The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Reviews
Overall, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is an extremely solid survival crafting title, and stands proudly as one of the best Lord of the Rings games, as well as one of the best releases of 2023.
Overall ‘The Lord Of The Rings Return To Moria’ completely took me by surprise and exceeded my expectations. Not being the biggest fan of survival crafting games I found myself losing time by becoming immersed in the world created for me. It’s an absolute joy to play and feels so authentic to the world of ‘The Lord Of The Rings’.
The Lord of The Rings: Return To Moria is a valiant attempt of crafting a great survival game, keeping players engaged and memories to be made. The gameplay may seem difficult and takes some time to adjust to, but just enjoy the experience for what it is and you will find youself entering the depths of Moria more than you anticipated.
Return to Moria doesn't challenge the genre, and instead of just tries to be a good game, and in that it suceeds.
Return to Moria, from Free Range Games, is a fun experience for fans of survival titles and Lord of the Rings. It takes some of the better systems from the genre and marries them to the lore and setting of Moria, the result of which is a world that fans can be excited about.
Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria doesn’t take any huge chances with the survival crafting genre. Still, the Lord of the Rings overlay and familiar character cameos help make its familiar loops seem fresh enough. In the mixed-bag pantheon of Lord of the Rings-inspired games, Return to Moria acquits itself quite well.
The Lord of the Rings Return to Moria unfortunately can't keep up with the sacred monsters of the survival genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a decently fun time. While not perfect, it's a unique take on a sandbox survival game.
Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria has the potential to be a challenging and enjoyable multiplayer experience. The loop of mining, crafting, and exploring is a satisfying one when overwhelming hordes of goblins aren't haranguing you. There doesn't seem to be any real optimisation for solo players so I'd probably stay clear unless you can get a band of dwarves together to brave the darkness of the mines.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is overshadowed by the name it carries: Free Range Games have indeed managed to recreate the atmospheres that Tolkien's fans will love but, in terms of gameplay, the game fails to shine as it should.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Return to Moria has a decent core that could have used a little bit more time in the tank to reach its full potential. Hopefully, community feedback will be taken into account and post-launch support will focus on improving some of the basic mechanics. If they do that, it has real potential to be one of the better survival crafting games in recent memory.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is interesting, but niche. Anyone who is a fan of both the survival genre and Lord of the Rings will find a gameplay title that will require dozens of hours to be properly explored, especially with other players in multiplayer. However, it is worth highlighting that, for the uninitiated, there are other more innovative and/or inviting options.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Don't be a fool of a Took and rush into Moria. An authentic and authentically grueling game.
When your dwarf is filled with joy and bursts into singing while mining, a little of The Lord of the Rings atmosphere springs to life. Exploring some areas without any care in the world is another moment when the game feels enticing and hints at the sandbox gameplay that could have been. But suddenly, you are reminded that the whole place is a procedurally generated mess with barely any memorable locations, combat is dull and flawed, mining is extremely limited, and the repetitive walks to the base with the goal of storing your recent loot become tiresome. Return to Moria is one for diehard fans only, and even those have to consider just how passionate they are about dwarves and survival in dark places.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a fairly mediocre survival game that partially rides on the popularity of a well-known brand. Unfortunately, at that price, I am in no way able to recommend a trip to mystical Moria, even if you are a huge fan of the LOTR.
Review in Polish | Read full review
If you're a fan of the universe, Return to Moria is a reason to re-immerse yourself in familiar sights and sounds, but for anyone else it's just another survival game.
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.
The world here is huge and it will take you tens of hours to discover it all - there is a lot to discover. If you have a group of friends who will go with you and you enjoy a game focused on survival, production and combat and the mysterious world of dwarves, you are in the right place. But if you're looking for an engaging story from Middle Earth, you won't find it here, unfortunately.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
If Lord of the Rings and "survival-crafting" combo sounds good to you, this is the game for you. Still, you'll have to work hard to overlook its faults.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
This is a competent survival game, adding nothing to a formula long since perfected by games like Subnautica, games that it falls far short of. It relies on the pull of Tolkien to keep players pushing through, otherwise it would be all too easy to give up on your mission and do something else, anything but mining. There are moments of magic, like when your team of dwarves begin to sing, deep harmonies echoing off the cavernous walls. But these moments are too few and far between, and the lore can only take you so far. As a space to hang out with fantasy-minded friends, Return to Moria is a nice jaunt. I just wish there was something more to do than swing this damn pickaxe at another damn wall.