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The Lord of the Rings is one of the greatest franchises in fantasy literature. This led to dozens of games based on the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. The games have varied wildly in quality over the years, even though the earliest games still retain some charm and features that led to them being worthy mentions.
This list is the opinion of a Lord of the Rings fan, so the views of other games and fans of the franchise may vary. With about 40 years of Lord of the Rings video games, there are far too many to mention, but which ones are the best of all time?
Lord of the Rings games have existed since the 1980s
It’s hard to say whether games based on The Hobbit will count, but this writer insists that they should. That said, as long as a game is set in the world of Middle-earth in some fashion, the game counts for the purposes of this list. The early PC era was home to some truly fascinating 2D adventures.
Perhaps one of the biggest from that era is War in Middle Earth, a real-time strategy game where players controlled large-scale armies and also smaller groups of characters. It was a game that was praised for how it kept to the lore of the books but lacked on subsequent playthroughs. Whether mobile or PC, there is something for everyone.
The games would grow in complexity and try out a variety of genres over the years, from RTS to MMOs.
The best LOTR games of all time
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth 2
- Lego: Lord of the Rings
- Lord of the Rings Online
- The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
5) Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (2014)
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is an original story in Middle-earth, which made it special in and of itself. The game allowed players to alter how the world was experienced based on what they did, making it an interesting experience for every single playthrough.
The combat was intense, and the ability to tame the beasts of Middle-earth offered some flexibility in allies. The best part of the game was probably the Nemesis system. The game kept track of how the player reacted towards NPCs and enemies, creating powerful enemies returning later in the game.
A beautiful and unique experience in Tolkien's world, it was highly praised and for good reason.
4) The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth 2 (2006)
Some would argue that The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth was the better game, but this sequel has a better overall experience. In this era, it was still interesting to see quality RTS games on consoles. While it was fine on Xbox 360, it was infinitely better on PC.
Players could craft an unlimited number of structures in the game and had far more races to take advantage of in their playthroughs. The ability to claim the One Ring from Gollum was another amazing feature of the game, giving players the power to summon a Ring Hero (Galadriel or Sauron), offering powerful, unique units in addition to Hero Units.
The combination of turn-based strategy and real-time battle in one place made LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth 2 a worthy addition to the collection of games.
3) Lego: Lord of the Rings (2013)
This list simply would not be complete without a Lego game, and Lego: LOTR certainly fits the bill. Lego kept the formula that had been working with them in every other franchise they adapted in the past. It sticks true to the original source material but puts a comical spin on it that makes the gameplay so much more enjoyable.
Combining satire with the serious story of Lord of the Rings was a masterful idea, and it also had a wealth of characters to play as. It had 18 levels and a bonus level, offering tons of gameplay, as well as a free-roam around Middle-earth.
If that’s not enough, there were a total of 74 characters, offering such a wide variety of combinations of characters for a playthrough.
2) Lord of the Rings Online (2007)
Sure, it can be said that Lord of the Rings Online’s visuals do not hold up in 2022. However, it’s an MMO that has been around for over 15 years and faithfully holds to the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories.
It has had mountains of story content, dungeons, and quests to explore since its original launch in 2007. It seemed inevitable that LOTR would eventually receive an MMO, with a world already built thanks to Tolkien’s collection of stories and maps.
From Shadows of Angmar to Mines of Moria, the game has changed and updated over the years in a bunch of ways. With the addition of Legendary items, Mounted combat, more classes, and plenty of areas to explore, it’s an MMO that holds up to this day.
The game's graphics may not be for everyone, but it keeps Tolkien’s vision alive in a world that thousands can come together and experience at once.
1) The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
The king, so to speak, of LOTR games, is without a doubt LOTR: Return of the King. This action-RPG simply did not miss and brought gorgeous visuals and non-stop action to PlayStation 2, GameCube, and many more platforms.
Players controlled characters from the books and films in a hack ‘n’ slash adventure and improved in many ways from the previous title. The levels were bigger, and players could upgrade all of their characters at once with “Fellowship upgrades” and featured co-op for certain missions.
It was a gorgeous game, and the stages felt lovingly translated from the films to the console world. Players were able to interact with more of the world around them, such as machinery, and use them to slaughter orcs and goblins. It might be old, but it’s easily the best LOTR game of all time.
There are always going to be more LOTR games, though. Gollum is on the way, and with Amazon’s “Rings of Power” series, that could also inspire its own collection of video games in the future. But for now, this is the list of the best games the franchise has come up with.
