The Lord of the Rings has been criminally under-serviced in terms of video games. It needs another open-world RPG.
There was a time where Lord of the Rings got nothing short of back-to-back bangers when it came to game adaptations.
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King for the PlayStation 2 is a god-tier game and Shadow of the Mordor impressed us all with its industry-defining Nemesis system, a game mechanic that was shelved too soon.
Recent years have been abysmal and while there have been a couple of wins here and there, every Return to Moria has its Gollum…
We need more strong, polished games for this legendary franchise but in the meantime this open-world Game of the Year contender should satisfy your desire.
Lord of the Rings Can Take Some Notes
The upcoming Lord of the Rings RPG is sounding more and more like a Hogwarts Legacy killer and if it’s anywhere near as good as this, fans are going to love it.
Crimson Desert quickly became a critically-acclaimed title with one of the largest and most-impressive open-worlds we’ve ever seen.
Gamers have been playing it for weeks now yet no one is even close to see everything it has to offer.
Secret side quests, bizarre fishing spots and experimental traversal mechanics have kept players engaged, and more importantly talking about it online.
Word-of-mouth has been a big factor in the game’s success and recently players have taken to social media and online forums to highlight what an excellent impromptu Lord of the Rings game Crimson Desert can be.
“There are Lord of the Rings easter eggs in Crimson Desert. You can buy this Parvel Greatsword from a vendor near the Delesyian Institute,” said Zephryss on X.
Yes that’s right, you can wield Aragorn’s famed sword from the trilogy in-game. With a bit of practice you might even wield it better than Viggo Mortensen’s recast in the new Lord of the Rings film…
It’s not just swords you can find in Crimson Desert though, as you can actually recreate some of the iconic outfits seen in the films.
One player in the comments of the above post revealed Sauron’s helmet can be found in the game. You can even recreate the look of a Ranger of Gondor according to a different post by LUCKYY10P.
READ MORE: New Lord of the Rings RPG Has Open-World Feature That Rivals Hogwarts Legacy
Crimson Desert is a fantastic game if you want to larp like a character from Lord of the Rings, and is probably the closest you’ll get to a new open-world RPG for the franchise until the new one comes out.
Featured Image Credit: New Line Cinema
Lord of the Rings Recasts Aragorn, New Actor Has Us Inspired
The Lord of the Rings’ new prequel has recast Aragorn, but before you panic, the new King of Gondor might actually be an inspired choice.
Several years after The Hobbit trilogy left our screens, The Lord of the Rings franchise officially returns in 2027 with a new prequel.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum is set before The Fellowship of the Ring and will tell a tale about everyone’s favourite cave-dweller Gollum.
What Is The Hunt for Gollum About?
While the film is technically a prequel it’s set in that weird 17-year gap between Bilbo’s birthday hootenanny and Frodo’s departure from The Shire.
During this time we see Gandalf set out to learn more about the mysterious ring Bilbo left for Frodo but the story will now be expanded with a new tale starring Aragorn, who goes by the alias Strider.
Strider’s quest is to find and capture Gollum before he can reveal the location of the ring to Sauron’s minions, and while fans are no doubt looking forward to this new entry in the franchise they may be less excited about the King of Gondor’s new look…
The Lord of the Rings Officially Recasts Aragorn
In a new teaser from Warner Bros the official release date for The Hunt for Gollum was revealed. It’ll land in cinemas on 17 December 2027, and accompanying this news was a sneak-peek at the cast.
Sir Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood return as Gandalf and Frodo Baggins respectively but Viggo Mortensen will not be reprising his role of Aragorn, the character has been recast with Jamie Dornan.
Jamie Dornan is probably best-known for the 50 Shades of Grey films and fan reactions to the recast have been mixed to say the least.
However while Viggo Mortensen is Aragorn, Dornan is actually an inspired choice in our humble opinion.
He certainly looks the part already, which is impressive considering we haven’t seen him in full costume yet.
Looks aren’t everything though and while his role in the 50 Shades of Grey franchise is a slightly unfortunate legacy to have, it doesn’t take away from the fact he’s a very accomplished actor.
Dornan has starred in The Fall, Belfast, The Tourist and many more putting in excellent performances each time, so he’ll no doubt work hard to perfect his new version of Aragorn.
They might be incredibly large shoes to fill but Warner Bros casting Jamie Dornan has us optimistic to say the least.
The future looks bright for Lord of the Rings fans, as not only are we getting The Hunt for Gollum, a second new film is also in the works.