Developer: Aspyr Media
Publisher: Aspyr Media
Reviewed On: PC
Available On: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2
Release Date: August 11, 2026
Review Copy Provided By: Aspyr Media
There are two games that I consider the standard by which I judge every LOTR action game that ever came into existence, and that is EA’s The Two Towers and Return of the King. It is fitting, then, that the game I’m talking about in this review is an oft-forgotten game from console generations past. First released on November 1st, 2011, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North never reached the heights of the movie tie-in games, but that was then. The question is now: is the Legacy Edition a diamond in the rough, or fool’s gold? Let’s find out.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition is a third-person action RPG set in the northern regions of Middle-earth from the beginning to the end of The War of the Ring. Players take control of a group of companions on a quest to prevent Mordor from seizing control of the Northern Lands just as the Ringbearer and his fellowship simultaneously journey to the steps of Mt. Doom.
The game starts with an incident at the borders of the Shire. The nine Ringwraiths broke through a checkpoint manned by the Rangers of the North and their allies. The most harrowing part wasn’t the fact that the Nine broke through; it was how easily they did so. The defenders stood little chance as the Black Riders swept through and men fell like freshly cut grass. Our protagonists watched in horror as they could do nothing to aid their friends. But alas, the only thing to do is to report what has happened to Aragorn over at Bree. This marks the beginning of a quest that’ll determine the fate of all who live in the North.
Three companions – a man, an elf, and a dwarf – were sent to the Northern Lands to stop the Black Númenórean, Agandaur, from laying claim to those lands in the name of the Dark Lord. Eradan, Andriel, and Farin are their names. If Frodo’s Fellowship is considered the A-Team, Eradan’s party can be considered the B-Team, which is somewhat unfair to Benethor’s party from The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, as that group took part in the major battles of Rohan and Gondor.
War in the North plays like your standard Action RPG. You have a light attack, a heavy attack, and a ranged attack. As you level up your character(s), you unlock three active abilities you can trigger at will and a handful of passive abilities that improve your effectiveness in battle. Every level in the game is a series of combat encounters that must be completed to progress. At the end of the long, winding path is a boss fight that’s a little more engaging compared to the usual waves of mobs. The boss fights are probably the most interesting part of the game since they are unique in terms of visuals and the manner in which they need to be defeated. At least compared to the rest of the game.
Your party consists of only 3 members, but they are remarkable in terms of capability and deed. In single-player, you can freely swap between characters and customize their abilities as you wish, though the tech tree is rather tame.
Farin is the prototypical frontliner, not necessarily a tank, but a cross between a warrior and berserker. Andriel is supposed to be the dedicated magic caster, but if you’ve played single-player for any amount of time, then you know her value solely lies in the healing dome that deflects projectiles. Eradan plays exactly like a ranger, with an additional cloaking ability that allows you to revive dumb-as-rocks AI companions who wander into groups of enemies.
The opening sequence makes it clear that the game features character likenesses from the movies, as much as the technology allowed back in 2010. Nevertheless, there are details in the game that should warrant a positive response from readers of the books. Firstly, the game features a section for Elrond’s sons, Elladan and Elrohir. Gwaihir the Windlord also makes a brief cameo around the midpoint of the quest. The only one missing from the main characters would be Lord Glorfindel. This is also yet another missed opportunity to reference Tom Balbadil, considering the game has the Barrow-downs as a location. There are also some lines that readers of the books and even movie enjoyers will quickly understand the reference to. Among all the LoTR games I’ve played, this is one of the more enjoyable ones, at least lore-wise.
On the flip side, there’s not much character development for our protagonists. Eradan is a Dunedain Ranger who takes duty seriously and follows orders to the letter. The only thing we know about Andriel is that she is a Lore-master of Rivendell and nothing else. The most I’ve got from any of the characters is that Farin once fought in the Battle of Five Armies, distinguishing himself as a Champion of Erebor. Other than that, we know nothing. We don’t know if they are dealing with repressed memories like Berethor, no inner doubts, or darkness shrouding their hearts. This is as pure a party in Middle-earth as you’ve ever seen, which is fine if you’re only here for the Action RPG portion of the game.
The journey takes the group to several well-known locations such as Rivendell and the Forests of Mirkwood, as well as locations that did not make the Silver Screen, such as Barrow-downs. By the end of the journey, the group would have reached the northernmost point of the Misty Mountains and entered the cursed lands of Angmar. I like that the game features locations that are not commonly seen in other LoTR media. Maybe that’s the point: to see another part of the war that no one even knows is happening.
After playing the whole story in single-player mode and in multiplayer, I can confidently say that I greatly prefer playing with other people. I don’t often say that in most games, but the difference between the modes is night and day. The primary culprit is the A.I. companions. They tend to rush into the thick of battle, almost dying immediately, forcing me to babysit them because they’re the only things drawing attention away from me, and I need them in the unfortunate event of me going down, which does happen randomly for some reason.
Now, understand that the game is close to 15 years old. Not many design ideas from that era of gaming aged well, evidently. You can put the best-looking top coat of paint, make all the animations buttery smooth, but you can’t turn the game into something it was not meant to be.
While there is some variety in enemies, it can get samey after a while. It doesn’t help that the vast majority you face are the same orc, undead, Uruk-hai, and wildmen classes, with the only difference being cosmetic. In fairness, there are others such as goblin sappers, trolls, and giant spiders. But they make up but a fraction of the encounters.
The reason why this review is more focused on the game’s connections to the wider Middle-earth media, it is because it is far more exciting to talk about that than just commenting on how much of a hack-and-slash this game is. If I judged this game solely by its gameplay, it would be a very short and low-scoring review. Thankfully, there is so much connecting tissue there that I can’t help but nerd out at every line of dialogue.
Legacy Edition is a step up in performance compared to its 720p, 30-frame counterpart on Xbox 360. The game has always looked good style-wise; the remastered graphics made everything look sharper and crisper. Thankfully, there wasn’t much need to change any aspect of the voice acting, though I would have liked it if they had thrown in a couple of tracks from the movies. The one bug I encountered throughout my playthrough happened during one encounter deep into the game. An enemy somehow broke through the progression barrier, almost becoming immortal. I would have been soft-locked if my power move didn’t reach that one enemy.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition is a praiseworthy remaster of a LoTR title that would otherwise have strayed out of memory, much like the One Ring once did. If you go into this game expecting a remake’s level of changes, you will walk away disappointed. In the end, this game will appeal to Tolkien fans who will no doubt enjoy the cameos and lore connections. Action RPG fans might like the classic gameplay, provided you can tolerate the A.I. companions.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Legacy Edition Review (PC)
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Legacy Edition is a praiseworthy remaster of a LoTR title that would otherwise have strayed out of memory much like the One Ring once did.
The Good
- A decent remaster deserving of praise
- Graphics and performance improvements
- Better played with friends
- Amusing lore drops
- Runs well on modern hardware
The Bad
- AI companions are not the brightest
- Somewhat lacks in enemy move variety
- Rough single-player onboarding
- The possibility of soft-locks
- Not much to offer after first completion
