![]() That’d be bland but okay, if there weren’t so darn many fights in Return to Moria, but it feels like something wants to kill you every time you turn a corner. They approach you, hesitate, feint, then attack, and do it all again. ![]() Whether it’s an orcoblin, a wolf, or whatever the weird badger things are that infest Moria’s halls, they all behave in the exact same manner. Approachability in a game designed for broad appeal is understandable and even appreciated, but Return to Moria somehow has less variation in its battles than the 2003 version of The Hobbit. They are comingĬombat is tedious and frustrating in its simplicity. It’s the same for pretty much every other new or interesting piece of storytelling. It’s a welcome, thoughtful nod to the complex past of Middle Earth’s most fractious people, but Return to Moria quickly moves on and doesn’t revisit the idea. One of the earliest areas you uncover is an ancient elvish settlement right on the outskirts of Khazad-Dum. The most frustrating part is that Return to Moria has hints of something more interesting. It’s the equivalent of those on-rails theme park rides where a guide points out all the big attractions, waits for you to “ooh” and “aah” and then moves on to the next one. There’s no meaningful interaction between the Fellowship’s story and the Fourth Age tale Free Range is trying to tell – nothing to evoke emotion, not even an attempt to build new stories. I don’t mind fanservice when it’s done well, but Return to Moria’s approach is pretty shallow. You can find the room where Frodo was stabbed, the hall where Gandalf said the adventurers would have to press on through the mine, and even – somehow, in a world made of loose stones – the very stone Pippin dropped in the well that alerted the goblorcs. These creatures exist in this space, at this time, solely for you to beat up with sticks or chop with axes.įree Range also wants to make very sure that you understand this is the same place from the Fellowship of the Ring. Their motivations are somehow less complex than the orc-goblins of Tolkien’s works. Return to Moria seems just as confused about the nature of the foes you face underground as Tolkien was between The Hobbit, when they were goblins, and The Fellowship of the Ring, where he retconned them into orcs. Your self-made dwarf falls into the ruins, and this is essentially all you get for story.Ī shadowy power blocked the gate because of course it did, and orcs are back. The door is closed, and speaking “friend” gains you no entrance, the first of many nods to popular moments from the game’s source material. Gimli, former Fellowship member and hero of the Lord of the Rings books and films, brings his merry band of dwarves back to Moria in a bid to revive the city of his ancestors. It probably would’ve been better without the Lord of the Rings trappings, though. Return to Moria is light on story, and while that might be understandable in a genre not known for its narrative complexity, this is one of the first Lord of the Rings stories set after the Third Age. ![]() One of the biggest – and most confusing – disappointments is how Free Range Games uses the Lord of the Rings license, although “uses” is a little generous. It takes the worst parts of survival-crafting games – the checklists, the shallow storytelling, the bland environments – wraps it in a stale combat system, and worst of all, doesn’t even take any risks with the Lord of the Rings narrative. That was me when it was time to do anything in The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria that didn’t involve building. There’s a popular internet meme called “Yes Honey” that people use when it’s time for a routine task that’s dry, boring, or generally unpleasant that they just don’t want to do.
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