There are few things gamers appreciate more than an adaptation that brings some of their favorite fictional worlds to life. The Lord of the Rings is exactly one such franchise, and after the disastrous launch of Daedalic’s Gollum game — which not only nosedived critically and financially but also took the studio down with it — Middle-earth enthusiasts are once again pondering if the rolling hills of the Riddermark, the tangled forests of Fangorn, or even the civilized pastures of Gondor would make for another awesome video game experience.
Middle-earth is in no shortage of amazing interactive games. Indeed, we recently broke down a few of the most memorable ones, and the very thought gave us the itch to revisit some of those titles. Why pour so many resources into developing a game about Gollum — of all characters — when you could do so much with the rest of the Fellowship? Yes, the idea of delving deep into Sauron’s domain and controlling Smeagol is intriguing enough — at least on the surface — but the industry has yet to fully grasp the potential of Tolkien’s expansive mythology.
Here, we’re going to try to brainstorm 10 different games centering around a single or multiple closely related Lord of the Rings characters to determine if our pitches could be as enticing as Daedalic’s initial starting point with Gollum.
10. Samwise Gamgee in a farming simulator
There’s just no arguing that our boy Sam has well-earned his retirement in the Shire. And, in the wake of so much turmoil, sacrifice, and strife, he certainly deserves to spend the rest of his days living exactly the life he always wanted — one surrounded by growing things, good food, and a loving family.
Why not take that idea, and make it into a game? Every Lord of the Rings game doesn’t have to be stuffed full of Nazgul and dark times, after all. A Stardew-esque title, following Sam’s growing family and flourishing farm, could be just the de-stresser LOTR fans need. Stuffing this type of charming, artsy title full of nods to lore — and side quests in the Old Forest, North Farthing, and maybe even the Barrow-downs — would make for a wonderful twist on the expected Lord of the Rings game. Besides, who doesn’t like to spend more time in the enchanting countryside of the shire?
9. Aragorn in an open-world, action RPG
As Strider has served as the archetypal paragon informing the typical fantasy protagonist in innumerable stories through the years, it’s about time that he got the attention he is due. What we’re pitching here is an ambitious project perhaps spanning a large part of Middle-earth, putting players in the shoes of Aragorn the Dunedain ranger as he traverses the land and stops evil in its tracks. This would be a third-person role-playing game allowing you to customize your gears and abilities, featuring a cast of characters and set pieces that give you the ultimate Middle-earth experience, but this time in an adventure all your own.
Whether it’s the white city of Minas Tirith to the south, or nomadic Rohan to the north, and even further up in the fallen kingdoms of Arnor, your studio of choice would be bringing a truly vibrant world to life.
8. Elrond/Galadriel in a city builder
Now that we got that triple-A Middle-earth dream adaptation out of the way, let’s get back into more feasible territories. The idea for a Galadriel or Elrond game centering around the creation of Elvendom is a simple one. Do you like Cities: Skylines or Ubisoft’s Anno series? Well, this would be basically that, but set in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Build Elven cities and manage them to the best of your abilities, while also taking care of the matters of governance.
The goal would be to create a society worthy of the legendary legacy of marvels like Gondolin, Imladris, and Lothlorien. And considering how divinely intricate Elvish architecture really is, the result will not only imbue players with a deep sense of fulfillment but will also create utterly alluring landscapes to behold.
7. Gimli in a dungeon crawler
Imagine Gimli and his company of Dwarven friends in an isometric Diablo-esque dungeon crawler. You take control of a party of Dwarves, perhaps even in co-op mode with your friends, and go through the uncharted deeps of Khazad-Dum or Erebor in search of valuable materials and forgotten artifacts.
There’s not much of a story to be told in a scenario like that, but you can be sure that taking command of Dwarves and their strange weaponry and fighting your way through waves upon waves of Goblins, Trolls, and other monstrosities lurking in the deepest depths of Middle-earth will be a very gratifying experience.
6. Heroes of Middle-earth in a MOBA
This is a game that has already been made by Monolith Productions in the early 2010s. Guardians of Middle-earth was a MOBA game inspired by many great titles in this genre, but due to numerous technical issues at launch, the game was dismissed as a half-hearted attempt at a very popular genre.
Well, being a fan of Dota 2 and League of Legends myself, I can’t help but wonder if a developer should give the Middle-earth MOBA experience another chance. Sure, the magic system isn’t nearly intricate enough to warrant a game of this scale, but you have to admit that the character pool is extraordinary. You could play as the Ainur, the Maiar, humans, elves, and even the two Dark Lords themselves. The possibilities would be endless.
5. Theoden or other Middle-earth rulers in a grand strategy
If you’ve played The Battle for Middle-earth II, then you already know that a Grand Strategy game set in Middle-earth would be a banger. Imagine Sid Meier’s Civilization or even Paradox’s Crusader Kings, but with the aesthetic and backdrop of Tolkien’s fictional world filling in the blanks.
You would command Theoden, Denethor, or any number of rulers from different Middle-earth periods, and fight for dominion over Arda. Some enthusiastic soul out there might have already developed a mod for Crusader Kings bringing that exact vision to life, but we’re, of course, talking about a fully fleshed-out experience here. And hey, why not take it a step further and suggest that Creative Assembly should’ve already developed a Total War game set in Middle-earth years ago?
4. Sauron in a real-time strategy
Speaking of strategy games, I think there’s a lot of potential in an RTS title set in Middle-earth. Yes, we already have The Battle for Middle-earth and that’s a great experience, but perhaps a game centering around Sauron and chronicling his rise to power would be a banger as well. You begin as a meager Dark Lord after your master Melkor’s defeat, and then you slowly gather strength, expand your territory, and bring Middle-earth to heel.
And much like The Rise of Witch-King expansion, the devs might give players a chance to redeem their evil wrongdoings by playing as the good guys in the game’s final act, and in doing so ensuring a commendable faithfulness to the source material.
3. Faramir in a tower defense
As you may have already figured out, we tried to ideate most of the games on this list with a limited budget in mind. We’re not going for triple-A projects like a lot of inexperienced game developers do, and then live to regret it. A tower defense game centering around Faramir or even his brother Boromir would be much in the same vein. It might even make a great mobile title to fill your idle hours.
In a game like that, you’re essentially fighting off against waves and waves of Orcs with defenses and soldiers and both. But if we’re being a little more ambitious, we could even turn this into a co-op hack-and-slash survival game, with you and your friends entering an arena of sorts and trying to survive increasingly harder waves of enemies and mobs.
2. Bilbo in an adventure platformer
Most of the games on this list have been action-focused, so how about a little relaxing detour in the form of Bilbo Baggins’ 2.5D side-scrolling adventures in the Shire and beyond? You will begin your journey in Bag End, and then make your way through Bilbo’s tale by exploring new areas, discovering items, finishing quests, and perhaps even encountering a few enemies like those Goomba creatures in Mario.
1. The Fellowship in an Isometric RPG
While we compared the Gimli dungeon crawler to Diablo, this isometric RPG starring the Fellowship would be more similar to titles like Pillars of Eternity, Divinity: Original Sin, or Baldur’s Gate. The isometric camera will envision a Middle-earth unlike anything you’ve seen before, and the role-playing elements of building up your party and taking command of them in turn-based battles are sure to give you and your friends countless hours of fun.
The story starts with the Fellowship’s departure from Rivendell and ends with Sauron’s demise in The Return of the King. And now that we really think about it, the idea is a little too irresistible to pass up. Get on it, Larian.