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Published Jan 31, 2026, 4:30 PM EST
Steven is a seasoned writer specializing in the video game and technological fields, with years of experience creating reviews, features, and industry analysis. Passionate about the gaming world and its evolving culture, Steven always wanted to combine his enjoyment of writing and love for gaming in a way that can provide insightful coverage for players and enthusiasts alike, striving to provide this since he joined Screenrant in 2024.
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Given the overwhelming and enduring popularity of The Lord of the Rings, there have been dozens of games over the years that have tried to adapt the series to varying levels of success. While there are more than a few mediocre releases or recent disasters to watch out for, LOTR still has plenty of fantastic games that anyone can enjoy.
Even with LOTR's more niche offerings, a few games stand far above the rest for offering creative takes on the franchise as a whole, or simply using the format to crank up its greatest strengths even further. Whether you're a dedicated fan of TLOTR or have a passing interest in the fantasy genre as a whole, these entries are well worth your time to revisit.
10 The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
A Great Start For The Gaming Side Of The Series
As one of the earliest movie tie-in games that succeeded in adapting the film while still being great in its own right, the fast-paced hack-and-slash action from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a great way to relive some of the best moments from the films.
Incorporating the likeness of the original movie, The Two Towers offers a mission-based structure that aims to accurately depict the best moments from the first two films in the series, while laying the groundwork for more action-focused entries to follow in the future. The only downside of The Two Towers comes from its much shorter length, but it ensures the experience never feels like it's stalling for runtime.
9 The Lord Of The Rings: The Third Age
Traversing The Lands With Powerful Allies
Turn-based roleplaying is far from the first genre you would expect to see in an adaptation of the iconic fantasy franchise, but The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is more than just a competent Final Fantasy clone, providing an original story that takes advantage of its alternative perspective to fill in the gaps between films.
Even with its noticeably dated visuals and game design, everything from the music to the turn-based combat clicks. The Third Age's smaller-scale battles ultimately build up more tension to create one of the most unique experiences the franchise has to offer.
8 The Lord Of The Rings: Conquest
One Of The Best Multiplayer-Focused Outings In The Series
Inspired by EA's sci-fi Battlefront, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is a large-scale third-person action game that focuses on massive battles between iconic factions from the franchise. Offering plenty of fan-favorite heroes, villains, and settings from LOTR, Conquest's multiplayer modes and class-based combat are bursting with replayability, even if the ambitious concepts don't have as much depth as its competitors.
With two linear campaigns that adapt the films and offer an alternative scenario where the agents of Sauron won, in addition to its multiplayer gameplay, Conquest is far more than the simple PvP game it was made out to be.
7 The Lord Of The Rings: War In The North
Traversing Across Middle-Earth With Powerful Allies
You can't go far in talking about classic games set in Tolkien's fantasy world without coming across someone recommending The Lord of the Rings: War In The North, and it's not without good reason. As a hack-and-slash RPG with class-based elements, War in the North's co-op experience takes plenty of liberties with its original story that helped the RPG stand out from the rest as a wholly unique experience.
Even if the ambitious gameplay premise and full co-op compatibility made it memorable for many, War in the North still struggles to excel in its new genre shift. While it's definitely far from a traditional entry in the series, War in the North is still a good game in its own right that's even better when played alongside a friend.
6 LEGO The Lord Of The Rings
A Surprisingly Faithful Adaptation Of Its Source Material
It's not too surprising that Tolkien's massively popular fantasy franchise was chosen as source material for a LEGO gaming adaptation, but the release of LEGO The Lord of the Rings stood above the best LEGO videogames. Praised for the surprising accuracy to both the beloved movies and the lore of the series despite its child-friendly approach, LEGO LOTR lets players explore even beyond the boundaries of its film franchise.
Even if the classic LEGO formula is a little dated by today's standards, the humor and overall experience are still surprisingly one of the best adaptations of the series we've seen so far.
5 The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth
Letting You Unleash Your Inner Warlord
The strategy genre is one of the few that can capture the large-scale battles and climactic spectacles that the series is known for, with The Lord of the Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth being the best option out of the bunch. Tackling the War of the Third Age from a unique perspective, Battle for Middle-Earth is not only an excellent real-time strategy game in its own right but also an excellent adaptation of the franchise.
If Battle for Middle-Earth isn't enough, several RTS games like Mount and Blade Warband have free Steam mods that offer a TLOTR-style overhaul.
Still being praised as one of the better fantasy RTS games on the market, the mix of music, iconic characters, and unique factions makes it stand out from the rest for one of the more well-rounded LOTR experiences out there. Battle for Middle-earth also received a sequel that expanded on the overall gameplay, but the campaign mode of the original provides a much tighter experience.
4 Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Revolutionizing The Series With A Brand New Spin
Introducing fans to a brand-new character, new abilities, and the revolutionary nemesis system, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor took full advantage of the more advanced hardware at the tail end of the franchise's gaming boom. Even if the original story forces its way between The Hobbit and the start of the trilogy didn't land with everyone, the open-world action experience was more than worth trying out.
With climactic encounters, unique gameplay mechanics, and the nemesis system working to create plenty of unique and memorable story moments, Shadow of Mordor is an excellent power fantasy for any fan of the series.
3 The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
A Cinematic Romp Through Middle-Earth Never Felt Better
Released as a tie-in movie for the similarly named film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a classic hack-and-slash adventure from the familiar setting, with plenty of characters to choose from and branching paths for even more replayability. Blending its gameplay cinematics with footage pulled directly from the film, the two combine to create a surprisingly cinematic experience for the time.
Aside from faithfully recreating its namesake as one of the best tie-in games of its era, this successor to LOTR: The Two Towers polishes and expands on the gameplay even more than before, with more climactic battles and scale that show how much potential the series has in the gaming world.
2 Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
One Of The Most Immersive Offerings The Franchise Has Ever Seen
Even though it faced complaints about being an overly ambitious follow-up to Shadow of Mordor that stretched itself a little thin at times, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War undeniably improves on just about every aspect of the original game, while taking its best features to even greater heights than before with an even better revamped nemesis system.
Forcing you to engage with its unique storybuilding mechanics, Shadow of War wastes no time setting up its massive climactic battles and character arcs, with even more replayability between campaigns. Combined with an even more expansive story that connects with factions and settings the first game couldn't hope to compete with, Shadow of War is easily one of the best games we've seen in the franchise.
1 The Lord Of The Rings Online
One Of The Few Games To Capture The True Spirit Of The Series
If you've ever thought that LOTR would be a perfect fit for an expansive entry in the MMORPG genre, The Lord of the Rings Online is everything you could ask for. With a wide selection of races, classes, and professions to choose from across a continually expansive game world, LOTR Online has only gotten better since its original release, and millions of players are still logging in to enjoy its fantastic storytelling for themselves.
Despite releasing all the way back in 2007, LOTR Online is still receiving updates to this very day, with the latest expansion pack, Kingdoms of Harad, having released in December 2025. Even though seeing everything The Lord of the Rings Online has to offer is a significant time investment, its expansions have received excellent reviews from players and critics alike, and it's well worth the time for any dedicated fan of the series.
Created by J.R.R. Tolkien
Character(s) Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, Sauron, Gollum, Samwise Gamgee, Pippin Took, Celeborn, Aragorn, Galadriel, Bilbo Baggins, Saruman, Aldor, Wormtongue, Thorin Oakenshield, Balin Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Tauriel, King Thranduil, Smaug, Radagast, Arondir, Nori Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow, Marigold Brandyfoot, Queen Regent Míriel, Sadoc Burrows
English (US) ·