If you're a fan of the universe, Return to Moria is a reason to re-immerse yourself in familiar sights and sounds, but for anyone else it's just another survival game.

This is an excellent game for LOTR fans. True to lore and with decent controls, it is fun to play. Its interesting to explore Moria and the lost Dwarven realms. Not too grindy, just the right amount with plenty of resources to find, mine, harvest, etc. Unlocking the build tree by rebuilding statues is something new, and encourages one to explore the map to find them. I'd prefer a different method, but like I said, it drives exploration. Towards the end of the campaign, it can get a bit grindy to find all the bits for Durin's Axe and other items - but it serves to extend the gametime. Monsters are adequately varied, not too smart, and are true to lore. Only part that I disliked was the sieges. I did understand the horde attacking if you made too much noise, but the sieges just annoy and cause you to needlessly rebuild afterwards, thereby extending the gameplay time more. The horde was actually fun if your goal was to induce an attack just to farm mobs! But where this game really shines is in multiplayer. I enjoy it with my friend. When played as a team, the game is quite enjoyable and makes base building worthwhile. In campaign mode or solo mode base building is rather pointless as you're moving deeper and deeper pretty quickly, but in multiplayer a group can put a base together nicely and quickly and makes for a better experience. The audio, music and songs were quite a nice and enjoyable touch. Graphics are nice and above average, but nothing spectacular probably right where they should be for this game.

Overall, I give it a solid 9/10. Really enjoyed the game as im a big fan of middle earth and the gameplay reminded me of valheim, all the farming, new regions (biomes), crafting and the repairing but its all in caves and lore accurate.