Return to Moria, a small newcomer to the field of survival games, could perhaps have benefited from what several other games of the same type have benefited from before, namely an open beta period, just to refine a few aspects that more could shine.
Inspired by JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings universe, Return to Moria is set in the Fourth Age, following the defeat of Sauron, and immerses players in an adventure of survival on behalf of Gimli, son of Gloin , to recapture the dangerous mines of Moria.
Like other survival games, the rest is quite simple: you have to dig for better materials, so you can dig and collect better materials, and so on, to get to the end of the story.
However, unlike other survival games, Return to Moria constantly pushes us to build lots of small bases along the way, a decision that reflects the quest for exploration on which the game’s story is based and the genre that it generally revolves around. gives a different rhythm around large centers, where everything ultimately comes together.
The game takes place in a very well recreated environment; The Moria Mine remains true to the grandiose description given by Gimli in the films and featured in Amazon’s Rings of Power series.
Several small features add charm to the game, be it the dwarves who can sing together when they mine or who drink beer together… We also have the opportunity to explore Moria and even recreate the route of the ring community. if desired, which requires several hours of exploration.
On the other hand, as mentioned above, I find it hard to say that this game was ready to launch.
There are still bugs, especially when loading biomes. It also appears that the settings regarding the presence of enemies throughout the mine have not undergone any quality control (enemies appear too quickly after being defeated, or not at all).
In addition to the bugs, the management of inventory and containers such as chests and production machines could also benefit from improvements and polishes to make everything smoother and easier to manage.
I’ve read elsewhere that some people criticize the combat, but to me it’s relatively standard as far as survival games go; we stay at the base.
Ultimately, Return to Moria is great group fun, a cheaper game than many triple-A games, and potentially a reason to download the Epic platform (the game is unfortunately only available on that platform if you’re playing on PC).
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria
Developer: Outdoor games
Editor: North Beach Games
Platforms: Windows, PlayStation 5 (tested on Windows/Epic Games)