Solviss9000 The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Review

This game COULD have been the salvation that any survival/builder/LoTR fan was looking for. Instead they hamstrung it with a weak story, poor build mechanics and no endgame. What started out as a delightful romp through goblin infested halls quickly descended into a mad scramble to figure out which section of the square on the map we were in so we could double-back and find the dwarven reliquary we saw. Or loading up new worlds so we can grab more black diamonds to build more fast travel points. Trying to build bases was novel at first, but then it took us ages to master the snapping, or how you had to stack some building components on top of each other to get the walls to look like the level designed scenery. Then came the raids. At first it was cool to have these random orc-raids blow through. We would all man the battlements and fight tooth and nail to vanquish the foe. But then it became tedious. Which base was being attacked? Do I have enough stamina to travel there and be of help? It was a chore. After finally loading enough worlds to get one which randomly generated all the necessary rooms with accessible paths we finally finished the game. Accessing the Dimrill Gate and rolling the cutscene we were excited at the prospect of what the final chapter of the game must hold. Gimli told us to go back in and spruce things up! Must be some new features! Now here we are in 2025 and they're releasing this final chapter as a $15 DLC?! Disgusting.