Lord of the Rings: War in the North gets surprise remaster

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North has made a surprise return today, with a newly released Legacy Edition remaster arriving out of nowhere. The game has been shadow‑dropped across all major platforms, including PS4 and PS5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC.

The remaster was handled by Aspyr Media, which has had a great run with remasters in recent years. Aspyr has remastered a number of classic Star Wars titles and made them playable on modern hardware, and has even gone back and remastered the original six Tomb Raider games, and more recently, released remasters for The Legacy of Kain series. Now, the studio has turned its attention to classic LOTR titles, starting with War in the North.

Originally released in 2011, War in the North takes players to a darker corner of Middle‑earth, telling the untold story of Agandaûr, a Black Númenórean leading Sauron’s forces in the ruins of Fornost. The Legacy Edition features three playable heroes – Eradan the Ranger, Andriel the Loremaster and Farin the Champion. Each hero has a distinct combat style, but you will also run into familiar heroes from the books / films, including Aaragorn, Gandalf and Elrond. Unlike the original version of the game, you will also be freely able to switch between heroes throughout the game, rather than picking one at the start and sticking with them through to the end credits.

Aspyr describes the remaster as a grittier, more mature take on Middle‑earth, filled with brutal battles against Orcs, Trolls, Wargs, Barrow‑wights and other creatures of shadow. The Legacy Edition aims to preserve the original experience while making it accessible on modern hardware.

KitGuru Says: War in the North was a cult favourite for many players during the Xbox 360 and PS3 era, so seeing it return in remastered form is a pleasant surprise. With full platform coverage and co‑op intact, this could be a fun revisit.

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