War in the North Review: Three Companions, One Missed Opportunity

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North arrives as a spinoff adventure set during the wider war that stretches across Middle-earth. It follows three companions through a campaign built around stealth, combat and a few moments of quiet reflection. The result is a game that lands somewhere between a competent action title and a missed opportunity.

Trailer, via IGN.

The Companions

The three playable characters each bring their own skill sets to the party. One character specializes in ranged attacks and light armor, while another leans toward melee combat and heavy protection. The third fills a support role, offering healing and buffs to keep the group alive. Players switch between them freely during missions, and the game encourages mixing their abilities to overcome enemy formations.

Switching characters mid-fight can change the flow of a battle. A ranged attack followed by a charge from a heavy fighter can break a shield wall that would otherwise hold. The system works best when used deliberately, not as a crutch, and it rewards players who plan ahead rather than rely on constant switching.

The Campaign

The plot unfolds through a series of missions tied to the larger war, though it rarely connects directly to the main story of The Lord of the Rings. Instead, it focuses on a band of fighters caught up in skirmishes, ambushes and small-scale raids. The tone shifts between grim warfare and quieter scenes of camaraderie, though the pacing suffers from filler segments that pad out the mission count.

The writing leans heavily on dialogue between the three companions, and some of the best lines come from their banter rather than from scripted exposition. Their relationship carries more weight than the plot itself does, and the game’s strongest sequences tend to be the ones where the companions talk to each other rather than face down waves of enemies.

Combat Design

Combat in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North mixes ranged and melee encounters, often within the same encounter. Enemies crowd together in tight spaces, and managing aggro becomes a constant concern. The game rewards players who use cover, stagger enemies and switch between characters to exploit weaknesses.

Boss fights stand out as the strongest encounters in the game. They demand careful positioning and timing, and the difficulty spikes feel earned rather than arbitrary. Smaller skirmishes, by contrast, can feel repetitive due to similar enemy types and predictable patterns, a pattern that repeats throughout the campaign.

Stealth Mechanics

Stealth sections exist in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, but they are limited in scope. Players can move through enemy camps unseen, taking down guards one at a time, though the systems are simple compared to other games in the genre. The game does not push stealth as a central pillar, and it shows in the depth of the mechanics.

“We wanted to create a game that felt like Middle-earth.”

That line sums up the ambition behind The Lord of the Rings: War in the North. It is a game trying to capture the scale of Tolkien’s world without fully committing to the systems needed to deliver on that promise.

Technical Issues

Technical problems mar the experience on several platforms. Load times can be long, especially when moving between outdoor locations and indoor spaces. The frame rate drops during busy encounters, particularly on consoles. These issues are most pronounced on the PS3 version, which shoulders the heaviest graphical demands.

The PC and Mac versions fare better, though they still suffer from occasional stuttering. None of the versions feel entirely polished, and the game’s ambitions sometimes exceed what the hardware can deliver.

Multiplayer

The multiplayer component allows players to team up online or play against each other in PvP modes. The modes draw on the core combat design, with classes and abilities carried over from the single-player campaign. It offers a different way to engage with the systems, though it lacks the narrative weight of the main story.

Sound and Presentation

The score draws on themes familiar to fans of The Lord of the Rings, with orchestral pieces that recall the films. Voice acting is solid across the cast, with particular strength in the chemistry between the three companions. The visuals attempt to render Middle-earth’s varied terrain, from mountain passes to ruined villages, though the textures show their age in close inspection.

Final Verdict

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North succeeds in moments but struggles to sustain its momentum across a full campaign. Its combat design offers satisfying encounters when it commits to them, and its characters carry the story more than the plot does. The technical issues, particularly on the PS3 version, hold the game back from reaching its potential.

action RPG · game review · Lord of the Rings · Middle-earth · War in the North