Highlights
- Aragorn, a character from The Lord of the Rings, is a potential hero for a successful RPG game.
- Fans want a game exploring Aragorn’s life before the War of the Ring, focusing on his skills and character development.
- The Witcher 3’s blueprint could inspire an Aragorn game with customization, new regions, and engaging mechanics.
When you consider the greatest fictional characters ever created, everyone should have Aragorn on their contenders list. The Dúnedain destined to be king of Gondor is described in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings as “the greatest traveler and huntsman of this age of the world.” If that isn’t grounds for a heroic video game protagonist within a meaty, perilous fantasy RPG then I don’t know what is.
The Lord of the Rings franchise has been rather stale, with a salty player base, in recent years. The catastrophic failure that was The Lord of the Rings: Gollum left a sour taste, followed by the underwhelming survival-crafting game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. Now, the cozy Hobbit game, Tales of the Shire, promises a humdrum life sim that no fan asked for. Our own Rachael Fiddis shared her frustration towards the announcement, stating it was a “step backwards” and she craves a game that shadows Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor’s achievements.
The Tolkien enterprise now has an uncertain future in the hands of Embracer Group, which plans to unleash a wave of varying titles, and that, understandably, makes the community rather nervous. However, at least one of the ideas that should be explored is Aragorn’s time before The War of the Ring narrative and how he came to be an elite ranger in Middle-earth.
Aragorn Is Destined For RPG Greatness
Fans of the fantasy epic will, of course, remember the Warner Bros. Interactive title, The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest, which put Strider in the spotlight alongside EA’s wave of games based on the Peter Jackson movie trilogy. It’s still considered an IP gem, with satisfying gameplay revolving around the beloved character. Since that game was released 14 years ago, it’s about time to bring the crownless wanderer into this generation.
Aragorn’s existence between his upbringing in Rivendell and his campaigns with Gandalf before The War of the Ring is the perfect playground for another game to take place.
The Witcher 3 Could Provide Real Inspiration
Fans have discussed an Aragorn game inspired by The Witcher 3’s blueprint, drawing particular attention to the customization and enhancement of weaponry through Elven runes and seeing the ranger hone a variety of fighting techniques as he charts uncommon terrain previously unexplored cinematically. The regions of Angmar, Umbar, and Rhun, to name a few, would bring a fresh expanse to navigate on a similar scale to The Witcher’s Continent, crawling with a catalog of corrupt enemies and teeing up opportunities for cameos present in Tolkien’s more popular pockets of lore.
Many other Lord of the Rings fans and I are not looking for miracles to happen. The mechanics don’t need to be groundbreaking nor do the graphics and interactivity need to push the boundaries of modern technology, like Ghost of Tsushima or Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Just a well-crafted RPG elevated by a lore-dripping story with engaging mechanics is enough to satisfy the masses and give this prestigious character a place within modern, fantasy video games.