Free Range Games and publisher North Beach Games have announced that The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria will be released on Steam and Xbox Series X|S on 27th August. This survival crafting video game set in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth has been available from the Epic Games Store and Playstation 5 since last December and its arrival on these new platforms introduces the Golden Update, which allows crossplay. A new trailer for The Golden Update can be seen below…
In The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, players will join the Dwarves as they set out for the Misty Mountains to reclaim their lost kingdom of Moria, also known as Khazad-dûm or Dwarrowdelf. Players will be required to build and craft greater gear and resources to survive the threats in the darkness. Courageous Dwarves will also be able to explore the stronghold’s sprawling mines, extract precious metals and learn the secret of the Shadow that hides in the dark depths.
The Golden Update brings lots of new features and content, including:
- A new Sandbox Mode (previously only available in beta) will allow players to experience exploration and experimentation throughout the mountain. This nonlinear mode will generate Moria using a wide variety of random seeds, allowing each playthrough to vary greatly.
- Crossplay across all platforms lets players join their friends on any other platform. Players can host sessions with any other player and Steam players will be able to host 8-player sessions, regardless of the platform the joining players are on.
- The Sandbox Mode also brings recipes for 14 new weapons and armour, such as the Wolf Skin Hat, Gondorian Shield, Khazad Halberd and Barôkamlut. These can only be discovered in Sandbox Mode but can be used in the Campaign Mode as long as the Dwarf is equipped with them prior to transferring over.
- There are more than 100 new building objects to use on bases, including new cosmetic items for light fixtures, rugs, banners, home furnishings and more.
- A range of building improvements now means there is improved object snapping and the buildings are stronger than before.
- Offline players are now able to pause the game. Excellent news for solo-players needing to go spend a penny.
- Ambient music to accompany players as they roam the dark, silent depths.
- Difficulty can now be fine-tuned using various aspects of the game, such as enemy aggression, combat, horde, siege and patrol frequency, world and mining drops.
- A range of bug-fixes and improvements.
The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria launches on Steam and Xbox Series X|S on 27th August with the new update also being available on all platforms.
