction

Before you can get into crafting, you’ll need a Hearth. There are some specific locations throughout Moria with existing structures to repair, but any place can become a temporary refuge with a Campfire Hearth. Invest in a Stonefire Hearth to extend the buildable area, creating a Forge and Smithing Table, Map Stone for teleportation, an Oven for consumables on the go, chests to store materials and much more. You can reinforce these locations with walls, banisters, stairs and more.

Mining and Refining

The mining in Return to Moria is a little…odd. You can break down wooden boxes and rocks, pick up Metal Bits and Cloth, and discover patches of materials in the walls like Coal, Iron, Tin, Silver and so on. Stronger pickaxes are required to mine higher tiers of materials, but you can’t just mine anywhere. Several walls are unbreakable, thus restricting your path, and will only yield one stone when mining. Once you get enough materials, refine them into Ingots for crafting various structures, armor and weapons.

Runes

Once you’ve discovered some gems and constructed a Rune Table, you can augment your weapons with Runes. These provide several unique enchantments to weapons, from increased damage to Orcs and Trolls to increased attack speed and setting enemies on fire. Different gems are required for each Rune, so you’ll need to manage Sapphires, Topaz and more on top of all the other materials.

Great Forges

Venturing through Moria, you’ll happen upon Great Forges, which provide access to stronger weapons. There is some light puzzle solving, as you locate different components to repair them, like Cranks, Gears and Pipes, but they’re essential to progress. On the bright side, these components can be crafted if you can’t find them. However, ensure your Forge is near, or prepare for a long slow trek when carrying them.

Four-Player Co-op

One of the few redeeming factors for the game on PC is playing with up to eight players. What feels lonely and desolate suddenly becomes more lively, even if there have been performance complaints. Unfortunately, on PS5, co-op only supports up to four players. Director Jon-Paul Dumont told WCCF Tech that it’s working on expanding the number in the future, but there’s currently no ETA.

Supports DualSense

Return to Moria supports DualSense on the PS5, though Free Range and North Beach Games haven’t gone into much detail beyond utilizing vibration and the Adaptive Triggers. Perhaps some weapons feel different when charging up their attacks, and materials emit unique feedback when struck. Either way, we’ll need to wait for more details.

Post-Launch Support

Based on PC reviews, you would think that the game would be abandoned soon after launch, but thankfully, that’s not the case. Dumont confirmed a year of post-launch support, from cross-platform play and shared world saves to new adventures that will advance the story. Further details are still pending, but there should be enough reason to revisit it later.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria has been rated for PS4 and Nintendo Switch in Brazil (spotted by Twitter user @Kurakasis). Though Switch or PS4 versions haven’t been announced for the title yet, both platforms are mentioned alongside PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in the game’s classification rating (which was published in September) on the ratings board’s website. Whether that means we can expect official announcements in the near future remains to be seen.

In our review of the game, we gave it a score of 5/10, saying, “The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria offers an intriguing set-up, and Moria is a compelling location to explore. However, even with decent progression, the fundamental gameplay – from building to combat – leaves much to be desired.” Read the full review through here.

The Lord of the Rings; Return to Moria is currently available only on PC. It launches for PS5 on December 5, and for Xbox Series X/S in early 2024.

Of course, Gimli being Gimli isn’t interested in waiting any longer. The opening does a lot to set the stakes, helping us empathize with the Dwarves who want to go home. There’s camaraderie and warmth, further reinforced by the mechanics of Light and Darkness.

"As far as set-ups go, Return to Moria does pretty well. It even intersperses bits of lore, like Wizard’s Marks and History Stones for each location."

After a plan to create an entrance with explosives fails, players find themselves trapped in the mines of Moria, separated from the other Dwarves and desperately seeking a way out. They’re assisted by Aric, a raven who occasionally rendezvous to offer guidance, but a mysterious shadowy curse is also afflicting the region. How you survive and ultimately unravel Moria’s various secrets is a core part of the game.

So yes, as far as set-ups go, Return to Moria does pretty well. It even intersperses bits of lore, like Wizard’s Marks and History Stones for each location. Unfortunately, as much as it may be in keeping with the tone of Tolkien’s work, it fumbles significantly in the gameplay department.

Return to Moria is akin to titles like Valheim or, if you want to go further back, Terraria. You scavenge materials like Metal Fragments, Clothing Scraps, Stones and more to fashion torches, pickaxes and axes, creating platforms to get to higher places or traverse dangerous chasms. They’re also used for Hearths, starting from the simple Camp Hearth for cooking basic meals and setting up a bed roll to Stone Hearth, which provides more space to set up a Furnace, Forge and various other features like a Map Stone, Gem Cutter, and Repair Station.

Upon discovering minerals like Iron, Copper and Tin, you refine them into Ingots to craft armor and weapons. Steel is refined with Iron, and higher tiers of tools are required for mining tougher minerals like Silver and even progressing forward as you fashion an arsenal to battle the various Goblins, Orcs, Wolves, and other nasties infesting Moria.

"This loop of exploration, mining and crafting does a pretty good job of keeping you occupied, as you fashion better weapons to deal with tougher enemies."

Of course, gathering other resources like Elven Wood will unlock new options like a bigger pack with more space, a bow for ranged combat, and a Rune table to inscribe your weapons with Runes of Power that increase damage against certain enemy types, among other things, and so on. I didn’t have much use for the pallets over making more chests to store materials, but they provided a nice visual pile of ingots and coal to pick up as needed.

This loop of exploration, mining and crafting does a pretty good job of keeping you occupied, as you fashion better weapons to deal with tougher enemies. Better armor helps in the more treacherous environments, like en route to The Crystal Descent, as you deal with geysers that can inflict corrosion (which can be sealed with stone).

The survival elements aren’t overwhelming, but managing hunger and resting is important, lest you gain the Tired debuff and reduce overall max energy (or Starving, which reduces health over time). There’s also the challenge of light – Dwarves don’t like the darkness, and it affects their morale. Keeping a torch in your offhand can often be necessary, though it prevents you from holding a shield or wielding a two-handed weapon. Setting up standing or thrown torches to provide other light sources can mitigate this while keeping them warm.

The environments shine in their variety, even if they’re not visually overwhelming. Discovering the Elven Quarter for the first time, lush with greenery, before finding it overrun by Orcs, is cool, especially since it leads to the first Great Forge. Unfortunately, it does little to diminish the linear nature of the game.

"While there is enough in the various structures to build, like walls, banisters, wall torches, stairs and whatnot, the actual building leaves much to be desired."

“Linear” doesn’t imply going down a straight route, but you are fairly restricted. You can’t dig just about anywhere or tackle areas in any order. Games like Valheim and Terraria have a recommended progression in place, but you still have the freedom to make your way. Return to Moria doesn’t have that. It’s due to the overarching “story” with its interactions and cutscenes being a core foundation, which is fine, but it goes beyond gated progression.

Most walls are unbreakable, with dirt surfaces indicating the way forward. Having more routes would have been nice, but this restrictive exploration also affects the resource gathering. When mining, you’ll spot distinct patches that yield materials after thwacking them enough times. After that, you’re hitting the unbreakable portion, which only gives a piddly one Stone or so after every five swings.

When desperately looking for stone to build structures, construct a Hearth or repair a statue to unlock the many weapon and armor blueprints, and you’re left with no other option than to hit the indestructible walls, it can get irritating.

Also, while there is enough in the various structures to build, like walls, banisters, wall torches, stairs and whatnot, the actual building leaves much to be desired. Many explicitly require a Hearth – so if you’re trying to construct some stairs to repair the first Great Forge, it can get very awkward, given the limited space available for a Hearth. Even worse is that it doesn’t work properly, never mind other issues with alignment that can arise in other places.

"Another core issue with Return to Moria is the combat…The overall feel is very awkward…"

The snapping of structures can also range from unwieldy to nonexistent, causing your wall torches to get built inside the walls. Being able to deconstruct anything you make on the fly and creating platforms to traverse environments or a Camp Hearth at specific points to serve as a checkpoint is nice, even if there are a decent number of established Hearths that require repairing and serve as temporary bases.

Another core issue with Return to Moria is the combat. You can slash, block attacks or hold down the attack button for a charged attack, while bows allow for ranged combat. The overall feel is very awkward – sometimes, you may misjudge the amount of available energy and intend to hold a charged slash…then awkwardly unleash a regular attack.

The lackluster animations also don’t help, and while many other survival games could also boil down to basic hacking and slashing, it just doesn’t feel as polished or fluid here. There are some different weapon types, from one-handed and two-handed swords and axes, but it’s not the craziest variety.

Enemy AI is also lackluster, especially during Sieges, where you can kite a train and take them down one after another. It doesn’t always work, especially when facing enemies that can poison you despite blocking their attacks. They’re more annoying than a threat due to sheer numbers in some situations, but at least they don’t get caught in the environment too much.

"It’s probably why I kept, well, returning to Return to Moria. Even with its flaws, there is a certain charm and magic to the experience."

Return to Moria’s animated art style can look decent, even on Medium settings. However, some more polish is needed. After wearing a helm, my character’s hair remained permanently clipped through their neck. At one point, some enemy heads were visible and seemingly hovering in place before suddenly disappearing. Don’t even get me started on stones mined from those unbreakable walls seemingly phasing into the ether, never to return.

The sad part is that there is some fun to be had with the game, even with these glaring issues. When mining and going into an Ore Frenzy, swinging your pickaxe consumes no energy, and your Dwarf starts singing, adding to the atmosphere. When attempting to cross a lake and activate some pumps, I discovered a Watcher. My bow was ineffective, and it summarily destroyed my structures and life with one attack, prompting me to regroup. There’s also that feeling of wanting to see what lies around each corner, even if many ruined structures are more for their materials than any noteworthy loot.

It’s probably why I kept, well, returning to Return to Moria. Even with its flaws, there is a certain charm and magic to the experience. If you can tolerate the issues enough, there’s a hefty survival crafting experience with interesting environments to explore, which could be good with friends. Perhaps with more updates, this could be a solid experience worth diving into for its lore and unique environments, but for now, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria falls woefully short.

This game was reviewed on PC.

The story of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria revolves around Dwarves being summoned to the Misty Mountains by Lord Gimli Lockbearer. Tasked with reclaiming the lost treasure hidden away in the Dwarven homeland of Moria, the group sets out for Khazad-dûm.

Players are able to create their own custom Dwarf before heading into Moria. The game will feature a mix of randomly-generated environments, as well as hand-crafted environments based recognisable landmarks from the books. The game features co-op support for up to 8 players on PC.

Previously, a gameplay video gave us our best look at the game before its release, showing off some early traversal and survival gameplay from The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.

While out on PC, the PS5 version has been pushed back for release on December 5. There is also a version for Xbox Series X/S planned for release in early 2024.

In a new tweet, the developer said it’s taking the time to “improve various aspects of the PS5 version and to ensure we can deliver the highest possible quality for PlayStation gamers.” It apologized for the delay and is “fully committed to delivering an amazing experience” on PS5.

Set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth, it sees Lord Gimli Lockbearer (with John Rhys-Davies returning to reprise the role) and his Dwarves returning to Moria to reclaim it. Players can create a custom Dwarf with a unique origin and personality to explore procedurally generated environments in the mines. Of course, there are several threats, from goblins to arachnoids and maybe even the dreaded Shadow.

As with more survival crafting games, you can mine materials, make better armor and weapons, and much more. There are forges to refire and mysteries to unearth, and you can do this solo or in co-op with other players. Stay tuned for the PC release next week and further updates on the PS5 version in the coming weeks.

Update regarding the PlayStation 5 release of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria#ReturntoMoria #TheLordoftheRings #LotRReturntoMoria #RtM #LotR pic.twitter.com/NHZG5a0anI

— The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria (@ReturnToMoria) October 19, 2023

The trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria shows off a bit of the gameplay that players can expect from the title. The trailer featured the PC version of the game, and showcased dwarves digging into the titular Mines of Moria.

Gameplay in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will revolve around exploring Moria and finding resources to craft equipment and build structures. Players will be able to forge more powerful weapons and armour as they progress through the game.

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria also features a comprehensive Dwarf builder, allowing players to customise their own Dwarven identity in the world of Middle-earth.

In its recent quarterly fiscal report, the Embracer Group revealed that it has five The Lord of the Rings games lined up for release in FY 2023/24, which runs from April 2023 to March 2024, coming from external development partners.

“This acquisition has generated a lot of interest among both internal and external partners for the Lord of the Rings IP, across different media formats,” the company wrote. “There are currently five games in production by external partners, to be released in financial year 2023/24.”

Four out of these five games have been officially confirmed to be in development so far, including Nacon and Daedalic Entertainment’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, EA’s mobile title The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-earth, Free Range Games and published by North Beach Games’ co-op survival title The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, and Private Division and Weta Workshop’s untitled Middle-earth game.

As a company of Dwarves summoned to the Misty Mountains, players venture across a procedurally generated Moria alone or with up to seven other players. Along with mining materials, they can craft powerful gear and discover artifacts (like swords that glow when Orcs are close by).

Mining invites enemies and you’ll need to fight back to survive. In the meantime, you’ll also need to hunt for food, get enough sleep, light your surroundings, and more. The story sees players on a journey to restore the kingdom of Khazad-dûm by recovering Dwarven landmarks, lighting forges and much more. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months and check out the official website in the meantime.