The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria — Everything We Know

If there was ever a time to reinvent the shambolic mess that was Daedalic Entertainment’s Gollum, it’d be now—in the midst of players’ outcry over J.R.R Tolkien’s lack of convincing representation. As luck would have it, there’s a new bit of material wedged in the pipeline, and it’ll once again cast its users back to the world of Middle Earth. This time, however, it won’t be focusing on the River-folk, or even The One Ring, for that matter. No, turns out, the so-called The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be centering its universe around the dwarves. And yes, it’ll feature none other than Gimli “IT STILL ONLY COUNTS AS ONE” Lockbearer as its primary protagonist. Finally.

The good news is, developer Free Range Games has already gone ahead and stapled a rough Fall 2023 release window to the upcoming survival crafting game. If you’re curious to know more about it ahead of its launch, then be sure to read on. Here’s everything we can tell you about it based on the information provided by its creators to date.

What Is The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria?

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is an upcoming single-player and online co-op “survival crafting” game set in the Fourth Age of Middle Earth. Going by the literature, this slots the story right after the events of the War of the Ring—which includes both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings eras, respectively. With Arnor and Gondor restored and returned to their rightful heirs, the compass will finally drift back towards Moria—an underground mining network that, prior to the events of the The Fellowship of the Ring, belonged to the dwarves.

Going by what’s been said to date, players will have the opportunity to delve into the lives of the tenacious dwarves, as they return to their homeland of Moria and look to reclaim it from the evil clutches of the orcs. As one of said dwarves, you will be entrusted with the task of not only rebuilding the three peaks of Moria, but fending off the shadows that threaten to reduce your progress to ash and rubble.

Story

The Fourth Age of Middle Earth has commenced. Lord Gimli Lockbearer, the axe-wielding hero, has raised a banner to unite the dwarves for one final quest: return to Moria, and take the peaks of Khazad-dûm back from the dreaded orcs that lurk within.

“Set in a procedurally generated Dwarven realm of Moria, no two adventures will be alike, and every expedition is traversable either solo or online with companions,” the description adds. “Players can mine to craft greater gear and resources, but beware mining makes noise, and noise created in the quiet deep threatens to awaken the dangers below: where there's clatter, there's combat. Excavate the mysteries of three legendary mountains, extract precious metals, scrape to survive, and battle unspeakable forces to learn the secret of the Shadow that lurks within.”

Return to Moria will give you the opportunity to create your own character and delve into some of Middle Earth’s most iconic locations, either alone, or with a team of up to eight other dwarves by you side. As a unit, you will be tasked with seeking out the vast treasures that bathe within, and reconstructing your homeland from the rubble up. How you go about doing this, of course, will depend entirely on the actions you take, and the sacrifices you’re willing to make.

Gameplay

From the looks of the footage we caught earlier this year, Return to Moria will feature a wide selection of procedurally generated maps for you to explore. Set entirely in the network that is the mines of Moria, you will divide your time between scavenging for resources in the dark, battling the armies that stalk from the shadows, and learning how to survive the chilling climate of an underground world. What’s more, you’ll also need to “manage their sleep, temperature and noise levels”—presumably to halt the invaders from catching on to your plot to rebuild Moria.

“To survive the treacherous mines of Moria players must conserve resources, hunt and gather for food and manage their sleep, temperature and noise levels,” the description explains. “Utilize dynamic light systems for safety and to blaze a path further into the darkness. Battle unspeakable evils and survive hordes of monstrous Orcs in visceral combat, while uncovering the secret of the Shadow that looms within the mountain.”

There’ll be a great deal of base building, too, which will allow for you to get creative with various structures, facilities, and command centers. Best be on guard, though, as detection will likely lead to an unwanted invasion from the other side. Question is, can you rebuild an entire kingdom from under the cover of darkness?

Development

Free Range Games, a studio best known for its contributions to both The Callisto Protocol and Oddworld: Soulstorm, first announced its plans to bring Return to Moria to consoles and PC back in June 2022, at the Epic Games Summer Showcase. It was revealed at the time that the multiplayer crafting game would be suiting up for a Spring 2023 launch. Last night’s reveal at the Summer Game Fest made it clear that this would no longer be the case. To cut a long story short, it’ll now be aiming for a Fall 2023 launch, which slots it somewhere between September and December. More on that later, though.

Trailer

Free Range Games brought a rather insightful trailer of Return to Moria to the table back at the Summer Game Fest, which went on to shed light on the game’s core gameplay features and more. You can see it for yourself in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be shaping up for a Fall 2023 release on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via the Epic Games Store. You can go ahead and add it to your wishlist here.

As far as launch editions go, we can’t say for certain whether or not there’ll be anything other than the standard copy on consoles and PC. Who knows, though? Perhaps the devs will announce something of the sort a little closer to the time of its launch? If that is the case, then expect to see a formal announcement in July or August. Don’t count on it though.

If Free Range Games’ latest venture has caught your attention, then be sure to check in with the studio’s official social feed for additional updates here. We’ll be sure to let you know just as soon as the team announce a final release date right here on gaming.net.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria when it releases later this year? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.