Summary
- Silent Hill 2 Remake director Mateusz Lenart revealed that he pitched a horror-themed The Lord of the Rings game.
- It doesn’t sound like the pitch went anywhere, but given how many new Middle-earth games there have been, in such a wide variety of genres, it would’ve been an interesting experiment taking that breadth even further.
There has been a huge influx of Middle-earth games over the last couple of years, from the maligned Gollum spin-off to The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, not to mention the upcoming cozy Hobbit game Tales of the Shire and Amazon’s untitled MMORPG.
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There’s an interesting mix of genres and approaches, to say the least, and even Silent Hill 2 Remake director Mateusz Lenart is interested in taking a swing at Tolkien’s iconic fantasy world.
While speaking with Bonfire Conversations, Lenart mentioned that his dream project would be a fantasy horror game. Interviewer Hamidreza Nikoofar then suggested a Lord of the Rings game, to which Lenart mused, “Don’t think I didn’t pitch my ideas around that.”
The moment quoted is at 32:50 in the below video.
The Lord Of The Rings Is Perfect For Horror
The epic fantasy tale of a plucky, unsuspecting hero rising to greatness and destroying evil might not seem a great foundation for horror, but there are some truly eerie moments throughout the series that go to show this world is perfect for horror.
Very early on in The Fellowship of the Ring, when Frodo first leaves the Shire, he is hunted by the Nazgûl, wraiths masked in long black robes. He hides in the dark woods from these walking shadows, vulnerable, inexperienced, and unable to fight back. It’s a harrowing start to the quest, a moment of undeniable horror.
We also have Sam venturing through Cirith Ungol, and Shelob, an enormous great spider sprung off from the primordial Ungoliant, hunting Frodo. Or there’s the Three Hunters venturing into the caverns beneath Dwimorberg to uncover the Dead Men of Dunharrow, an army of ghosts haunting Harrowdale.
Alternatively, ten hours of Bilbo pulling that terrifying face at Frodo.
It doesn’t sound like the pitch went anywhere, but maybe one day someone will take a crack at it. Even if it’s not adapting scenes from the books, there’s so much mythology within Tolkien’s world as unsettling as our own supernatural myths to play around with.
At the very least, I know I’d play an Alien: Isolation game all about escaping the Nine Riders.
