The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Review (PC)

I’m not going to pretend that Gollum didn’t happen, because it did. And honestly, having mindlessly romped through that train wreck of a “stealth” game, I  wasn’t entirely thrilled to return to the roots of J.R.R Tolkien’s Middle-earth for another round, either. Having said that, I was intrigued by this new survival-crafting blueprint that Free Range Games coughed up in light of Daedalic Entertainment’s nauseating love letter. I was certainly skeptical, for sure — but intrigued by the distant beckons of Return to Moria, nonetheless.

Anyway, the thought of filling the weighty boots of Gimli, son of Glóin, for a trip down into the depths of Moria seemed like a perfect opportunity to not only write some wrongs, but also rekindle a former flame with the world that I had come to learn and love during my adolescent years. In that respect, I was more than willing to take the plunge — even if it did mean having to counter some of the hollow memories of Gollum and its poorly conceived trappings. Needless to say that I felt somewhat inclined to see it with my own eyes, if only to alleviate that post-Gollum depression that Daedalic had left me in its wake. But was it worth the descent? Well, to answer that we’ll have to venture a little deeper, down into the pits of the dwarven realm. Care to join? Then let’s jump right in.

“Mellon”

To put you in the picture, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a third-person survival-crafting and city-building game set in the aftermath of J.R.R Tolkien’s three-piece anthology. As Gimli, you are invited to return to the depths of Moria—a once-bustling haven for the Dwarves that, following the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, fell to the wrath of the orcs and its tyrannical leader, Azog. Set in the Fourth Age, Return to Moria aims to bring the unwritten passages of Tolkien’s world to a fresh, sprightly, and above all, modernized vessel for consoles and PC. And you know what? It actually does it surprisingly well, all things considered.

Before we delve any deeper, I will say this: lore-wise, Free Range Games has actually done a rather swell job with connecting Return to Moria to Tolkien’s literary roots. To emphasize this point, Free Range Games did actually go on to onboard several Middle-earth know-it-alls, one of whom was none other than Tolkien-inspired linguist and A Gateway to Sindarin author, David Salo. Turns out, Salo, along with a generous number of other franchise fanatics, were all partly responsible for fleshing out the world and its lore, its languages and its culture. So, hardly a “build it and they will come” sort of project, after all.

Of course, it is worth mentioning that, while a game can be thrice as strong when under the thumb of an archipelago of seasoned experts, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll be any good, and not to mention appealing to the whole demographic. Yes, it’s ironclad in its own right, but is it enough to make an otherwise mediocre gameplay experience that much better? Questions, questions.

“It Still Only Counts As One”

So, concrete world-building and lore set aside, how exactly does the gameplay in Return to Moria compare to the likes of Shadow of Mordor and—dare I say—Gollum? Well, to put it straight, Return to Moria is a whole other ball game, and thus, a fair few field goals apart from the aforementioned tributes. Simply put, it takes a traditional survival-crafting blueprint and adds all the bells and whistles of a classic Tolkien song to the framework. How does it do this, you ask? Well, for starters, it utilizes a great deal of the acclaimed author’s literary works as references for certain aspects of the world. There are items, for example, that remind you of The Fellowship’s daring expedition through the mines; a memorable example here would be one of the rocks that Pippin mistakenly dropped down the well before the oh so timely arrival of the Orcish trespassers.

For what it’s worth, Return to Moria does make an attempt at rekindling a few core memories from the Lord of the Rings era, if not with tongue-in-cheek Easter eggs in every other corridor, then with folklore songs and Tolkien-inspired tales of old and new. Again, I can’t really complain about the repertoire of tales, themes, and languages, as the game does, at least in my mind, serve the history of the saga some level of justice. But again, to reiterate, a casket of convincing tall tales and dwarven chants does not necessarily mean it’s forgiven of its crimes.

Deja vu

Unfortunately, it doesn’t take all that long to realize that, bar a couple of thematic set pieces and characters, Return to Moria is more or less a bog-standard survival game with all the same tropes and trimmings you’d expect to find in any other game of its kind. Sure it’s in Middle-earth, but for the most part, you’ll struggle to remember this as you continue to rework the same old motions day in, day out. There’s crafting, scavenging, and building—three core nodes that make up the lion’s share of most, if not all games that fall under the survival-centric umbrella.

The goal is simple: venture deep into the depths of Moria, and fashion a new home from the remnants of a broken civilization. As Gimli, you are tasked with taking your trusty Pickaxe, and unlocking several doorways that lead into new hovels around the mines. To progress even deeper into the game, you also need to construct new bases, craft new armors, and set up light trails around the caverns to essentially chronicle the world and its every nook and cranny. And that’s it.

For what it’s worth, there is a lot to enjoy in Return to Moria, especially during those first few hours when you’re in the midst of a Tolkien masterclass that’s equally rife with references and themed jargon. Sadly, though, it’s easy to lose sight of this after a few short hours, as the novelty soon wears thin, and the preliminary doubts eventually transition into a series of repetitive tasks that draw out for an additional forty-plus hours, give or take.

Grind and Mine, Grind and Mine

It pains me to say it, but as far as combat goes, Return to Moria has arguably one of the dullest, most unfortunate suites in modern gaming. And while I should give Free Range Games the benefit of the doubt, as this isn’t a combat-heavy game by trade, I can’t help but wonder what the team could’ve brought to the table. To be frank, it didn’t really stick all that well with me, as nine times out of ten I found myself batting away the same enemies, and with the same weapons, all for the same shared purpose of gathering the same resources to lug back home. It was almost too same-y, if you catch my drift.

In light of the game being somewhat monotone and predictable, I did actually enjoy a lot of my time down in Moria. Having said that, I could’ve quite happily departed from the nearest exit after just a dozen hours or less. But boy, forty-five hours down in those pits was way too much, and honestly, an expedition that was also way above my pay grade.

Verdict

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is many, many things—a redemption arc for Daedalic Entertainment’s god-awful Gollum, being the most obvious example. Having said that, just because it reclaimed some of The Lord of the Rings’ core values, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good game. And to be fair, given the fact that we’re even comparing it to the likes of Gollum, it isn’t as if we’re setting the bar all that high, to begin with. Point is, Return to Moria is vastly superior in terms of quality and complexity, though not quite enough to make it the be-all, end-all of video game adaptations.

While I could very well argue that Return to Moria is a great survival game, I could also say that, as far as city-building and combat games go, it’s borderline mediocre at best. And that’s a crying shame, truly, as Free Range Games clearly spent a great deal of time combing through the lore—to the extent of employing an entire network of Middle-earth die-hards to flesh out the intricacies and give it a bit more of a pulse. But the fact is, Return to Moria just isn’t all that great, and it’s mainly down to the forgettable locales and mechanics that make it so.

Of course, when all’s said and done, I will say this: as far as Lord of the Rings adaptations travel, you could certainly do a lot worse than Return to Moria. Sure it’s a little drab and half-baked, but it’s also a pretty decent commemorative love letter to Tolkien’s memory, too. For that reason alone, it’s easy to brush over the shortcomings and gaze upon the silver linings — even if it does mean having to sink to the lowest tiers of Moria to unearth them.