Coming in Spring 2023, fans of The Lord of the Rings will have one more video game to return to the world they love. Revealed at the Epic Games Summer Showcase, the newly announced The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will bring players to the Fourth Age of Middle-earth and test their survival crafting skills.
The game is being developed by Free Range Games and published by North Beach Games, and will be based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. Return to Moria will follow the Dwarves of Middle-earth as they “embark on an original adventure to reclaim and restore their Dwarven homeland of Moria.”
“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,” the official description reads.
“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.”
ALSO READ: First look at Amazon's The Lord of the Rings reveals full characters in epic prequel
The environments players will explore will be procedurally generated, so you can expect plenty of new things to discover on each adventure. Besides mining, players will also have to keep track of other things like hunger, sleep, temperature, and even noise, after all, you don’t wanna awake something terrible in the depths.
Base building will also be a key aspect of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, and recovering Dwarven landmarks will be part of the progression.
The game will launch exclusively on PC via the Epic Games Store, so keep your eyes peeled for more developments in the coming months.
This article was first published in Geek Culture.