The Lord of the Rings has been an institute of the fantasy genre ever since its debut in 1954. While it may not have been the first series to introduce the concept of elves, dwarves, and magic, it is one of the most popular, and has stayed that way for the last nearly 70 years. Though The Lord of the Rings has never faded from popularity, the franchise has seen a boom in the last few months, with Amazon's new The Rings of Power show having just wrapped up its season finale. Taking place during the Second Age, The Rings of Power acts as a prequel to the events of The Lord of the Rings, and it paves the way for a Galadriel-focused video game.
Opening with a scene from her childhood, The Rings of Power focuses heavily on the elven warrior Galadriel, who eventually plays a smaller role in the events of Lord of the Rings. In The Rings of Power, Galadriel is at the center of the primary plot, believing that Sauron is still out there and seeking revenge for the death of her brother. Though Rings of Power is presumably quite a way from wrapping up, it's already provided enough inspiration for a Galadriel-led video game.
The Rings of Power's Portrayal of Galadriel
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For fans of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies, or even Tolkien's original texts, The Rings of Power's version of Galadriel may be a little different from the one they're used to. The show opens with Galadriel joining the elven army in the First Age, where she fights against the forces of darkness, led by the evil Morgoth. Rather than get bogged down in all the Silmarillion lore, The Rings of Power condenses these events into a bite-sized narration where Galadriel says that the elven armies, including herself, managed to defeat Morgoth, Sauron his right-hand man, and his orc armies after thousands of years of war, with Middle-Earth restored to peace.
After the introduction, audiences see Galadriel lead a small unit of elven soldiers to the northernmost reaches of Middle-Earth, where she believes Sauron has fled to. After using her elven agility to swiftly kill a frost troll, Galadriel is forced to return to the elven home of Eregion, where she's told by High King Gil-Galad to stop her search for Sauron. Galadriel refuses, goes rogue, and the rest of Rings of Power Season 1 sees her traveling across Middle-Earth to stop the imminent threat of darkness.
Throughout The Rings of Power, Galadriel is shown to be a highly-skilled warrior, capable of besting even the most talented human swordfighters, and most of her peers. Galadriel has all the inherent abilities a Tolkien elf usually has, including highly attuned eyesight and hearing, advanced agility and acrobatics, and increased strength. Her abilities and her quest for vengeance make Galadriel the perfect video game protagonist.
A Galadriel Video Game Could Be Great
A game centered around Galadriel could have some real potential, with some constantly evolving gameplay mechanics. At the start of the game, players could control Galadriel during the First Age, where she faces off against Morgoth's hordes with her elven brothers and sisters. Here, Galadriel would play like a typical third-person action protagonist, being able to counter enemies swiftly, while delivering strong counterattacks. Players would also have access to increased sight and hearing, which could be used as stealth mechanics. Some parkour mechanics would suit the game well, with Galadriel's increased agility paving the way for some fluid and fast traversal. With the first act being set in the First Age, this game would have plenty of opportunity to show fans some creatures and enemies that are long gone by the time of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but also deliver the usual variety of orcs fans would expect.
After Morgoth's defeat, maybe about halfway through the narrative, the game would then have the opportunity to switch up its gameplay in some unique ways. Taking place in the Second Age, the latter half of the game could give players Galadriel's ring of power, Nenya. In the original Tolkien texts, the three rings of power forged by the elves remain secret for the most part, to ensure that Sauron doesn't corrupt them and to keep their home protected from the darkness. Galadriel's ring, a simple band with a stark white Adamant stone embedded in it, is only ever revealed to Frodo during The Fellowship of the Ring.
That being said, The Lord of the Rings adaptations often take a little artistic license with the source material, and this Galadriel game should take a similar approach. According to the lore, Nenya is imbued with the elemental power of water, and protection. While the text is a little more metaphorical with these powers, the game can afford to be literal for the sake of fun. Once granted the ring, the Galadriel game would grant players the ability to unleash a range of different water-based powers, and shield themselves with the ring's protective aura.
Though it might make some die-hard Tolkien fans mad, there's no denying that a game where the player controls a water-bending Galadriel wouldn't be an absolute blast to play through. Adding these elemental ring powers would also go quite a way in making this hypothetical Galadriel game stand out from the Middle-Earth: Shadow series, as that game features a half-elf warrior brandishing a ring of power and slaughtering hordes of orcs.