Mr. PSVR-2
If you could be part of the lore, part of the story that is The Lord of the Rings, where do you think you would be within that universe? Would it be going alongside Frodo and Samwise? Maybe when you think of The War of the Ring, your mind immediately goes to the slopes of Mount Doom or the walls of Helm’s Deep? Do you think that if you were faced with the Witch-king, you would be successful? When you really think about The Lord of the Rings universe, it really is a massive, epic tale to be told and experienced. But does developer Aspyr Media give us an adventure worth taking? Let’s find out with The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition for the PS5.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition has you stepping into a darker, grittier Middle-earth as it expands Tolkien’s epic legendarium, delving into the brutal, untold story of Agandaûr, a Black Númenórean and servant of Sauron who has rallied an immense force in the ruins of Fornost. While Frodo and Samwise embark on their journey to Mount Doom, a new Fellowship must rise and defend the North. Let this be the hour when we draw swords together!
Before you jump in to try and defend the North, there are a few things that you should be aware of. First, go through the settings and make sure you have everything adjusted in the settings such as the screen calibration, input settings, and game and audio settings; just make sure you have everything the way you like it, as you want to make sure everything can be set up as epic as possible for your adventure. Second, make sure your DualSense controller and whatever headset (if any) you are using are fully charged. There is no need to go into battles only to have your necessary “armor” not charged. Third, I am not going to spoil anything for anyone. And finally, with all that said, let’s continue…
For those who have played a Lord of the Rings game, or if this is your first attempt into the universe, you might be wondering how The Lord of the Rings: War in the North fits in with the movies and other games and what the Legacy Edition is all about. For the first part, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is a companion piece to the famous trilogy. It is a “meanwhile, in another part of the world” story that happens at the exact same time as the main films. If you have seen the movies, then for War in the North, while the main movie characters are traveling south to destroy the One Ring, a massive, hidden war is being fought simultaneously in the cold lands to the north. The dark lord Sauron actually sent a second army to conquer the northern half of Middle-earth. If that army succeeded, it would have marched south and crushed the heroes of the movies from behind. Insert War in the North, and the characters are the unsung heroes. You are fighting the northern battles to distract Sauron’s forces, directly buying Frodo and Aragorn the time they need to win the main war.
For the second part, the Legacy Edition is the updated version of The Lord of the Rings: War in the North that was released back in November of 2011 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, but this time it has some updates which include the following:
- Choose Your Orc-Bane: Seamlessly swap between three uniquely skilled characters with Eradan, the stealthy Dúnadan Ranger, Andriel, the magical Elven Loremaster, and Farin, the tank-like Dwarven Champion.
- Build a Fellowship in Co-Op: Play in a group of up to three players online or two players in local split-screen, working together with your friends as you fight for the survival of your fellowship and all of Middle-earth!
- Deep RPG Progression: Customize your hero and party members with unique skills, abilities, and gear to complement your playstyle. Collect powerful weapons and armor, and even command the mighty Great Eagle Beleram to strike from the sky and turn the tide of battle.
- Iconic Cameos & Locations: Encounter familiar faces like Aragorn, Gandalf, and Elrond as you journey through lore-rich locations such as the Elven sanctuaries of Rivendell and Lórien and the foggy paths of Mirkwood.
- A Darker Middle-earth Full of Peril: Experience a mature story featuring brutal warfare and blood-soaked battlefields in a world gnawed by ruthless Orcs, deadly Wargs, spectral Barrow-wights, and the dark sorcery of Agandaûr’s forces.
- Character Hot-Swapping: New in this edition, swap between characters on-the-fly, adding the ability to fully assign equipment, skills, and abilities for computer-controlled allies for the first time.
- Additions & Enhancements for Modern Consoles: Enjoy modernizations like 60 FPS support, Triggering Secrets (see other characters’ secrets, like hidden supply caches, no matter who you’re playing as), the ability to lock-on enemies, and UI/UX optimizations such as visible Health, Mana and EXP bars, autosaves and additional save slots, and gyro/motion sensor support on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, along with bug fixes.
Now that the class has been brought up to date, let’s march on…
When you first start, you have a few options to select from, such as starting a new game and Multiplayer. Before you start a new game, you need to decide which character you want to start with. Yes, you can hot-swap between any of the three characters on the fly, but you have to at least pick one. Your choices are:
Farin – Champion of Erebot, who I will say has an awesome beard and is an awesome dwarf. He is a Dwarf from Erebor (the Lonely Mountain), which is the legendary kingdom featured in The Hobbit. He serves as the group’s “tank” and heavy hitter, charging into the front lines to absorb damage and protect Andriel and Eradan. He primarily fights using a massive two-handed axe or a sword-and-shield combo, but he also carries a heavy crossbow for ranged attacks.
There is Andriel, who is an Elf from Rivendell, a battle mage, and a personal student of Elrond, the Elf-lord. She acts as the magical powerhouse and tactical support of the trio. She uses a staff and a sword simultaneously, casts defensive shields, heals her teammates, and fires powerful bursts of offensive magic.
Then there is Eradan, who is a Ranger of the North, belonging to the exact same secretive nomadic people as Aragorn. His group has spent generations secretly guarding the borders of the Shire and Bree. He is the tracker, scout, and tactical leader of the group. It is Eradan whom Aragorn specifically speaks to in Bree to give the team their assignment. He is the most adaptable character. He can wield a classic sword and shield, dual-wield two swords for fast melee strikes, or sit back and pick off enemies with a longbow.
When you finally have your character, it’s time to start, and this is when we hear Gandalf start telling the tale. Our characters are in the town of Bree, just a few days before Frodo arrives on his quest, where you meet Aragorn, who tells us we must do whatever we can to keep Frodo safe.
During your adventure, you will be speaking with various characters, going on sidequests, battling enemies & bosses, looting, and all while trying to do whatever it takes to succeed at your mission. The combat is pretty simple and familiar for those who have played this genre. You have your light attacks and your stronger melee attacks available, and your ranged attacks also help when there are more enemies than heroes from a distance. The more enemies you attack, there will be in indicator shown that, when hit, will allow you to hit the final, or at least one of the final blows to the enemies, which will, at times, lead to seeing your enemy’s body parts come off their body.
But keep in mind this adds to your character’s XP. The more XP you have, the more you will be able to level up your character. You will also receive points that you can use to level up your character’s strength, dexterity, stamina, will, melee, ranged weapons, and armor, as well as skill points that you use to unlock new skills based on the available skill tree for each character.
Yes, you can spend hours going through the story alone, and when you get attacked, having to crawl like a disappointment to the rest of your team until someone can get to you to try to heal you. If not, well, R.I.P., and you will start over at the last checkpoint. But who says you have to do this adventure on your own? Frodo is not alone, so why should you be? Thankfully, multiplayer is included, and I have to say that this was some of the most fun I have had.
You have a few options when you select multiplayer. You can join a quick match already in progress, do a match search to see where in the game you would like to start playing, create a public match, as well as a private match. Now, I will say, when I first joined the game, people who were in the game were not moving. I don’t know if they stepped away, but I left those. The second game I joined had me joining behind a closed gate, while the other two players couldn’t move on because I needed to be near where they were to move on to the next area. But the games I joined after that were nothing but smooth playing; even though no one talked, we knew our role and our mission.
Let’s talk about the graphics and sound. With the graphics, even though the attempt is there and some parts do look very good, you can tell that the game has been around for almost 15 years, come this November. While the overall game may not have been graphically overhauled in this legendary edition, it’s still nice to look at for the most part when the battles are going on, or even the interactions with the different characters. With the sound, I will say that the music is well done and used fantastically where and when needed. Hearing swords and other weapons come in contact with the enemies was loud and had the right amount of bass, and when having the boss battles, it really all comes together nicely.
There are a few things that I wish had been added in this legacy edition. First, it would have been nice to see a much more graphical overhaul, but what we receive at the current price point is more than justified. Second, it would be great if you could create your own characters, as it would be some extra fun added to the online multiplayer. And finally, this is more of a wish, but all previous and future games of The Lord of the Rings should have multiplayer added in. Again, I had a blast playing alongside others in the battles that were encountered.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition brings back something that, for some, got away from us. It’s one of those games from generations of consoles ago that maybe somehow slipped through the cracks—almost forgotten, possibly lost to time and new hardware—but now it’s settled onto modern consoles with a second chance. And for some, holding it again, playing it with fresh eyes, it doesn’t feel like a relic. It feels like running into an old friend and realizing you still have unfinished business. It never loses sight of the hope threaded through its brutality. Even as the world around you darkens, there’s a quiet strength in the way your Fellowship keeps moving — not because the path is easy, but because turning back would mean letting the North fall alone. Every battle leaves its mark, every victory feels earned, and every choice carries the weight of a land fighting to survive. The longer you press on, the more you realize the real test isn’t just the Orcs, Wargs, or sorcery waiting in the shadows—it’s whether you can hold onto who you are while the world demands more of you with every step. Middle-earth has always asked its heroes to stand against impossible odds, but this journey asks something deeper: to keep your heart steady and lean on your friends when the darkness tries to claim you. So before you take your next stride into the frozen wilds, ask yourself—if the North called upon you to bear just a little more of its burden, would you be ready to carry it alongside the ones standing next to you?
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition is out now for the Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 on the Nintendo eShop, PC via the Epic Games Store, GOG, and Steam, PS5 on the PlayStation Store, and Xbox Series X|S on the Microsoft Store.
To learn more about Aspyr Media, please visit their site, follow them on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok & X, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I have more battles to enjoy with others — and until the Rift opens again, know that you are appreciated.
