I know this probably sounds weird, but I really can't wait for players to say Warhorse's upcoming open world The Lord of the Rings RPGs are too hard. It's not because I want the game to be miserable or feel unfair to anyone who doesn't spend 40 hours learning how to properly swing a sword, but because that complaint would probably imply that Warhorse, despite being a licensed game, remained Warhorse through it all. This is the studio behind it Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2after all, and if the trip to Middle-earth becomes too smooth, too easy, or too eager to please everyone, then I think something will have gone wrong.
The whole reason Warhorse is an exciting fit for The Lord of the Rings is that its games understand the value of being ordinary in a world that doesn't care how much players want to feel powerful. Kingdom Come was never special because it made players great right away. It was special because it made them deserve that greatness, and that's exactly the kind of philosophy Midgard thrives on, and it's one that's especially needed in The Lord of the Rings play space. This is not a universe filled with superheroes, but a world where little people do impossible things because they keep going, suffer well, and learn to survive long enough for their courage to actually pay off. That's what I mean when I say I can't wait for Warhorse's The Lord of the Rings games that should be called “too hard”.
Kingdom Come Studio Warhorse may be going for Bethesda's Crown with its Lord of the Rings game
Warhorse's Lord of the Rings game could transform its Kingdom Come formula into Bethesda's most serious open-world RPG competition yet.
Warhorse Can't Lose What Did Kingdom Come Special
Honestly, I love hearing and reading people say that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is too hard because it doesn't let players feel powerful without a lot of effort first. I will admit that I understand the frustration to a degree. Many people play modern RPGs because they want a playable power fantasy where they eventually become the person everyone else fears or respects. However, Kingdom Come: Deliverance makes that path longer and tougher than most games do, and it's all the better for it.
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When I interviewed Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 design director Viktor Bocan a while back he talked about players complaining that the combat is too hard, only for someone else to tell them they need to practice in-game. Then these players respond by saying that they are already training in real life and don't want to train in a game. Bocan's response to these complaints was refreshingly blunt, perhaps Kingdom Come just isn't the game for them.
Honestly, I love hearing and reading people say that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is too hard because it doesn't let players feel powerful without a lot of effort first.
And I really love that answer because it's not trying to please everyone, but it's not rude either – it's just honest. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 knows what it is, and it knows that some of the audience will balk at the fact that getting good at something actually takes more effort than most other RPGs.
Bocan put it even better later in the same interview when he said, “We created a game where you can be whoever you want, but you have to give something to get something.” That line feels like a whole Kingdom Come philosophy in a sense. Freedom is there, but it is not free. There is progress, but the players have to work for it. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 allows a regular Henry to grow slightly larger, but only after making sure players understand what it feels like for him to be weak. Well, Warhorse is coming The Lord of the Rings RPGs need to stick with it.
The danger with a licensed game, especially a game set in Middle-earth, is that the license can start to pull the game towards safer territory. Bigger audience, bigger expectations, bigger pressure to make it all more immediately accessible. It would be easy to imagine a version of this open world RPG where Warhorse softens its edges because The Lord of the Rings fans don't necessarily come in as Kingdom Come fans, but I sincerely hope that doesn't happen.
Midgard is perfect for Warhorse's signature difficulty
The funny thing is, Middle-earth might be one of the best possible fantasy worlds for Warhorse's signature strategy. The Lord of the Rings has never really been about superheroes, even with all its legendary warriors, ancient creatures, and magical artifacts. The emotional core of Midgard has always been about ordinary people doing extraordinary things to keep going when everything in the world gets in the way.
The danger with a licensed game, especially a game set in Middle-earth, is that the license can start to pull the game towards safer territory.
So, if Warhorse makes one The Lord of the Rings RPGs where travel is demanding, combat is dangerous, preparation is important, and getting anywhere meaningful requires real effort, it would be a perfect fit. Middle-earth shouldn't play like an amusement park where the player gets to sprint from one heroic moment to the next without friction. The road should matter, the danger should matter, and the small victories should matter because they were not handed out cheaply.
That's why I don't want Warhorse to pander to the audience that thought Kingdom Come and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 were too harsh. Those players are of course allowed to feel that way, but their frustration shouldn't become the design goal. Warhorse has already created an identity by making RPGs that ask the player something, and one The Lord of the Rings The game from that studio shouldn't apologize for you doing the same thing.
If anything, this Warhorse's identity can set the game apart from almost every other fantasy RPG. We already have tons of games where players become unstoppable far too quickly. We have plenty of games where difficulty is treated as something to deal with rather than something woven into the world itself. A Middle-earth RPG from Warhorse should be different because, well, Warhorse is different.
If Warhorse makes one The Lord of the Rings RPGs where travel is demanding, combat is dangerous, preparation is important, and getting anywhere meaningful requires real effort, it would be a perfect fit.
As strange as it sounds, I want to feel small from the start. I want to have to think twice before picking a fight with an orc. I want to prepare before traveling somewhere dangerous, and I want any lack of preparation to punish me. I want to feel like every bit of progress has been made through patience, failure and maybe just a little bit of persistence. More than anything, I want the game to understand that greatness in Middle-earth should never feel like skill points, stats, or some ancient prophecy that gives me plot armor.
For me, that's what did it Kingdom Come so rewarding. The payoff was important because the fight mattered first. A war horse The Lord of the Rings RPGs could bring that same feeling to Middle-earth, and honestly, that's the main reason this project excites me as much as it does. More than anyone, Warhorse has a shot at making a grounded Middle-earth RPG, where being ordinary is actually the whole point.
So yeah, I can't wait for players to say Warhorse's Lord of the Rings RPG is too hard. I can't wait for the complaints about having to train, prepare, travel carefully and work for any meaningful progress. If these complaints occur for the same reason they occurred with Kingdom Comethen good. It means that Warhorse remembered what makes its games special.
