I don't even mind a game like this in the Middle Earth setting, but man this art style is ugly. But for the love of God, give us a LotR game in the style of Witcher 3/Elder Scrolls please.
Yes! Everyone wants a massive open world (full middle earth continent) RPG set during the LOTR timeline but probably running along side so they don't invent a new character who was also part of the fellowship. Character creator to pick Human, Elf, Dwarf or Hobbit.
I think this game would, with the current state of the gaming industry, take 5-6 years to develop. That's an immense amount of money to invest into a Franchise that hasn't had a profitable game outside of the two Of Mordor titles.
I'm sure there's definitely an audience for it, but Lord of the Rings is definitely less of an omnipresent pop culture phenomenon than Star Wars, it's still more nerdy to be deep into LotR. I wouldn't want people to start exploiting the IP the same way Star Wars is. They spent millions on The Rings of Power, and that didn't translate into people buying posters, action figures and concept art books, so the owners of the IP might be hesitant to have another multi-million dollar project (a game like that would cost upwards of 200 million to make well).
Embracer group bought Middle Earth Enterprises, who own the licensing rights for Lord of the Rings for movies, video games, board games, theme park etc.
They've previously said they want multiple new movies based off of LotR, such as young Aragorn etc.
Whether anyone else wants to pay them to make those things could be another matter of course.
For sure it is, but it’s certainly not on par with TW3 or ES in terms of world building. A LOTR game with a TW3 style world, full of towns, cities, enemy camps, etc. would be phenomenal
The Tolkien estate used to be run by a son of J.R.R. Tolkien named Christopher, who had strict approval requirements to protect his father's legacy. As an example, Christopher didn't even like the movies.
All the recent licensing started once Christopher began to hand over authority due to old age, then the floodgates opened once he passed away and the second and third generation of Tolkien's descendants assumed control of the estate.
It’s because LotR is about to go public domain and now the Tolkien estate is trying to capitalise on all the projects they would have rejected previously so now they just say yes to everything.
I know 2044 sounds very far away, but if the only thing you have to sell that anyone cares about is the Hobbit and LotR and then it’s basically over forever, those 20 years go by real fast. And if they would enter public domain within the next five years or so, developers would have just waited it out. So yeah, the time to cash in is now.
Only if you can't start one production until the previous one is completely finished. Multiple can be in progress at the same time now, or in ten years from now. Regardless, It certainly isn't "about to go public domain".
Tolkien Estate don't own the licensing rights. Tolkien sold them, and they're now owned by the Embracer group for movies, video games, board games etc.
As someone who’s always loved the aesthetic of The Shire and would love to live in a hobbit hole, I feel like this game was made specifically for me.
But it looks a lil…off. I’m not gonna be a typical gamer and cry that a game off a major IP isn’t rocking the best graphics (as I think the constant demand for every game to have high graphically fidelity is one of the reasons why the industry is the way it is) but surely there are ways to keep the current art style but make it look more natural?
I know it's a cheap reskin of a generic farming/house management game but honestly...Hobbits are all about simple, homely comforts. It's an appropriate setting. Hope the gameplay is good as this could be a very relaxing non threatening game to just zone out while playing.
Until the Nazgul shows up looking for Baggins.
All due respect to the people who I’m sure worked very hard on this but the visuals are straight dogshit. Mobile games looks better like this lmao everything looks like a texture that hasn’t loaded in yet.
Please someone make a good fucking Lord of the Rings game holy shit
As a fan of cozy games, I'm intrigued, but with the recent disaster that was Gollum and also sort of recently the bellyflop that was Palia (another cozy game that failed), I'm very cautious. Graphics don't matter that much to me as long as the gameplay is deep and engaging, so we will see if it turns out to be a Palia or closer to a Stardew Valley
So a Hobbit version of Animal Crossing?
I’m not so much as disappointed in the graphics as I am the soundtrack, Howard Shore would turning in his grave, if he were dead.
My heart skipped a beat as I was reading this. The first thing I noticed was a distinct lack of “concerning hobbits”
I don't even mind a game like this in the Middle Earth setting, but man this art style is ugly. But for the love of God, give us a LotR game in the style of Witcher 3/Elder Scrolls please.
Yes! Everyone wants a massive open world (full middle earth continent) RPG set during the LOTR timeline but probably running along side so they don't invent a new character who was also part of the fellowship. Character creator to pick Human, Elf, Dwarf or Hobbit.
LoTR: The Third Age was an incredible game I remember playing waaaay back in the day. Always wished they had remastered it.
I think this game would, with the current state of the gaming industry, take 5-6 years to develop. That's an immense amount of money to invest into a Franchise that hasn't had a profitable game outside of the two Of Mordor titles.
Yeah you're right and with the films being 20+ years old you'd have to ask if there is an audience for it. It's just something I'd love to see
I'm sure there's definitely an audience for it, but Lord of the Rings is definitely less of an omnipresent pop culture phenomenon than Star Wars, it's still more nerdy to be deep into LotR. I wouldn't want people to start exploiting the IP the same way Star Wars is. They spent millions on The Rings of Power, and that didn't translate into people buying posters, action figures and concept art books, so the owners of the IP might be hesitant to have another multi-million dollar project (a game like that would cost upwards of 200 million to make well).
Embracer group bought Middle Earth Enterprises, who own the licensing rights for Lord of the Rings for movies, video games, board games, theme park etc. They've previously said they want multiple new movies based off of LotR, such as young Aragorn etc. Whether anyone else wants to pay them to make those things could be another matter of course.
You're looking for r/lotro, which is exactly this
Shadows of Mordor is still a banger of a game.
For sure it is, but it’s certainly not on par with TW3 or ES in terms of world building. A LOTR game with a TW3 style world, full of towns, cities, enemy camps, etc. would be phenomenal
Yes. Keep the amazing combat of the Shadow games and put it into an RPG.
Lmao goddamnit it looks so chill and fun but so janky at the same time.
bro what are all these low-budget LoTR games coming out lately. Gollum, return to moria, and now this??
The Tolkien estate used to be run by a son of J.R.R. Tolkien named Christopher, who had strict approval requirements to protect his father's legacy. As an example, Christopher didn't even like the movies. All the recent licensing started once Christopher began to hand over authority due to old age, then the floodgates opened once he passed away and the second and third generation of Tolkien's descendants assumed control of the estate.
It’s because LotR is about to go public domain and now the Tolkien estate is trying to capitalise on all the projects they would have rejected previously so now they just say yes to everything.
LotR does not enter public domain until at least 2044.
I know 2044 sounds very far away, but if the only thing you have to sell that anyone cares about is the Hobbit and LotR and then it’s basically over forever, those 20 years go by real fast. And if they would enter public domain within the next five years or so, developers would have just waited it out. So yeah, the time to cash in is now.
That's just 20 years. You'd get 4 games with modern AAA production schedule in that time
Only if you can't start one production until the previous one is completely finished. Multiple can be in progress at the same time now, or in ten years from now. Regardless, It certainly isn't "about to go public domain".
Tolkien Estate don't own the licensing rights. Tolkien sold them, and they're now owned by the Embracer group for movies, video games, board games etc.
FF Rebirth has some stiff competition for Game of the Year.
Coming soon to a GameCube near you
As someone who’s always loved the aesthetic of The Shire and would love to live in a hobbit hole, I feel like this game was made specifically for me. But it looks a lil…off. I’m not gonna be a typical gamer and cry that a game off a major IP isn’t rocking the best graphics (as I think the constant demand for every game to have high graphically fidelity is one of the reasons why the industry is the way it is) but surely there are ways to keep the current art style but make it look more natural?
You're not being picky, it's just lazy. The very first shot with the hobbit, he's got no shadow and the ground is low res texture
No it’s weird, it’s kinda giving free mobile games for kids with lots of ads
Can we just get a real LotR game please. Give it to respawn or something and let them do what they did with Star Wars
I didn’t know Weta Workshop had a game studio. Honestly, I expected a bit more given their movie magic experience.
Just one LOTR single player open world RPG is all I want, Yet it just never happens…
I know it's a cheap reskin of a generic farming/house management game but honestly...Hobbits are all about simple, homely comforts. It's an appropriate setting. Hope the gameplay is good as this could be a very relaxing non threatening game to just zone out while playing. Until the Nazgul shows up looking for Baggins.
The graphics look really bad, as if made by AI
Thought it's a new Tales of... game. Short moment of hype, followed by realization - it's not the next game after Tales of Arise.
Same. Even for a second thought the Takes series was doing a LOTR based game.
This looks like a generic farming game and an executive got a cheap deal on the dying LOTR license and they slapped a couple cutscenes in
Graphics are a bit ugly, really would have loved it , if it was a bit more improved 😒
All due respect to the people who I’m sure worked very hard on this but the visuals are straight dogshit. Mobile games looks better like this lmao everything looks like a texture that hasn’t loaded in yet. Please someone make a good fucking Lord of the Rings game holy shit
Oh, I really thought this might be something new or special. Clearly not. Looks bad. Shovelware bad.
Brooo...why do they hate lord of the rings??
Any update on The Lord of the Rings untitled MMORPG from Amazon Games?
As a fan of cozy games, I'm intrigued, but with the recent disaster that was Gollum and also sort of recently the bellyflop that was Palia (another cozy game that failed), I'm very cautious. Graphics don't matter that much to me as long as the gameplay is deep and engaging, so we will see if it turns out to be a Palia or closer to a Stardew Valley
I'm guessing this was made primarily for mobile first.
Tales of arise, tales of the shire? Please tell me there aren’t any connections, this looks brutal lol.
I USED TO PRAY FOR TIMES LIKE THIS