The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moira gameplay trailer promises a punishing RPG

Prepare for a dwarven adventure with The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moira, a survival/action RPG filled with crafting and combat.

Summer Game Fest kicked off with a bang yesterday, with an opening show that revealed brand new releases, a first-look at brutal Mortal Kombat 1 gameplay, and a release date announcement for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. One of the highlighted games was The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moira, a survival and crafting game coming to PC and console platforms. Based on Tolkien’s prestigious Lord Of The Rings franchise, the game will see players take on the role of the dwarves, as they explore dangerous depths on the hunt for treasure.

Take a look at the game in action below.

The official synopsis for the title reads: “The story of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria takes players beyond the books and into the Fourth Age of Middle-earth … Summoned to the Misty Mountains by Lord Gimli Lockbearer, players take control of a company of Dwarves tasked to reclaim the lost spoils from the Dwarven homeland of Moria—known as Khazad-dûm or Dwarrowdelf—in the depths below their very feet."

It goes on to say, “Players will join forces to survive, craft, build and explore the iconic, sprawling mines. Courageous expeditioners will need to be vigilant as mysterious dangers await.” Co-operative multiplayer is one of the stand-out features, as is deep-exploration and base-building mechanics. It also boasts a rich story-driven adventure, with a mystery players will have to uncover themselves if they’re willing to explore the darkness in front of them.

It gives off Valheim vibes, especially since there’ll be a lot of crafting and upgrading involved. It’s also been stated players will be able to find magic weapons and items scattered around the mine too to help them on their journey. This is definitely one to keep an eye on if you’re a Lord Of The Rings fan, especially if you were recently disappointed by the latest Gollum game.

The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moira is set to release sometime later this year, for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

In other news, a one-of-a-kind LOTR Magic The Gathering card, The One Ring, is apparently worth $1 million, as it’s the only one in existence.