The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game – Definitive Edition

Genre: Turn-Based Collectible Card Game

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Online)

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Review:

The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game is a Turn-Based Collectable Card Game, but those who have played other games in the genre like Magic the Gathering, Hearthstone, or Eternal will find this to be a game that does things very differently from those other games in numerous ways.

You might not think it from the presentation, though – this is a game that looks very much like Hearthstone and Eternal in the way that it is presented to the player, with cards generally represented by a portrait with important information popping up when you highlight the card in question. It’s a tried and true system that mostly works well here, except that much of the text here is absurdly tiny, both in docked mode and especially in handheld mode, to the point that it will frequently require players to stop the game and squint at their screen to try to discern what’s being said.

Beyond this, the game is very clearly trying to evoke the Lord of the Rings films without tripping over copyright, resulting in something that vaguely resembles the films but kinda’ feels like a knockoff. In fact, the game’s story plays like some sort of odd fan fiction that takes place between the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings stories. It’s not terrible – the art is good (though it doesn’t always resemble the films it frequently tries to imitate), and the voice acting is solid. However, it’s clear that this game wanted to be epic on par with the films and not only lacked the license but the resources to fully accomplish that.

It’s a shame too, because unlike most Collectable Card Games, this is a game that focuses largely on the story, and that’s because this game has no Player Versus Player mode – it is all about the game’s campaign mode that pits the player’s custom-made deck against an AI-controlled villain-specific deck representing the forces of evil lord Sauron. The multiplayer gameplay that is here is all co-op, with players joining forces to take on the same enemy (though don’t expect such help from random strangers – the online lobbies are currently empty). It’s an interesting twist that brings this game more in line with physical card games like Marvel Legendary, which also focuses on having players combine forces to fight a common foe.

What’s more, while this game is turn-based, it takes an interesting approach to turn-based combat, in that rather than having a player turn and then an enemy turn, players alternate moves with the enemy, with each move prompting a potential response from Sauron. This is a clever idea that makes each move and its timing all the more important, as plans can easily be undone if not prepared at the right time, and sometimes the proper action is a minor, ineffectual move to force the enemy to act first before making your big play.

As players progress through the game’s campaign, they will unlock additional cards, and there’s enough variety here, and a decent enough size campaign to keep players busy for a while, even if it is ultimately finite, unlike most Collectable Card Games.

In the end, The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game is a delightful surprise, but not without its faults. The empty online servers limit one of the game’s more unique features, the presentation feels like a knockoff, and the game’s text is often a nightmare to try to read no matter which way you play the game. However, unlike most Collectable Card Games there are no microtransactions or lootboxes, and the game has multiple interesting and unique mechanics that set it apart from the rest of the crowd. Fans of Collectable Card games should definitely give this one a look – if nothing else, it’s original enough to stand out in their collection, with enough content to keep them occupied for a good while.

tl;dr – The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game is a Turn-Based Collectable Card Game, but unlike most other games in the genre this game isn’t loaded with microtransactions, and has players taking on Sauron’s forces rather than each other, with a clever back-and-forth move mechanic that adds a surprising amount of strategy to the game. It’s not perfect – the presentation makes the game feel like a knockoff, the online servers are empty, and much of the text will have you straining your eyes to try to read it. However, the gameplay is good and unique enough to be well worth a look for fans of the genre.

Grade: B

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