Return To Moria: The Lord of The Rings: Release date, gameplay details, & more

The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moria is an upcoming crafting survival game set within the fourth age of Middle-earth, after the destruction of the One Ring and dissolution of the Fellowship.

In Return To Moria, you embark on a quest at the behest of Lord Gimli Lockbearer, to reclaim the dwarven stronghold of Moria and rebuild it by crafting resources and daring to venture into the darker depths of the mines.

You can make your own custom Dwarf and set out to build a stronghold either solo or with friends for up to eight-player multiplayer. 

For more information about the Lord of The Rings-themed crafting survival game including the release date, gameplay, and more, read here.

• If you're agonising over the wait for Return to Moria, check out our list of the best paid & free MMORPGs to play in the meantime

Return To Moria release date

Click to enlarge

Return To Moria will be released digitally on PlayStation 5 and PC via the Epic Games Store on October, 24 with a cited date for physical release on December 5th.

The game has a price point of £31.69 and is available to pre-order now via The Epic Games Store or wishlist on the PlayStation store.

Return To Moria platforms

Click to enlarge

Return to Moria is scheduled for a PS5 and PC release on October, 24, with an additional Xbox Series X|S release due in early 2024.

Return To Moria trailer

Return To Moria gameplay details

Story

Click to enlarge

Return To Moria can be played either solo or via co-op as a multiplayer experience with up to eight players on PC via the Epic Games Store and up to four players on the PS5 at launch.

The game is categorised as a survival crafting game, you will need to be careful as you juggle the needs of the Dwarves whilst also exploring for important loot that can help build a base. 

The game takes place in the fourth age, 70 years after the events of The Lord of The Rings, meaning Sauron and the One Ring have been defeated.

It is your task to banish the evil from Moria and return it to its former glory, a task given to you by Gimli, a member of the original fellowship and everyone's favourite master Dwarf. Excitingly, John Rhys-Davies will be reprising his role as Gimli and providing voice acting for the character.

Key survival crafting mechanics

Click to enlarge

The gameplay released so far shows a customisable base, armour, tools and exploration throughout the mines of Moria. The game will have different procedurally generated mines, which will also change depending on your server. However, important landmarks such as the bridge of Khazad-dûm will have a set location and story purposes as you progress through the game.

As you dig deeper, you and your Dwarven band of brothers may discover precious materials like Mithril and even legendary Dwarven armour, tools, abandoned forges, and other loot that can help you as you build a custom base of operations inside Khazad-dûm.

There is also an inspiration mechanic that can strike at any time when mining or discovering Dwarven artefacts. When you trigger inspiration, your Dwarf can sing with their companions and improve the stamina it takes to mine. Songs can also unlock new areas of the mines, and there are ten different voices to choose from.

Free Range Games has also taken it upon itself to recreate the Dwarven language, which you can choose your Dwarf to solely speak at the character creation stage if you want further immersion in the game. 

Combat

Click to enlarge

Return to Moria will also have combat and an in-depth noise meter as well as the usual health, sleep, sanity, and temperature bars you would expect from a survival game. This means that players will need to be careful the deeper they delve and the more they attract attention, lest they awaken the Orcs within - or the Cave Trolls.

Other than the usual waves of Orcs, however, there is a larger threat looming underneath Moria. Although hinted at during the IGN Gamescom interview with Jon-Paul Dumont, the main enemy of the game is unnamed as of yet and is simply referred to as 'the Shadow that looms within the mountain'.

Lore

Click to enlarge

The developers have expressed a wish to keep close to Tolkien's lore and have been advised by Tolkien professor Corey Olsen.

During an interview with the Nerd of the Rings YouTube channel, lead director Jon-Paul Dumont expressed how more dwarven lore will be accessible to players the further they delve into the mines. Players can go much further back than the occupation of the Balrog and see some of the dwarven histories of the Duran familial line.

However, there will be dangers waiting in the deeper mines, and managing light sources will be a vital component of the survival game. Dumont said there are enemies other than Orcs in Moria and hinted at further links to Tolkien's works.

They also hinted at the game having a sanity meter, which will be determined by how dark it is and how well-fed your character is. The more noise you make as you mine down may also increase your chances of hostile encounters.

That rounds off our guide of everything we know so far about the Return to Moria release, if you need something to play to fill in the wait for the game, check out our list of the best multiplayer games on PS5 you can play right now.

For more Lord of the Rings guides, stick with GGRecon.