Whistle while you work
Return to Moria has finally launched on the Xbox after a yearlong wait and from what I have played, it was one that was worth it. If you will remember when Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria launched in 2023 it was in pretty rough shape based on reviews. I had my eye on it not so much as a fan of LOTR but as a fan of the survival games. If you hear me on the ZTGD podcast then you already know that this is the genre of game that my wife and I usually play together. But like most games nowadays it didn’t launch on the Xbox which is my system of choice. But that was a blessing for me, as Free-Range Games have had their head down this past year and have polished Return to Moria up to be a lovely little gem.
Set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth, Return to Moria will see players summoned to the Misty Mountains by Lord Gimli Lockbearer (who is even voiced by John Rys-Davies from the movies) to reopen the mines of Moria and salvage the vast treasures within. Players are presented with a brief cinematic before being literally dropped into the world. As with all of these games, players will begin by creating their own dwarf. Return to Moria has a really solid character creator suite for players to use. Players can even create a female dwarf with a beard if they so choose (my wife cackled with glee as she made her first dwarf lady with some fine mutton chops). Once players are done creating their dwarf they will play the tutorial. This handholding part of the game will explain the gathering, building and combat mechanics for players.
MSRP: $24.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $24.99
As one can imagine, in a cave-based survival game, there is a lot of emphasis placed on light and darkness. This is another area that Return to Moria shines; using a dynamic lighting system that acts as both a visual aid as well as a place of safety, Moria looks and feels grounded in its setting. Areas lit up become safer, while areas in shadow attract things that go bump in the night. This system adds to the tension in game as players will receive a debuff if they stay in the dark for to long. Light will even keep certain creatures at bay, as the Mines are full of wolves, goblins, orcs and even dragons.
The base building system in Return to Moria works really well, luckily it uses a snap grid system like Ark or Conan Exiles that allows players to construct some really unique buildings. One of the more awesome things is that there is a lot of preexisting structures that players can find and reinforce. Another thing that Moria does really well is the crafting system. Unlike in the usual survival games where players will unlock new building options by just leveling up, in Moria players will have to go out and explore the mines and will find blueprints for new weapons, building pieces, armor and more. Thankfully Free Range has done a great job of making sure everything was clearly explained.
Combat is probably the area that is the weakest, and even it isn’t horrible. Combat is full of charged attacks, shield charges and ranged attacks that players will have to use in order to combat the many, many threats. The issue is that the game just wouldn’t register my inputs when I was in the heat of battle. So, I either ended up dead or grievously wounded because at least 4 of my attacks just didn’t count on an enemy. The nice thing here is that when players die all of the items that they were holding will be dropped and can be picked up once they return to the area.
I am quite glad that Free Range Games kept their head down and turned around Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. It is a fun experience for fans of the survival genre and I can say that you don’t have to be a fan of the LOTR franchise but will love it even more if you are. The team has polished quite a few systems that some of the other survival games employ and it makes for a much better crafting and building experience. While the game still has some goblins messing with the combat and causing issues, this is one game that deserves a delve.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
