Guardians of Middle-Earth PC Review

As someone who’s spent countless hours in MOBAs like Dota 2 and League of Legends, I was genuinely curious when I picked up Guardians of Middle-earth.

A Lord of the Rings themed MOBA sounded like a brilliant idea on paper, especially with a studio like Monolith behind it. But while the game had some surprising strengths and smart design decisions, my experience was heavily shaped by technical issues and a noticeable lack of depth. This is my LOTR Guardians of Middle-earth PC Review.

First off, the presentation impressed me. As a Tolkien fan, I immediately appreciated the attention to detail. Characters like Gandalf, Sauron, Gollum and Legolas all looked and sounded exactly how I imagined them. Even some lesser-known additions like Hildifons Took and Gothmog had that iconic Middle-earth aesthetic nailed down.

The original voice actors and orchestral soundtrack went a long way in creating an authentic atmosphere – and I felt immersed, even during the most chaotic team fights.

Gameplay-wise, Guardians of Middle-earth plays like a streamlined MOBA. I had the choice of classic three-lane maps or a single-lane brawler mode, and I could queue up against bots, real players, or a mix of both.

I appreciated the simplified mechanics early on, abilities were easy to learn, the UI wasn’t overwhelming, and combos felt intuitive.

Controlling my hero with a controller rather than a mouse and keyboard took some getting used to, but Monolith handled the adaptation well. The cone and AoE-based skill targeting mostly worked, though I did struggle with precision when it came to range-based heroes.

I also liked that the game introduced mechanics not commonly seen in other MOBAs. Capturing shrines for passive buffs and upgrading towers and creeps based on my level added some welcome variety to the traditional push-and-destroy formula.

But what really stood out was the decision to remove in-match item purchases. Instead, I selected a loadout called a Guardian Belt before each match. As I levelled up, my chosen relics and gems kicked in, granting bonuses like increased health regen or improved critical strike. At first, I found it a little simplistic, but over time, I came to appreciate how much it streamlined the experience, especially on a controller. It felt less stressful, and it helped me focus on team fights rather than retreating to shop every few minutes.

Yet despite these positives, I quickly ran into GOMES’ biggest issue: technical problems. Matchmaking consistently made me wait up to 7 minutes just to get into a game. Once inside, I often dealt with lag spikes, rubber-banding, or worse, full disconnects. I lost count of how many matches I was booted from.

Every fifth game or so, I’d drop out entirely, losing both XP and in-game currency. That was incredibly frustrating, especially when I’d been doing well or playing with friends. The performance issues genuinely undermined every good thing the game did right.

On top of that, I found the gameplay lacked long-term depth. The absence of gold or items meant there was no real reward for strong early-game performance.

Every player eventually hit max level, and without positional advantages or map control, matches tended to stagnate. The losing team would turtle, the winning team would chip away at towers, and games dragged on. I missed the thrill of snowballing and punishing mistakes – a core part of what I love about MOBAs.

To its credit, Guardians of Middle-earth does try to keep things accessible, and I think newcomers to the genre could enjoy it more than seasoned veterans like me.

It’s intuitive, looks great, and when the servers behave, it delivers fast-paced 5v5 action in a recognisable fantasy setting. But for someone used to the mechanical complexity and strategic nuance of PC MOBAs, it felt like a watered-down version – one that also happened to be unstable.

If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan who’s never touched a MOBA before, there’s enough here to give it a go. Just be ready to deal with lag, lengthy queue times, and connection issues.

Personally, while I had fun in bursts, I wouldn’t recommend this over free, more polished MOBAs like League of legends, unless you’re desperate to see Sauron cast spells in a lane.