Dwarf survival game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria coming in 2023

Developer Free Range Games is working on a game called The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. It is a survival and crafting game in which players take care of a dwarf settlement. Return to Moria will be released exclusively on PC through the Epic Games Store.

In Return to Moria, the dwarves want to re-enter the mines of Khazad-dûm and must survive there while building a settlement. The player creates his own dwarf and has to manage aspects such as sleep, hunger, temperature and noise. The game can be played solo or co-op with up to eight players, although it is not clear from the gameplay and descriptions whether players can control one or more characters. The actual mines are procedurally generated, which means that each world is unique.

Players must survive in Return to Moria by building, crafting and of course mining. The mined resources can be converted back into weapons, building blocks and magical amulets. Mining resources, on the other hand, does make noise and, as fans of the movies will know, can awaken unwanted scum from the depths of Moria. The player must therefore take into account attacks from orcs and other monsters.

Speaking of Peter Jackson’s films, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is set years after the events of the renowned films. The game takes place in the Fourth Age, the movies in the Third Age. Sauron has already been defeated and the Fourth Age is therefore seen as a peaceful period in Middle-Earth. It is not clear to what extent Return to Moria has any connection with the events of the films.