Play Lego - The Lord Of The Rings Online

I first played LEGO The Lord of the Rings on my Nintendo DS back in 2012. It was developed by Traveller's Tales, and it felt like a solid fit for the handheld, arriving when the DS library was full of these kinds of adventure games. It wasn't trying to be the most graphically intense thing out there; it was just a good, portable way to jump into Middle-earth.

You control the Fellowship, switching between characters like Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli to use their unique abilities. Your main goal is to follow the story from the Shire to Mount Doom, which involves a lot of screen by screen exploration, breaking apart LEGO objects for studs, and solving simple environmental puzzles. Combat is straightforward, mostly mashing the attack button with swords or using a bow for distant enemies, and you spend a lot of time in dungeon like areas such as the Mines of Moria. The pacing is generally relaxed, without being overly difficult, which makes it easy to pick up for short sessions. It feels like a cheerful, blocky tour through the epic scenes of the films.