It’s back, Orc warts and all.
Lord of the Rings offers one of the most robust worlds across all of fantasy, despite the fact it all started with just three beloved books, the addition of the Hobbit, and a companion piece in the Silmarillion. The movies would only go to promote those stories even further, grossing billions of dollars across six films, their respective extended editions, and a TV series.
So, with a world so rich and characters ripe for adventure, the franchise would dip into gaming and either adapt the books or films, tell stories within them, or create entirely original stories across the beloved lore. However, as we've seen with the likes of Star Wars, and other properties looking to expand their reach beyond their initial offerings, not every game is a hit, and for every Shadow of Mordor or Return of the King, we are treated to abysmal releases with the likes of Gollum or Aragon’s Quest.
In 2011, Snowblind Studios and Warner Bros delivered one of the more compelling Lord of the Rings games of the era. A three-player co-op hack and slash adventure that takes place alongside the films, with a fellowship of its own, tasked with a special mission that would aid the core fellowship, and save all of Middle Earth in the process.
These types of stories can be hard to pull off. You are trying to provide a compelling narrative with characters we don't know, in an effort to aid those we are incredibly familiar with. If you rely on cameos and name drops too often, you then weaken your own story and make your own character's journeys feel secondary. It is a balance that needs to be perfect.
War in the North was a title I remember being obsessed with, as I was a huge fan of Snowblind Studios, given their history in being the team behind some of my favorite hack and slash games of all time. Champions of Norrath, Return to Arms, and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, are titles I adore, even to this day. So, when you put that team behind a property like The Lord of the Rings, you certainly grab my attention, and it did.
However, it's been 15 years, and my tastes and expectations in gaming have evolved. We used to overlook so many technical issues in gaming around that time, but nowadays, there is so much to play that games almost need to earn your time, and most importantly, your money. So, when a game ends up disappointing you, it's easy enough to bounce off of it and find something new.
That said, there is still something charming about playing a game from your past, especially one you have fond memories of. Yes, it doesn’t feel polished by today’s standards, and lacks strong visual presentation, but War in the North was a fun hack and slash game that also offered up a decent and cohesive story, which was rare for the genre.
War in the North can be played either single player or in full three-player co-op. However, each are wildly different experiences. Solo is serviceable, but the amount of times the dumb and absent AI would get slaughtered by ambushes was too many to count. I would end up spending most of my time pot-shotting enemies in an effort to slowly revive my team, who would be crawling behind me, begging for a revive. The issue? Well, the enemies would be behind me as well, so I’d never find one of my allies in a safe location to revive them. This left me to finish nearly every fight on my own, and then pick them up after the chaos has ended.
Co-op is easily the way War in the North should be played and how it is intended, at least if you are looking to maximize your enjoyment. Having a real player behind the controls of your teammates is crucial at harder difficulties. Each version of the game, apart from the Nintendo Switch, offers split-screen, so you’re able to bring co-op to the game how you see fit. While you can swap from player to player in single player, that only gets you so far in working your way through battles.
If War in the North has one crucial flaw in this remaster, it is that Aspyr Media did not look to improve the AI at all. This is the same game that it was back in 2011, making this Legacy Edition more of a direct port with some light additions and some quality of life features. While co-op play can certainly cause many of the game’s issues to fade away, there is likely a good number of players who are looking to embark on this journey alone, and that is an experience I don’t fully recommend, at least on normal and hard difficulties.
War in the North had an interesting premise in that while you were not playing as members of the core fellowship, your mission nonetheless was one to aid them, albeit in the background. There are even moments where you get to engage with not just the fellowship, but those who were also in Rivendell at the time. As the fellowship marches on to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, you are tasked with stopping one of Sauron’s most faithful, a man named Agandaûr, who is planning on creating a vast army to rule Middle Earth.
Your journey starts out as you meet Aragorn at a tavern known all too well; the Prancing Pony, in the town of Bree. It is here where this fraction of a fellowship begins. I did always find it odd that we never really get a true introduction to this team, as they are essentially formed from the jump. Regardless, you are made aware of your goal here and then aim to see it through.
This fellowship consists of three very different heroes, much in the same way that sees the formation of the true fellowship. Eradan is a Dúnedain Ranger, whose bow and sword skills make him a perfect choice for those wanting a mix of both close quarter combat and also needing a ranged attack to keep enemies at a distance. Farin, the Dwarven Champion is as tough as they come. Built like a mountain, he can absorb punishment more than any member of the team, and dish it out in spades. Finally, Andriel, the Elven Loremaster, who can cast magic and provide healing, also deals melee combat with her staff, making her a threat from all sides.
The bulk of my playthrough was with the Elven mage, largely due to playing as Eradan way back when. While Andriel being the healer sounds good on paper, the amount of healing done via her spells, even when fully leveled up, is pitiful, and nearly useless in battle. Outside of encounters, it's easy to use her to top up instead of your potions, but the heal to incoming damage ratio is insanely unbalanced, especially on normal difficulty and above. I felt like I was giving them a pixel of health every few seconds and then seeing a quarter of their bar cleaved off due to damage.
What I love about the Legacy Edition is that you can now freely swap between characters at any time, but there is a catch. You cannot freely swap when playing online, even if no one has joined your game. You need to access checkpoint locations that also act as a shop to swap characters during online play. Offline, via the single player mode, the game allows you to simply press a button or two to swap between them, which allows you to finally equip your AI teammates with better gear and level up their skills and abilities on the go. It's a game changer.
This swapping prevents the need for three different playthroughs to see each character become the focus of the story, not that it changes the narrative or anything. You could theoretically swap mid-mission or between each mission and experience the game from entirely different viewpoints across the roughly ten hour adventure. While the bulk of my playthrough was via Andriel, I did try out Farin for a bit, and found him far more fun than I had expected. I felt almost invincible. Almost.
Combat will vary from character to character, but each does mirror one another in certain ways. Each character has a ranged option, with Eradan having a bow, Farin having a crossbow, and Andriel using her magic blasts. You have a pretty sizable skill tree to work towards, with each purchased skill unlocking more options. My only issue with the skills is that they all have pre-determined buttons assigned to them, meaning you could be unlocking skills that are mapped to both the left or right bumpers/triggers, instead of keeping them together. My skills felt so spaced out and in random button locations, making me lose track of what bumper or trigger had what.
Each character does have a general purpose in combat. Farin is meant to be the tank, Andriel handling support, and Eradan handling both close and mid-range. If players are keeping to that, then encounters largely go off without a hitch. However, in single player, those roles never feel defined by the AI as everyone just jumps in the deep end, regardless of what skills, armor, or equipment they have. I rarely saw Eradan holding back with his bow, and often was in the thick of it with Farin. Even when I swapped to Farin, Andriel was on the frontline, ignoring our health, and often dying in seconds.
You will also be joined by a Great Eagle in combat, Beleram. While he does join from a predictable narrative angle, you can often summon him, should you have a feather. He is great for attacking long-ranged attacks on the mounted ballista’s, or even attacking Trolls. His involvement in the story is great, as he is simply wanting to do his part and protect his people.
Enemy variety is well-suited to what the films provided us. From Orcs, Trolls, Wargs, Spiders, and Wights, there is a decent variety here, all keeping to the looks established in the films. Most levels have a good flow of enemy placement, but a few are prone to ambushes of some of the more defense-focused enemies, able to take a lot of damage and dish it out in return. I will state that the explosive sapper goblins are a nuisance, especially in tight quarters, often able to down you incredibly easily when attacked in groups.
Boss fights generally are reserved for the likes of larger enemies, and most of them are sound fights, with one being optional, if you don’t agree to certain terms. From Stone Giants to Orc Captains, and the final battle itself, most fights here provide a decent challenge, even when working as a team.
What I really enjoy about War in the North is the loot system. I’m always a sucker for cosmetic changes to characters, especially with an addictive gameplay loop. From helmets, armor, gloves, and boots, as well as your character specific weapons, you have a lot of gear sets and options. It’s not a deep system, but it’s quick and simple enough that you are not spending a lot of time tinkering with builds and are getting back out there right away.
The Legacy Edition does have some benefits that we see in even the most basic remaster. The game now runs at a pretty consistent 60FPS, even on Switch 2. However, the original Switch only targets 30fps with no split screen option. Other additions include target-locking for ranged attacks, being able to discover secrets regardless of what character you are controlling, and vastly cleaner menus for health, mana, and experience, as well as indicating those meters for your teammates as well. Lastly, auto-saves are present, which helps, especially as I experienced two crashes and didn’t seem to lose much progress at all.
When it comes to something I wish had been improved from the original, it would be the audio. Now, not in the sound quality or music, those elements are great. It is in the audio balancing. Cutscenes are about 5-6 volume notches above the gameplay. I would have my speaker set up at around 17 for gameplay, when I normally have every other game at around 11. Whenever a cutscene would trigger, I would have to scramble to lower the volume. And, as it turns out, the original was the same way. Good thing I still had that disc to check.
However, I do wish more had been done here, even simply as a remaster. While the game certainly looks cleaner, it only looks to highlight the graphical shortcomings of the title in regards to today’s standards. Textures and environments are noticeably bland and blurry, and character models and animations drastically show their age. It is likely that War in the North: Legacy Edition had a small budget, and that it even exists is a miracle in itself, especially for a licensed game. So, regardless of it being more of a port than a remaster, it’s one trade off I’ll gladly take.
War in the North: Legacy Edition is what it is, a modern port of the classic game. Its bells and whistles are few and far between, but the core game as it was is here and is a blast to play in co-op. Combat, progression, and the ability to swap between each character makes this one of the better LOTR games ever crafted. It’s certainly not without its issues, especially as those issuers are fifteen years old, but I still get excited about jumping into it, given that the core gameplay loop is extremely solid. It may feel its age, but it nonetheless is still a very fun adventure, provided you have a few friends.
Developer - Snowblind Studios, Aspyr Media. Publisher - Aspyr. Released - August 11th, 2026. Available On - PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 1, Nintendo Switch 2, PC. Rated - (M) Blood and Gore, Intense Violence. Platform Reviewed - Nintendo Switch 2. Review Access - A review code for The Lord of the Rings: War in the North Legacy Edition was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.