Of all the iconic IPs out there, it’s surprising how up and down the popularity of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has been. There is the incomparable movie trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, the decent but overstuffed Hobbit movie trilogy, and The Rings of Power TV show, which gets more hate than it deserves.
Then there are the video games based on The Lord of the Rings, which are also a mixed bag. While The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is the most recent disaster, there are still plenty of great Lord of the Rings games to play in 2026 while we wait for Warhorse Studios’ upcoming LotR open-world game.
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Glory To The Nemesis System
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. As far as modern The Lord of the Rings games go, nothing holds a candle to Monolith Productions’ Shadow duology. While Middle-earth: Shadow of War has its detractors, mostly due to the completely needless inclusion of microtransactions, it is still the best modern LotR game, and one of the best games based on Tolkien’s work ever made.
This is largely due to the spectacular Nemesis System, which organically creates Orc generals and recurring enemies for you to face off against. Instead of a pre-determined “big bad,” Shadow of War creates one based on the enemies who defeat you in combat, or who manage to survive one of your killing blows. It’s an incredible mechanic that is sorely underused in the gaming world today.
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
My Kingdom For A Remake
Very rarely will you see me (or anyone) advocating for a licensed movie tie-in game from the 2000s to get a wholesale remake for modern hardware, but there are exactly three exceptions to that rule: Spider-Man 2, and the tie-in games for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Return of the King. While both LotR games are good, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is simply a deeper game.
These aren’t quite RPGs, although you do level up your characters as you progress. They’re more like action games, with a roster of characters to play as and a host of unique levels to complete, each connecting to key moments from the movies. The Return of the King has more characters, levels, and even additional story beats that don’t appear in the movies. They’re also just a blast to play, with excellent combat and a ton of unique interactions for each level.
The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth 2
Tolkien Meets Real-Time Strategy
Real-time strategy and Middle-earth are an obvious pairing, and that’s why the Battle for Middle-earth series, and particularly The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth 2, is so excellent. It captures the epic scale and stunning visuals of Tolkien’s massive battles during the War of the Ring in a way that few other games can match.
What elevates the sequel above the first game is that it takes place in an often-overlooked portion of the war: the battles in the north. This adds a level of unpredictability in both the settings of each battle and the armies involved. Just like the first game, you can play as either good or evil armies. The good side is often on the defensive, forced to fight uphill battles and rely on clever tactics, while the evil side has superior numbers and can revel in the destruction of iconic locations like Rivendell or the Shire.
Tales Of The Shire: A The Lord Of The Rings Game
Now We’re Cooking
Not every Lord of the Rings game needs to be about large-scale battles and the fate of the world. In Tales of the Shire, you play a Hobbit starting a new home in the village (or not, depending on which Hobbit you ask) of Bywater. It’s a cozy life-sim game that’s light on narrative and more interested in a slower-paced experience full of idyllic moments and casual chats.
Central to all this is an impressively complex cooking system, which is what the game’s social elements revolve around. You spend your day inviting other Hobbits to dinner, and when they RSVP, they’ll tell you what they’d like to eat. Then, it’s up to you to prepare those meals. That preparation involves everything from finding and chopping ingredients to cooking to seasoning. It’s a low-stakes game meant to be a casual, relaxing experience, but isn’t that what life as a Hobbit is all about?
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