The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition [REVIEW] – A Welcome Return to Middle Earth

We’ve had quite a few Lord of the Rings video games over the years, and for the most part, they’ve been pretty good. Sure, there’ve been some bad games here and there, but I loved the likes of Shadow of Mordor, The Two Towers, and The Third Age. Well, tucked away in the middle of them is an action RPG from 2011 called War in the North, which was one of those games that didn’t do anything special but still had a cult following. Now, fifteen years on from its original release, nostalgia revival specialists Aspyr have brushed off the cobwebs to give us The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition, and you know what? It’s held up quite well.

Check out some screenshots down below:

The setup of War in the North is essentially the ultimate piece of Middle-earth side fiction, because instead of taking control of the main Fellowship of iconic characters, you are put in the boots of three original characters – a ranger, an elf, and a dwarf – who are off on their own journey while Frodo and the gang handle the One Ring. It’s very much a parallel story that acts as a bit of backdrop to the films, with the game kicking off with players meeting Aragorn in the Prancing Pony ahead of Frodo’s arrival. Admittedly, the narrative doesn’t quite reach the highs of the movies (or books depending on how you want to look at it), but getting to travel to the likes of Rivendell and Mirkwood whilst bumping into iconic faces along the way always brought a smile to my face.

It also just so happens to have a surprisingly addictive gameplay loop. At its core, War in the North is a fairly straightforward hack-and-slash adventure – the combat isn’t going to win any awards for deep mechanical complexity because players are mostly mashing light and heavy attacks, chucking in a dodge or a block, and firing off the occasional ranged shot, but it’s satisfying… you know… in that ‘old school’ kind of way.

“The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition is a charming, slightly janky, but ultimately enjoyable adventure that’s still fun to play now – even IF it shows its age in many ways.”

Like a lot of similar titles in the genre, the real hook comes with the loot system. You will spend a solid chunk of your roughly 12-hour playthrough smashing boxes, finding new gear, and constantly swapping out your armour for slightly better stats, with each minor boost in stats giving a little boost in serotonin. It is a simple concept that, again, isn’t particularly deep, but it keeps you pushing forward. Aspyr’s remaster also introduces a massive quality-of-life upgrade: you can now instantly hot-swap between the three heroes on the fly, with this seamless transition making everything feel significantly more fluid.

If you can rope a friend in, the co-op mode is where War in the North really shines. Playing alongside a friend turns each showdown with enemies into a deceptively strategic skirmish, and whilst the AI allies do hold up, nothing beats having another real player by your side – it also offers local split-screen co-op, which is always a plus. It’s good fun and easily the best way to experience War in the North’s adventure.

Check out some screenshots down below:

It is worth noting that whilst I’ve got plenty of praise for how War in the North feels to play, it does have some flaws. For one, the enemy design gets repetitive quickly, especially when you’re stuck in small areas facing off against wave after wave of the same old bad guys. It also looks and feels very much like a 2011 release, and whilst Aspyr has smoothed things out with sharper resolutions, better lighting, and a solid 60fps frame rate, you cannot hide the game’s aged animations and sometimes clunky controls. Don’t get me wrong, it holds up well, but having a bit of nostalgia for the game will go a long way in your enjoyment of it.

Developer: Aspyr
Publisher: Aspyr
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PC
Website: https://store.playstation.com/en-gb/concept/10010865