Journeys in Middle-earth

About

"The Lord of the Rings: Journey" is a companion app for the "Journeys in Middle-earth" board game by Fantasy Flight Games. The app serves as a digital tool for players, providing an immersive experience and aid in gameplay by generating dynamic stories, tracking progress, and offering customizable challenges. It allows players to embark on authentic Lord of the Rings adventures, enhancing the tabletop experience with digital features and narrative elements.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 287 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

The game offers a fantastic adventure experience with great tactical gameplay and beautiful components.
The app enhances the board game experience with excellent sound and music, making gameplay enjoyable.
The developers are responsive to bug reports and have provided timely patches to improve the app.

The app lacks a crucial 'undo' or 'back' button, leading to frustrating mistakes that can ruin gameplay.
There are frequent bugs and crashes, particularly on certain devices, making the game unplayable at times.
The app's dependency on a stable connection and its issues with saving progress can lead to a disappointing experience.

story
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
70%
15%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with players noting a lack of depth and coherence, particularly in the chapter endings and overall narrative progression. While some appreciate the behind-the-scenes task management and randomly-generated elements that enhance replayability, others express frustration over glitches that hinder mission completion and a perceived disconnect between quests and meaningful story development. Additionally, players have called for improved readability and clearer instructions to better engage with the narrative.
- “The amount of behind-the-scenes task management and randomly-generated levels/story elements is impressive and makes for smooth gameplay and significant replayability.”
- “4 missions in, I misclicked a button which lost me the mission and changed the story of my game for the rest of the campaign.”
- “Best graphics, best characters, best story, best cast design.”
- “The story is lacking a bit, especially the end of chapters and end game.”
- “If I can't read a story-based game, what is the point of having a story?”
- “I had to install it myself to see, as I couldn't believe how bad this is... what the hell is this? Very, very bad. You literally press the continue button to see a dotty thing progress on some sort of honeycomb tiles... no characters, no story, no movement, no nothing.”
gameplay
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
27%
27%
The gameplay is generally well-designed and flows smoothly, offering impressive behind-the-scenes management and randomly-generated elements that enhance replayability. However, it suffers from balance issues and inconsistent mechanics, with some players criticizing the pay-to-win model. While the audio is excellent and the setup is user-friendly, the small text size can hinder the experience.
- “The gameplay flow works well and has some nice design; it just needs balance.”
- “The amount of behind-the-scenes task management and randomly generated levels/story elements is impressive and makes for smooth gameplay and significant replayability.”
- “Makes setup and gameplay super easy and fun to play.”
- “The text is just a touch too small and I was struggling to read it during gameplay.”
- “Too harsh on mechanics, gameplay inconsistent, pay to win heavily forced.”
- “This sort of ads should be banned, not actual gameplay. They are misleading and should be punished by law.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with some players reporting frustrating glitches that hinder gameplay, such as unresponsive areas and lag on the battlemap. However, others have noted a lack of significant issues, praising the overall development and experience.
- “Well developed, no glitches, and great music.”
- “Good game, but I have noticed some glitches where there is nothing to interact with and no more map or options open up, leaving us to run up the threat and fail the mission (very annoying).”
- “Great game, however the battle map is buggy and laggy.”
- “I do love this game, but it glitches too much.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
Overall, the game offers significant replayability due to its impressive behind-the-scenes task management and randomly-generated levels and story elements. However, some players feel that the limited variety of monsters and heroes, along with a single campaign, diminishes replay value. Future expansions may enhance replayability further, similar to other games in the genre.
- “But the amount of behind-the-scenes task management and randomly-generated levels/story elements is impressive and makes for smooth gameplay and significant replayability.”
- “I'm curious about new content on the way; if it's like Mansions of Madness, each expansion will practically multiply replayability.”
- “Tons of replayability.”
- “You really don't get your money's worth out of an $80 campaign with so few varieties of monsters and heroes (but they're limited to Tolkien canon), and replayability is meh with only one campaign.”
- “I'm curious about new content on the way; if it's like Mansions of Madness, each expansion could practically multiply replayability.”
graphics
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The graphics of the game have received high praise from users, with many highlighting their fantastic quality and immersive design. Players appreciate the visual elements as a standout feature, contributing significantly to the overall experience and storytelling.
- “I will, however, give this an extra star for its fantastic graphics.”
- “Best game I ever played... good graphics and a fantastic journey... I recommend playing this game...”
- “Best graphics, best characters, best story, best cast design.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The music in the game is praised for its ambient quality and integration with the overall experience, enhancing the enjoyment of the gameplay. Reviewers appreciate the beautiful artwork accompanying the music and express a desire for more ambient tracks. Overall, the music is well-developed and contributes positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “It's really nice; it has ambient sounds and music, the art on it is gorgeous, and the game itself is fun.”
- “Well developed, no glitches, and great music.”
- “Hopefully more ambient music, artwork, and the polishing of features.”
- “The music feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I was disappointed by the soundtrack; it doesn't match the game's atmosphere.”
- “The audio quality of the music is subpar, which detracts from the overall experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users report that the game is enjoyable and runs smoothly, indicating effective optimization.
- “The game is a blast and so far the app runs smoothly.”
- “The optimization is impressive, allowing for seamless gameplay even on lower-end devices.”
- “I love how the developers have fine-tuned the performance; it really enhances the overall experience.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users express strong discontent with the monetization strategy, criticizing the presence of misleading ads that do not reflect actual gameplay. They advocate for stricter regulations to prevent such deceptive practices.
- “This sort of ads should be banned, not actual gameplay. They are misleading and should be punished by law.”
- “The monetization model feels exploitative, pushing players to spend money to enjoy the game fully.”
- “I find the constant prompts to purchase in-game items incredibly frustrating and detrimental to the overall experience.”