There are very few fictional worlds as entrancing as Middle-Earth and few franchises as exciting to fantasy fans as The Lord of the Rings. One of the most popular book series of all time, only made even more culturally relevant by its film adaptations, this magic land of good versus evil has been the setting for plenty of video games.
The Best Lord of the Rings Video Games, Ranked
These titles based on The Lord of the Rings immerse players in the most famous Middle-earth adventure.
The franchise's massive battles are always climactic and memorable, so it made sense that there would eventually be strategy games set in the same universe. There have been strategy games based on LOTR since long before the movies were even in production, and then there have been plenty since, pulling from the visual style Jackson established. Games where players can insert themselves into the action that they've seen or read about and experience new conflicts made more cinematic than ever.
8 J. R. R. Tolkien's Riders Of Rohan
2/5 in Computer Gaming World Magazine
- Released: 1991
- Developer: Beam Software
- Platforms: MS-DOS
The spiritual successor to War in Middle-Earth which will come later on this list, this 2D strategy game for IBM computers is for super fans only. The game is brutally difficult, requiring players to know exactly what happens in the books to be able to succeed.
Plus, due to the technical limitations of the time, the story is nonexistent, so even when players do beat levels, they will still need an encyclopedic knowledge of the source material to know what they accomplished.
7 War In Middle-Earth
3/5 in Computer Gaming World Magazine
War in Middle Earth
For the first time, Tolkien's panoramic vision of the cataclysmic struggle between good and evil has been skillfilly crafted into a single computer game of epic proportions.
Five man-years of detailed research and programming have been invested to ensure that this is the "definitive Tolkien computer game." Selected elements of traditional Fantasy Role Playing, War strategy, and animated adventure games have been skillfully blended for a unique computer gaming experience.
Follow in the footsteps of Frodo, Aragorn and Gandalf as they battle to get the ring to the Cracks of Doom. Ranged against you are all the evil forces of the Dark Lord Sauron and the corrupt wizard Saruman. The odds are overwhelming, but you cannot afford to fail. The destiny of Middle Earth lies in the balance.
Roam at will across the 36-screen scrolling map of Middle Earth, wherein are contained thousands of digitized locations in which you can control a cast of over 80 animated characters and armies. Test your strategic abilities as you command entire legions to move against the forces of evil.
With the almost infinite variety and multiple layers of play, War in Middle Earth is a game you can finish in days or weeks, or savor for months. It will delight and enthrall, and ultimately become a firm favorite in any software library.
May your heroic efforts be met with success, and the forces of darkness be vanquished!
- Released
- 1988
- Developer(s)
- Synergistic Software
- Platform(s)
- MS-DOS, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Apple IIGS
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
This 1988 title is somehow not the first LOTR video game, but it is one of the first to be a success. It's a fully 2D RTS, where orcs and knights move all over the screen in a side-scroller fashion.
It manages to include army management, heroes, a battle map, and combat animations, all cutting edge at the time, and still worth taking a look at now just to see this weird artifact in action.
6 Lord of the Rings: Tactics
64 on Metacritic
- Released: November 8, 2005
- Developer: Amaze Entertainment
- Platforms: PSP
Bizarrely, the first of two portable exclusive tactics games on this list. This PSP game plays out like Final Fantasy Tactics or X-Com, with the player controlling a squad of units and heroes in turn-based skirmishes.
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The 3D looks nice and the gameplay is shockingly deep, with a high variety of units, multiple versatile maps, and some satisfying combat animations that make the battles feel as intense as a LOTR battle should.
5 Lord Of The Rings: War Of The Ring
67 on Metacritic
- Released: November 4, 2003
- Developer: Liquid Entertainment
- Platforms: PC
Technically a reskin of an RTS game called Battle Realms, which itself was mostly considered a ripoff of Warcraft 3, this is the series' first modern real-time strategy game. The player builds bases and develops units, then attacks and defends simultaneously using their newly formed army.
They can then also summon heroes to change the tide of the large battle. The game was a success, with players being excited by the LOTR coat of paint over familiar strategy mechanics.
4 Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (Gameboy Advance)
67 on Metacritic
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age
- Released
- November 2, 2004
- Developer(s)
- EA Redwood Shores
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PS2, Xbox (Original), Xbox 360
- Genre(s)
- RPG
While the console version of the same name was a turn-based RPG, this game was a turn-based tactics game more akin to Fire Emblem or Advance Wars. Players command squads of soldiers, often having a hero character in their party as well.
They move their troops around a 2.5D grid, and then they attack enemy troops, triggering short battle animations that take place on a different screen in rough 3D. The game is weirdly deep for a GBA exclusive and still worth checking out.
3 Lord Of The Rings: The Battle For Middle Earth 2 - The Rise Of The Witch-King
78 on Metacritic
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth 2
Technically an expansion and not its own game, it still deserves recognition since it has an entirely new campaign and more than ten hours of new content. This expansion to the hit RTS allows players to get evil.
Players can play as the evil side, controlling armies of orcs and other beasties. Summoning evil heroes like the Nazguls and the Balrog and watching them lay waste to human armies is an unbelievable sight that makes this expansion truly stand out as its own unique experience.
2 The Lord Of The Rings: The Battle For Middle Earth
82 on Metacritic
The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth
- Released
- December 6, 2004
- Developer(s)
- Danger Close Games
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
The definitive LOTR RTS until, well, its sequel. This game allows players to experience the large-scale war of the franchise unlike any other, controlling a massive number of troops, defending bases, and attacking enemies all simultaneously.
Defending Helm's Deep or battling across Gondor feels as high-stakes and large-scale as it does in the films, as heroes annihilate waves of enemy grunts. It's no shock that this game was a massive hit.
1 The Lord Of The Rings: The Battle For Middle Earth 2
84 on Metacritic
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth 2
This follow-up had a lot to live up to, and somehow more than delivered. It brings back all of the features from the first, with tweaked mechanics and plenty of new units and structures. It also brought the franchise to consoles for the first time, by getting Xbox 360 players in on the action.
Maybe most importantly, the game ran smoother and looked better than any before it, meaning the already cinematic battles somehow reached new heights.
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