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The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is a brand new game set for release in Spring 2023 and billed as “the only survival crafting game in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth”.
Revealed during the Epic Games Summer Showcase, this new game based on the work of JRR Tolkien comes from independent developer Free Range Games and publisher North Beach Games.
Return to Moria follows the dwarves of Middle-earth as they “embark on an original adventure to reclaim and restore their dwarven homeland of Moria”. At launch, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be available exclusively on PC through the Epic Games Store.
“The story of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes players beyond the books into the fourth age of Middle-earth, the fantastical world created by JRR Tolkien,” reads the official description. Called to the Misty Mountains by Lord Gimli Lockbearer, players take control of a company of dwarves tasked with reclaiming lost loot from the dwarven homeland of Moria – known as Khazad-dûm, or Dwarrowdelf – from the depths beneath their feet.
“Your quest will require bravery, delving deep into the mines of Moria to recover their treasures. Players will band together to survive, build, build and explore the iconic, sprawling mines. Brave expedition members must be vigilant as mysterious dangers await them.”
The game is procedurally generated, which means that every adventure players embark on either alone or with friends will be new and unknown. During each playthrough, players must mine while being aware of the amount of noise they make while monitoring hunger, sleep, temperature, resources, and more.
Base building will play a big part in Return to Moria, and players will also have the opportunity to salvage dwarven landmarks as the story progresses. This is all in addition to revealing magical artifacts like “swords that glow when orcs are nearby, maps of long dormant veins of mithril, books of forgotten crafting plans, and amulets that bestow power or wisdom.”
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is set in the Fourth Age, which is the age after the events of the movies/books and two ages after the timeline in which Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series will take place.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and further Pull out