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The upcoming Lord of the Rings survival game, set in the ruined mines of Moria, has finally gone gold - or, as the development team states, it's gone "mithril."
Coming from developer Free Range Games, Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be released on October 24 for PC via the Epic Game Store. However, the planned PS5 edition of the game has been delayed to December 5, and the Xbox release is coming in early 2024.
The devs confirmed the news in a recent press release, giving players a view of when they can start playing the game on their chosen platforms.
As the first survival game set within the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Return to Moria focuses on the exploits and trials of a group of dwarves who have set out to reclaim the fabled mines of Moria.
As featured in the original novel and in Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Fellowship of the Ring, the Mines of Moria - more properly Khazad-dûm - was once a Dwarven kingdom that goblins and other monsters had since taken over. The game looks to echo many of the memorable moments from the film, which includes the scope and atmosphere, and most especially, the return of John Rhys-Davies as the voice of Gimli for the game.
Return to Moria focuses on the exploits of a crew of Dwarves who've come to retake Moria, and that focuses on taking many excursions into the mines to acquire resources, lost Dwarven treasure, and face off against the different monsters within. As a survival game, the Dwarves can craft, build, and expand their influence within the mines, allowing them to delve deeper into the caverns.
It's a cool conceit that really leverages the grandeur of one of the Fellowship of the Ring's most memorable moments, and as the first survival game set in the LOTR franchise, it's certainly an intriguing way to explore one side of Tolkein's universe in a new way.
For more survival games like Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, check out our roundup of best survival games you can play now.
