The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is an in-progress survival crafting game that will be exclusive to PC following its release in Spring 2023.
Announced at the Epic Games Summer Showcase, the game is being developed by Free Range Games, both an in-house developer and an external studio. As the latter, it’s currently working on The Callisto Protocol with Striking Distance Studios, having previously worked on many of Oddworld: Soulstorm’s levels.
Set in the rather peaceful Quaternary Misty Mountains of Middle-earth, this primitive adventure finds a group of dwarves set out to reclaim Moria’s ancient underground complex. Long overwhelmed by various evil forces and hordes of orcs, it was Gimli of House Durin, the lord of the Shining Cave, who himself sent men to retake the dwarves’ homeland and retrieve their lost loot.
Taking control of the dwarves, you’ll delve deep into the Moria mines to recover its treasures and join forces to survive, craft, build and explore all that Dwarrowdelf has to offer. But beware: mysterious dangers await you, so always be on your toes.
“We at Free Range Games are very excited to finally unveil The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moriah,” said CEO Chris Scholz. This project presents a fantastic opportunity to create a new experience from one of the greatest stories of all time.
“We put a lot of passion into the game to provide players with an unforgettable experience.”
Before the journey begins, you will use the custom character creator to create your dwarf. Dwarves can be customized in a number of ways, and as you play, you can further enhance your dwarf’s style with new and crafted gear.
Once in the game, you can mine to craft more powerful gear and resources, but be aware that mining creates noise that may awaken dangers below. You know what happens when the people of Durin drill too deep, right? So, who knows what awaits you in the darkest depths of Moria.
To survive, you must conserve resources, hunt, gather food and manage your sleep, temperature and noise levels. You’ll use the game’s dynamic lighting system for safety, and you’ll need to reveal and clear new locations to create buildings. When building a foundation, you can either start from scratch or build upon an existing environment.
You’ll encounter various landmarks and resurrect old mines as you work to restore this long-lost kingdom to its former glory. You’ll rebuild the mine’s ancient forge to strengthen, repair, and enchant gear, while upgrading and unlocking new technologies and machines. Blacksmithing and crafting stations will allow you to convert ores into ingots and upgrade gear.
Ancient magical items can also be found, including swords that glow when orcs approach, maps of mithril veins, books with forgotten crafting plans, and amulets that confer power or wisdom.
The game features procedurally generated dwarven realms, which means no two adventures are the same, and each expedition can be taken alone or online with up to eight companions.
Free Range Games says it will share more announcements and information about Return to Moria in the coming months.
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