For many years, different game developers have made their own takes onThe Lord of the Rings. Tolkein’s highly influential fantasy novel is certainly rich material for video game design; its long, rich narrative is perfect for an intense action-adventure game or an RPG. Some developers have retoldThe Lord of the Ringsdirectly, while others have crafted original characters in the world of Middle-earth, and each of these games builds on the world in their own way. However, there’s a different style of game thatThe Lord of the Ringsrarely inspires. Few games allow players to craft their own character and explore Middle-earth on their own terms.
It’s not surprising that fewLotRgames give players that much liberty. After all,The Lord of the Rings' fame and success is partially thanks to its timeless characters, who can be reused as video game protagonists over and over again. Nevertheless, it’s time for a studio to craft a game that lets players make themselves part ofThe Lord of the Rings.Avalanche Software’s upcomingHogwartsLegacyis doing something similar forthe wizarding world ofHarry Potter,giving players unprecedented control over their experience at Hogwarts.The Lord of the Ringshas more than enough lore to inspire a similar singleplayer RPG.
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Imitating Hogwarts Legacy’s Concept
Just likeThe Lord of the Rings,Harry Potterhas a long history of video game adaptations, but these adaptations usually focus on Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s adventures rather than encouraging players to create an original character. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, like Niantic’s defunct AR gameHarry Potter: Wizards Unite, but theHarry Pottervideo game library is filled with playable adaptations of the books and the movies. That’s what makesHogwarts Legacyso distinct from its predecessors. Rather than trying to engage with the core story ofHarry Potter, Hogwarts Legacytakes place around a hundred years before Harry’s time, meaning players can make their own characters and experience new stories about Hogwarts. Without the usual filter of Harry’s experiences,Hogwarts Legacyought to offer fans a fresh look at the wizarding world.
By imitating that principle ofHogwarts Legacy, a newLord of the RingsRPG could do the same thing.LotR’s narrative is filled with wonderful character arcs, exciting battles, and mountains of compelling lore, but because mostLotRvideo game adaptations focus on known characters, players don’t often get to see or hear new stories about Middle-earth. Instead, fans play through the stories that they already know. A newLord of the Ringsgame needs to give players access to a less restricted perspective.Monolith Productions’Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordorand its sequel were a step in the right direction, since the protagonist Talion was an original character, but there’s still room for anLotRgame that’s wholly built around a character of the player’s design.HogwartsLegacygives players free rein to interact with everything from magical beasts to dark magic, and a similarLotRgame could do the same.
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Middle-earth’s Video Game Potential
ALord of the RingsRPG could experiment in a lot of ways, including with its time period. For instance, the time ofThe Lord of the Ringsitself seems highly lucrative, since it would allow players to interact with famousLotRcharacters and get involved with the mounting War of the Ring, but there are lots of other interesting times inLotRhistory that a game could adapt for a fresh perspective. Much like howHogwarts Legacytakes place generations in the past, aLotRgame could explore Sauron’s first rise to power, letting players create an original character who gets involved in a narrative similar toThe Rings of Power.Players could still meetnotable characters like Elrond, Isildur, and Sauron while carving out a story for themselves.
HogwartsLegacyseems determined to sell itself on the variety of activities that players can participate in, but aLord of the RingsRPG with a custom character could offer similar variety. If players can wander Middle-earth freely, then they could interact with the many cultures of Tolkien’s world, which opens up all kinds of interesting side projects and skillsets. Players could learn smithing with the dwarves of Erebor,study horseback riding in Rohan, and play minigames at hobbit parties.
Above all,The Lord of the Ringsprovides a wonderfully detailed open world where players can constantly discover things. Because of its ancient history, players could find countless dungeons that hint atMiddle-earth’s many past sagasand contain powerful weapons full of their own stories. The Fellowship’s stories are too set in stone to allow for many detours, but a new game with a custom protagonist could let players set out in whichever direction they like, rather than sticking to the beaten path. ExploringLord of the Rings' world freely, without the weight of a famous character’s backstory and destiny, would amount to a totally differentLotRgame experience.
Expanding Lord of the Rings Video Games
For now, game developers seem content to keep exploring establishedLord of the Ringsstories, rather than focusing on finding new narratives or letting players tell their own stories. Daedalic Entertainment’sThe Lord of the Rings: Gollumuses an extremely famous character as its protagonist, but focusing on Gollum makes the game unique in its own right, sinceGollum rarely gets to tell his own story. That level of experimentation at least inspires some hope that other developers will try to find surprising new concepts forLord of the Ringsvideo games.
After all this time, though, it really seems like a new AAALord of the RingsRPG with custom characters is overdue. There’s already compelling evidence that it could succeed.The Lord of the Rings Online,Middle-earth’s very own MMORPG, has survived and thrived since 2007. However, MMOs aren’t for everyone; those who prefer not to play multiplayer RPGs would love to see something similar toLord of the Rings Onlinedistilled into a singleplayer experience.Hogwarts Legacyprovides some notable examples for how that could be done, so hopefully at least one developer will take inspiration from Avalanche’s work and take another look atThe Lord of the Rings.
