“Appreciate you still working on it”: Overlooked Lord of the Rings Game Is Getting The Golden Update With Xbox Release Nearly a Year After Launch
Free Range Games is hoping to bring its unique take on The Lord of the Rings back into the spotlight with its Golden Update and an Xbox release.
- The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is receiving an update that could change the game for the better.
- Free Range Games continues to work on optimizing the experience it delivers to its players.
- With Return to Moria making a grand entrance on Steam and Xbox Series, the studio hopes to bring more players to the table.
Fans of The Lord of the Rings are sure to be excited by a recent announcement from Free Range Games, the studio behind Return to Moria, a survival-crafting title that takes inspiration from Tolkien’s iconic work to deliver a unique take on the series’ famous locations.
Allowing players to take control of a company of dwarves tasked with retaking the mines of Moria, led by none other than Gimli, a member of the Fellowship of the Ring, Return to Moria received a surprisingly lukewarm response among players when it originally released for PC and PlayStation 5 in 2023.
Dwarven Hospitality at Its Finest
With procedurally generated mines just begging to be explored, Return to Moria’s unique take on the former Dwarven stronghold is finally making its debut on Xbox and Steam accompanied by a slew of changes that are sure to breathe new life into the title, as its Dwarven heroes brave the challenges that its dark depths present them with.
The mines of Moria are famous for Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog alongside an unforgettable battle against a Cave Troll and hordes of goblins in the first film. Gimli’s quest to reclaim the lands of his ancestors has surprisingly flown under the radar since its release. However, fans of the title are delighted to see that Free Range Games has not given up on it just yet.
Speak Friend and Enter Moria With The Golden Update
Return to Moria’s addition to more platforms comes alongside a Golden Update from Free Range Games that adds several new features like a Sandbox mode, crossplay compatibility between platforms, several new weapons, gear, and buildings, and a number of quality-of-life improvements that are sure to draw in more players who are keen to explore the lore of the dwarves and Moria’s mines while they wait for Amazon’s MMO based on The Lord of the Rings.
Responses to the announcement on channels like Reddit indicate renewed interest in the game, as showcased by the post below.
Many players are excited about the game’s new additions, with some of them praising Free Range Games’ commitment to fine-tuning an experience like no other for fans of The Lord of the Rings.
Other players are praising new additions to the game that can shed more light on the history of Moria and Dwarven culture while taking their place in a world without Sauron’s influence a step further than what the books or films have achieved.
However, some players are cautiously optimistic about the new update, with the need for dedicated servers being a detail that Free Range Games must pay attention to in order to ensure Return to Moria gets its due attention.
It seems that Return to Moria could face a few challenges down the line, but Free Range Games is sure to pay attention to what its players need to enjoy it considering all the efforts it has made to bring the game to a wider audience.
Players would certainly hope that the studio is able to channel the stubbornness of its Dwarven heroes and restore Moria to the glory that it deserves.
