These details come from automatically imported sources and have not been editorially reviewed yet.
Role-playing · 2026 · Aspyr Media · local · online
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
A Middle-earth role-playing game for three that finally gets a split screen on PC.
What it is about
A role-playing game in the north of Middle-earth, running parallel to the Fellowship’s journey: three characters, a war of their own, loot and skill trees.
The 2026 re-release adds on PC what was missing there in 2011 — the split screen.
Our verdict for couples
The reason this is here is a line in the small print: the split screen was missing from the 2011 PC version and is now there. Local role-playing games for several people are rare, and this one was written for three from the start — playing alone, the AI runs the other two. The game itself is fifteen years old and does not pretend otherwise: the same engine, slightly brightened textures, the same small rough edges. For two on a sofa that is no drawback, because loot and levelling carry exactly what an evening together needs. There is one catch, and it concerns playing together over distance: in online co-op only the person hosting keeps a save. On a split screen the question does not arise.
Pros
- The split screen is new on PC — local role-playing games for several are rare
- Written for three, not extended after the fact
- One copy covers you both at the television
- Loot and skill trees carry an evening without explanations
Cons
- In online co-op only the host keeps a save — the others start again without progress
- Technically from 2011, with brightened textures rather than new graphics
- A bug is reported that freezes the elf at certain sigils
- If you own the old version you cannot play together with it
Suitable from
Casual–Hobby
- Conflict potential
- Harmonious
- Cosiness
- Mixed
- When you can stop
- After 30–45 minutes
- How long it lasts
- 5–15 hours
What other co-op fans say
Eighty-three percent approval, and one point stands out: the split screen. That it was missing from the 2011 PC version and is now there gets named repeatedly as the reason to buy — one of the most-read reviews consists of practically nothing else. People also praise that a vanished game is available again at all. The criticism hits two things: that the re-release is technically the same game, and — more serious for playing together — that in online co-op only the host keeps a save.
- “The co-op, the combat, the three playable characters, and the whole idea of experiencing a different side of the War of the Ring still make this one of the most underrated LOTR games out there.”
- “Peak Lord of the Rings OG game-era action including looting/gear, skill trees, hot swapping between characters, online coop, and some extra QOL.”
Summarised by machine from 60 Steam reviews, not written by our editors. The quotes appear verbatim in those reviews.
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