The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth

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The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth is a multiplayer role playing game. It was developed by Fantasy Flight Games and was released on April 18, 2019. It received very positive reviews from players.

Embark on your own adventures in J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic world with The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth, a fully-cooperative board game for one to five players!

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91%

Audience ScoreBased on 380 reviews

story12 positive mentions

optimization2 negative mentions

Engaging and immersive gameplay that captures the essence of Tolkien's Middle-earth.
The app integration enhances the board game experience, making it easier to manage gameplay and character actions.
Highly replayable with different character combinations and scenarios, providing a unique experience each time.

The game can be challenging for newcomers, with a steep learning curve and complex mechanics.
Limited content in the base game, requiring additional purchases for expansions to fully enjoy the experience.
The app lacks an undo function, which can lead to frustrating mistakes during gameplay.

story
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
77%
6%
The game's story is generally praised for its engaging and immersive narrative set in a familiar Middle-earth context, with players appreciating the branching campaigns and character progression. However, some reviewers noted issues with clarity and depth, suggesting that certain missions felt shallow or confusing, and there were instances of frustrating gameplay mechanics that detracted from the overall experience. While the app-driven format enhances storytelling and replayability, some players expressed a desire for more diverse storylines and better integration of expansions.
- “Fantastic storytelling and rightfully challenging.”
- “With engaging mechanics and immersive storytelling, this game offers a unique Middle-earth experience, although it can't quite rival the depth and sophistication of other high fantasy games.”
- “Everything I need from a good adventure game is here - branching campaign, interesting and diverse missions, character progression, fun and tense gameplay.”
- “We have played the first campaign twice with very different decisions that caused some change to the story, but it just wasn't enough for us.”
- “Expansion units are thrown into missions with jarring, immersion-breaking context (I'm investigating the markets of Dale for signs of a ghost and then I come across Rohirrim fighting a siege tower? And Gondor soldiers battling a bandit army in the middle of town???).”
- “The scenario is long and well-built, but some parts of the story were shallowly created.”
gameplay
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
62%
8%
The gameplay of this title is described as engaging and immersive, effectively capturing the essence of Tolkien's Middle-earth, though it suffers from some mechanical inconsistencies and a lack of depth compared to other high fantasy games. Players appreciate the card-based mechanics and character development, which offer a unique experience, but some find the difficulty curves and enemy mechanics frustratingly contrived. Overall, while the game provides a rich narrative and enjoyable cooperative play, it requires patience to fully appreciate its complexities and may benefit from further balancing and updates.
- “Engaging and immersive, this game effectively captures the essence of Tolkien's Middle-earth, despite some minor shortcomings in game mechanics compared to similar titles.”
- “An immersive experience, Journeys in Middle-earth surpasses many RPGs with its rich lore and strategic gameplay, though its graphics lag behind competitors.”
- “Everything I need from a good adventure game is here - branching campaign, interesting and diverse missions, character progression, fun and tense gameplay.”
- “Maybe if they patched this app and QA'd their generative seeds/mechanics better, we'd have a consistent experience worth paying for, but as of this moment it's an absolute crime to charge money for expansion adventures after buying the expacks physically--especially when an entire adventure gets ruined not by bad decisions, but by hilariously unbeatable enemy spam and shadow threat token spam--mechanics that just feel like preposterously contrived difficulty curves and inconsistent mechanics.”
- “It is a great game for the immersion and the adventure feel, however, in my opinion, it seriously lacks in the gameplay perspective.”
- “Gameplay is boring.”
graphics
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
31%
23%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the stunning artwork and beautiful miniatures that enhance the overall experience. However, some users note that the in-game graphics can feel bland and lack the polish of competitors, particularly in the context of an app-assisted board game. Overall, while the artwork is celebrated, the graphical performance and user interface leave room for improvement.
- “Stunning artwork enhances the Middle-earth experience.”
- “Artwork and minis are as always beautiful, that's what F.F.G.”
- “A very interesting game, cool graphics, dynamic music, and an exciting storyline.”
- “An immersive experience, Journeys in Middle-earth surpasses many RPGs with its rich lore and strategic gameplay, though its graphics lag behind competitors.”
- “There is a stupid story and a lot of mindless, useless clicking on a bad graphical user interface.”
- “I'm obviously not running the app on my main PC, as it sits at my computer desk where there isn't enough room to play the game, which means I use my laptop with integrated graphics.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
15%
23%
The music in the game is widely praised for its dynamic and immersive quality, enhancing the overall experience with engaging soundtracks and atmospheric effects. While many players appreciate the existing music, some express a desire for more variety and additional content. Overall, the soundtrack contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it enjoyable for both casual play and more immersive tabletop experiences.
- “A very interesting game, cool graphics, dynamic music, and an exciting storyline.”
- “Easy interface, nice style, great soundtrack.”
- “An enjoyable game, it's fun, it's great designed, the music is awesome.”
- “Never played the board game, I just leave it on in the background for music.”
- “The only con for me is that there could be more variation to the background music.”
- “It would be great just to have more campaigns, adventures, music, and other content; hopefully, Fantasy Flight will not abandon the game.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
The reviews present a mixed perspective on replayability, with some users praising the game for its high replay value due to varied difficulties, character choices, and the integration of an app that enhances the experience. However, others express concerns about its overall replayability, particularly in relation to its price, suggesting that while there are enjoyable elements, the game may not offer enough variety for repeated play. Expansions are noted to significantly increase replay potential, but they come at an additional cost.
- “Has great replay value.”
- “The game is quite fun with decent replay value, as you'll have fun at different difficulties, with different characters, and with different party sizes.”
- “Tons of replayability with just a single campaign due to the unique design of the classes and weapons, making a character feel entirely different depending on your choices every time.”
- “All in all, I think the game has some good ideas, we've had some fun playing it, but it lacks replayability.”
- “The app is brilliant from an efficiency perspective, but it does draw your eye away from all the components on the table much of the time. The game itself is a lot of fun, a moderately simple cooperative board game set in the Tolkien universe, with a quality campaign that has some replay value, especially amongst new players.”
- “Expansions open up more campaign narratives to try out while adding new enemies, heroes, items, and events into the mix, increasing replay value. Now this all comes at a price of £60+ for the game and £14-£60 for expansions, which is quite high compared to most video games.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often derived from the absurdity of the situations characters encounter, providing moments of levity amidst frustrating gameplay mechanics. While some players find enjoyment in the comedic elements during stale missions, others criticize the game's inconsistent difficulty and mechanics, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the humor is a mixed bag, offering laughs in certain contexts but overshadowed by gameplay issues.
- “During the more stale missions, however, enjoyment can be found in the utterly hilarious situations your characters find themselves in.”
- “I find it funny that some people think that this is a standalone game; just another reminder to read the description.”
- “I mean, every time I play, someone needs to read it, and let's face it, many of us are not great story readers, which makes the adventure a bit funny instead of atmospheric.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
Initial performance issues, including severe frame rate drops and input delays, were reported, particularly after extended play sessions. However, recent updates appear to have resolved many of these optimization problems, leading to smoother gameplay experiences. Overall, while some users experienced significant optimization challenges, improvements have been noted post-update.
- “The app runs smoothly and does the job of narrating our journey in Middle-earth very well!”
- “Although I had major performance issues (however, it looks like it has been fixed with the latest updates), the game could drop to 5 fps and have input delays of up to 10 seconds. The only thing that helped was a complete laptop reboot. These optimization issues started to appear after 1 hour of play.”
- “I can run some (older by a few years) AAA titles on this laptop with better performance than this app.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive 3D environment, enhanced by engaging sound effects and music that create tension and excitement during gameplay. While the combination of tabletop elements and interactive features fosters lively discussions among players, some find that the storytelling aspect can lead to humorous moments rather than a consistently serious atmosphere. Overall, the game effectively builds a captivating and dynamic setting for players.
- “One of the best options for a house party with your geeky friends, combining the tabletop experience with a 3D atmosphere based on app and tiles right in front of you. Touching all those fancy enemy figures, followed by environmental sounds, fantasy music, and threatening messages enhances the experience.”
- “We have literally been one turn away from winning, and this creates a great atmosphere, tension, and discussion around what we can do better next time.”
- “One of the best options for a house party with your geeky friends, combining the tabletop experience with a 3D atmosphere based on app and tiles right in front of you. Touching all those fancy enemy figures is followed by environmental sounds, fantasy music, and threatening messages.”
- “It would simply build the atmosphere.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The monetization model of the app is straightforward, as it currently does not include any in-app purchases, which some users mistakenly criticize due to a lack of understanding about the app's requirements. Additionally, the app clearly communicates that it is designed to be used with a physical board game, addressing some user confusion.
- “There are no in-app purchases in this app, which is a refreshing change!”
- “I appreciate that this game doesn't pressure players into spending money.”
- “The monetization model is fair and doesn't hinder gameplay.”
- “The monetization model is frustratingly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without feeling pressured to spend money.”
- “The lack of in-app purchases is confusing; it feels like the game is missing essential features that could enhance the experience.”
- “It's disappointing that the game relies heavily on a physical board game purchase, limiting accessibility for many players.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Players note that grinding in the game can be tedious, often requiring significant time investment, akin to needing a second life to manage it. The experience is likened to a board game, where the app handles record-keeping but does not alleviate the repetitive nature of grinding.
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “You have all the tactile and visual impact of a board game, with the app keeping all the tedious records.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development in the game is praised for its imaginative approach and effective integration with gameplay mechanics, such as hand/card management and a diceless system. Reviewers appreciate the depth it adds to the campaign, contributing to a strong overall experience.
- “Great gameplay, hand/card management, character development, app better than in Mansion of Madness, interesting campaign, and already extra content gives this one a solid 9/10 in my list.”
- “Still good though with imaginative character development and a diceless system on the board.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that while the app occasionally experiences freezing and is somewhat basic in design, it generally functions well and any glitches or bugs can be addressed through updates. Overall, the stability is considered acceptable for an enjoyable gaming experience.
- “The app sometimes freezes, and while it's pretty bare bones, it gets the job done.”
- “I personally enjoy the app/board game experience, but any glitches or bugs can be frustrating.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game creates a deeply immersive emotional experience by blending tabletop elements with a 3D atmosphere, enhanced by engaging soundscapes and thematic music, making it an ideal choice for gatherings with friends. Players feel a strong connection to the fantasy world and its challenges, heightening the overall emotional impact.

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The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth is a role playing game.

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth is available on PC, Mac OS, Steam Deck and Windows.

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth was released on April 18, 2019.

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth was developed by Fantasy Flight Games.

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth is a multiplayer game with local co-op support.

Similar games include Mansions of Madness, Gloomhaven, Hand of Fate 2, Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked, Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation and others.

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