5 best Lord of the Rings games for Middle-earth fans to get into

The Lord of the Rings has been getting a lot of love recently, with a new game announced to be in development and the debut of the series Rings of Power coming up this weekend. This fictional world, known as Middle-earth, was conceived by author J.R.R. Tolkien and was first glimpsed in his 1937 novel The Hobbit.

Since then, the universe has inspired many aspects of popular fantasy and even given rise to numerous games set in Tolkien’s world. An upcoming game by Daedalic Entertainment featuring Gollum is in the works and will be released later this year. Meanwhile, a partnership between Weta Workshop and the Private Division is set to start work on another game set in Middle-earth.

While we patiently wait for these upcoming games to come around, here are some older titles that have adapted the world of The Lord of the Rings in a video game format.

Read on to find five of the best Lord of the Rings games for fans of Middle-earth.

Note: This article reflects the writer's opinion.

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5 great Lord of the Rings games for Tolkien fans

1) LEGO The Lord of the Rings

It is a surprise that LEGO games tend to include some of the largest and most famous worlds in cinematic history. LEGO The Lord of the Rings is one such game, developed by Traveller’s Tales, which was released in November 2012 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows, and Wii.

As is the norm for LEGO games, this title follows the main storyline seen in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, although depicted here in a more humorous take. Various characters are playable across the story, and lore-friendly collectibles, like the Light of Earendil and Elven rope, can be used during gameplay.

The game offers an open world mode, where you can access a large portion of the map of Middle-earth, specifically, the locations featured in the books and movies. The game features over 80 playable characters, including many that can be unlocked. One such character is Tom Bombadil, which I’m sure will excite many fans of the books.

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2) Lord of the Rings: War in the North

An overlooked game, Lord of the Rings: War in the North, is an action-adventure hack and slash title developed by Snowblind Studios and released on November 1, 2011. The game’s commercial failure was attributed to its ill-timed release, which was several weeks after Dark Souls, on the same day as Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and ten days before The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

The story of the game runs parallel to the movies and books and sees a trio of adventurers stop the forces of Sauron from laying waste to the northern regions of Middle-earth. Three playable characters serve as the protagonists of the game: Eradan, a ranger; Farin, a dwarf; and Andriel, an elf.

The plot intersects with the movies and books but depicts an original story, as the trio goes up against the forces of Agandaûr, a Black Numenorean under the command of Sauron. The events take place on the northern edges of the map of Middle-earth, including regions not depicted in the books or movies, such as Gundabad and Angmar.

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3) LEGO The Hobbit

Yes, this is another LEGO game because they are just that good and fun to play. LEGO The Hobbit is an action-adventure game that depicts the events from the book of the same name as well as the second set of movies by director Peter Jackson, although it does not include the events of the final movie.

Throughout the story, players control characters from the party of Thorin Oakenshield, which includes the Thirteen Dwarves, Bilbo Baggins, and Gandalf. In a deviation from the Lord of the Rings game by LEGO, each character has their own specialties, meaning that different dwarves are suitable for different tasks.

Bilbo is also a diverse character as his abilities increase along with the story progression. Attaining Sting makes him better at fighting, while getting the One ring gives him the ability to turn invisible.

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4) Middle-earth: Shadow of War

Monolith Production started a duology of games with Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, the story of which ended with the second game, Middle-earth: Shadow of War. Putting aside the fact that the game disregards many points of established lore, it is still a great Lord of the Rings game to play.

The action-adventure game depicts a new experience, where players play as Talion the Ranger, explore the open lands of Ithilien and take part in the siege of Minas Ithil before it became Minas Morgul. The Nazgul are the main antagonists in this game and make recurring appearances throughout the story.

It gives players a great experience in Middle-earth, as they can fight the Balrogs, raise an Orc army, and lead assaults on various strongholds under Sauron’s control. While the ending is somewhat melancholy, it works well with the character development from the two games and does its best to fit in with the movies.

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5) Lord of the Rings Online

The most immersive and popular Lord of the Rings game is Lord of the Rings: Online (LotRO). The MMORPG was first released on April 24, 2007, and has since been an active game, hosting thousands of players under its wing. However, the game is only available for Microsoft Windows and OS X.

Since its release, LotRO has had several expansion packs that have kept the story running and kept players invested. Initially, the game's plot depicted original events that occurred adjacent to the main story from the books and contained various areas of Middle-earth where the player character could adventure around in.

Various expansions have added more playable areas to the game world until the entirety of known Middle-eath was made available to the player. The final story update takes the narrative to a time after Sauron’s final defeat and deals with the aftermath of that ordeal as well as lingering threats to the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.