I am a big Hobbit and Lord of the Rings fan. That whole world that Tolkein created fills me with an immense amount of wonder and awe. While I don’t fancy coming face to face with an orc anytime soon, I would relish the opportunity to explore Middle-earth with my backpack full of lembas bread and a pint from the Prancing Pony in hand.
That is why when I was scrolling through X the other day, I stopped and did a brief double take. In a welcome change to some of the rubbish on social media these days, my algorithm had presented me with a beautiful, photorealistic re-imagining of Lord Of The Rings’ The Argonath scene, made in Unreal Engine 5.
For a tranquil minute and a half, I was transported from my desk to a small boat on the River Anduin, as the two monumental statues made famous in Fellowship of the Ring watched over me. After playing the video again, I quickly got in touch with the footage’s creator Micah Malinics to find out more about his project, and – importantly – if I would ever get the chance to play through this fan-made recreation myself.
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