Silent Hill 2 Remake director Mateusz Lenart initially proposed a Lord of the Rings horror game, leaving me with a striking sense of longing for a world that lacks it.
Initially reported by The Gamer, Lenart shared his aspiration in a recent episode of the Bonfire Conversations podcast (timestamped here), declaring that his ideal project is a medieval horror RPG. He further communicated his enthusiasm for storytelling and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, which prompted the host to suggest that a Lord of the Rings horror game would be “awesome.”
Lenart concurred, stating, “don’t think I didn’t propose my concepts for one.”
I believe now is as great a time as any to voice my agreement with this notion. The Lord of the Rings franchise is filled with opportunities for horror. Remember the sequence in Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo and the hobbits are concealing themselves from the Nazgûl? It’s genuinely terrifying! And that’s just one example. The sheer shock when Bilbo loses control after Frodo shows him the ring? The horrifying creation of the orcs? Lord of the Rings is subtly a horror intellectual property already!
Nevertheless, it’s unfortunate that Lenart did not provide any hints that he’s actively developing a Lord of the Rings horror game, although he certainly made it clear that he’d be interested if Bloober Team ever allocated him the funding. That said, I would be quite surprised if Embracer Group granted rights once more after that particular 2023 Lord of the Rings game that wasn’t, um, particularly well-received.