The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moria Review (PS5) – The Lord of The Rings: Return To Moria for PS5 emerges as a co-op survival game, providing an immersive experience for enthusiasts of the genre.
Set within the iconic Mines of Moria, the game not only challenges players’ survival skills but also delves deep into the rich lore of The Lord of the Rings universe.
The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moria delivers on what makes the survival genre awesome while setting itself apart from the crowd as you and your friends embark to seek out the lost riches of Moria.
The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moria Review (PS5) – Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
It’ll Be The Farthest Away From Home, You’ve Ever Been…
One of the standout features of the game is its commitment to the source material. As players navigate the perilous caves, they will encounter messages in the Dwarven language, offering insights into the history of those who braved the mines before.
This attention to detail adds an extra layer of authenticity and nostalgia for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. Enthusiasts and avid readers will feel very much at home.
The visual presentation is commendable, effectively conveying the depths of the mines as you venture deeper.
The contrast between darkness and vibrant light sources not only emphasizes the foreboding atmosphere but also provides a dynamic and visually decent environment.
The narrative, centered around reclaiming the lost treasures deep within the mines of Moria, is enriched by the return of John Rhys-Davies, reprising his role as Gimli.
His performance adds a familiar touch for fans of The Lord of the Rings films, enhancing the overall immersive experience.
Exploration in Return To Moria is a highlight that you and your friends will most certainly discuss. Navigating various mines, locales, forests, and hidden places provides players with a sense of adventure.
Discovering resources, enemies, and points of interest, as well as restoring Dwarven statues for unlockable equipment, adds a layer of excitement and anticipation.
There were many times when a friend and I were stumped as to what to do or how to craft the next item we needed to progress in our adventure.
What I found was when we went out to explore, not only did we find the materials and the resources to continue, but new items, materials, and ingredients were discovered that opened our minds to the many survival possibilities found within the game.
Seeking out iron? You’ll most likely come across a new ingredient that you were either looking for or didn’t know you needed.
The game offers a fantastic amount of variety respective to each category. There is an abundant variety of food to replenish your health and stamina, materials to create all sorts of items for building, weapons, and armor, gems and artifacts to discover, and more.
But do be careful, as you get tired from performing actions and hungry for the next meal, there is an in-game clock that alternates between day and night. be sure to fall asleep during the night, or band together to face the chills of the night, and the vicious foes that feast on those who slumber.
Fly, You Fools!
Survival in Return To Moria is a complex yet rewarding experience. Players must rely on their mechanics for crafting, building, cooking, and combat, with each action demanding careful consideration of stamina and resources. The diverse array of foes always keeps you on your toes.
Rats, bats, wolves, Orcs, goblins, and more will find every and any opportunity to get the drop on you. You must be well-supplied and well-armed to fend off the foes that stand before you.
Defeating foes will sometimes reward you with materials gems, and ingredients to craft an array of items.
On rare occasions, enemies have swarmed our base, forcing us to take arms and work together as we battled what seemed to be an endless horde. The battle was tough but we emerged victorious, with a lot of spoils to obtain from the fallen foes.
The game truly shines when you navigate the depths of Moria with your friends, allowing you all to undertake every aspect together, from crafting to spelunking.
The cooperative gameplay leads to hilarious and memorable moments, creating a unique experience each time. Setting up a co-op game is simple, load up your world and set it online, and send your friend the invite code.
Building in the game is a joy, offering players the freedom to construct their camps anywhere. With a wide array of building parts to assemble, you have the creative freedom to make any location your home.
Have enough resources for stone walls? Craft yourself a makeshift building as long as you have the required materials in your inventory.
However, there are some drawbacks, such as a somewhat tedious UI and the hidden nature of useful mechanics in menus rather than assigning them on your controller so that you’re in the game always.
Visual glitches will often leave you stumped as you navigate through the caves, pondering whether they’re visual designs or glitches.
Occasional delays in joining friends’ games also detract from the overall experience. Setting your world to be on online mode can be time-consuming as you have to keep restarting loading the world, once it’s live, you have to wait over 2 minutes for the world to load you in before your friends can join.
The final issue with Return To Moria is how late you get most items survival enthusiasts expect in the beginning. One of the most crucial upgrades you’ll need and notice is not there is the ability to upgrade your backpack to increase inventory space.
As you explore there will be an array of items to grasp for your pleasure. However often you will realize you lack the inventory space to carry most things.
There is a backpack upgrade available at the beginning of the game but only adds 5 slots. Having backpack upgrades sooner, when you already have a wide array of materials and resources to upgrade it with, would have been a huge game changer.
Despite these hurdles, the game still offers a thrilling experience for survival fans. The sense of discovery, enjoyable combat, and the delight of cooperative play contribute to its high replayability.
The game’s challenges, combined with its exploration and cooperative elements, make it a must-play for fans of both survival games and co-op experiences.
An Adventure Worth Going On
My friend and I were tasked to craft replacement cranks and gears to revive a great forge. We had accidentally crafted the crank at our camp, and carrying it all the way was not a viable option due to travel reduction.
So we thought of a brilliant idea, to jump on my friend’s head, carry the crank, and have him run to the forge rather than throwing the crafted gear.
It’s moments like this where you can come up with creative and fun ways to form solutions to problems you are challenged with. Everything you accomplish in this game gives you a great sense of achievement, and camaraderie among friends.
In conclusion, The Lord of The Rings: Return To Moria offers a unique blend of survival and adventure, providing an enjoyable experience for those who relish challenges and exploration.
With a few drawbacks, the game stands out as a compelling choice for fans of both The Lord of the Rings universe and the survival game genre. If you’re a survival enthusiast and love cooperative gameplay, this is undoubtedly a game worth exploring.
The Lord Of The Rings: Return To Moria is now available on PS5.
Review code kindly provided by the developer.