Old School RuneScape vs The Lord of the Rings Online
Old School RuneScape is a mmorpg open-world game from Jagex Ltd (2021) while The Lord of the Rings Online is a mmorpg open-world game from Standing Stone Games (2012).
What each one is
Steam files Old School RuneScape under Mmorpg and Open-World. In contrast, it files The Lord of the Rings Online under Mmorpg and Open-World.
The best retro fantasy MMORPG on the planet. Old School is RuneScape but… older! This is the open world you know and love, but as it was in 2007. Saying that, it’s even better than that – Old School is shaped by you, its players, with regular new content, fixes and expansions voted for by the fans!
Join the world’s greatest fellowship of players in the award-winning online re-creation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendary Middle-earth.
At a glance
| Old School RuneScape | The Lord of the Rings Online | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.2/10 | 7.1/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (83%, 20,728) | Very Positive (81%, 23,171) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | No aggregate |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Install size | 2 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2021 | 2012 |
| Developer | Jagex Ltd | Standing Stone Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Old School RuneScape vs The Lord of the Rings Online, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Old School RuneScapeMmorpg open-world gameThe Lord of the Rings OnlineMmorpg open-world gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Old School RuneScapeMMORPG, Free to Play, NostalgiaThe Lord of the Rings OnlineFree to Play, MMORPG, Massively MultiplayerThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Old School RuneScape ✓Score 7.2 · 83% on SteamThe Lord of the Rings OnlineScore 7.1 · 81% on SteamThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Old School RuneScape20,728 reviews · 3 add-ons · 2 GBThe Lord of the Rings Online23,171 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Old School RuneScapeFreeThe Lord of the Rings OnlineFreeRead live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Old School RuneScapePlayableThe Lord of the Rings OnlinePlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Old School RuneScape takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueOld School RuneScape and The Lord of the Rings Online on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Old School RuneScape (GamingPickz Score 7.2)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
MMORPGFree to PlayAdventureFantasyStory RichMassively MultiplayerMultiplayerRPG
Where they differ
NostalgiaPvEOld SchoolGreat SoundtrackClassicCult Classic
Based On A NovelActionOnline Co-OpCo-opSurvivalSingleplayer
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Old School RuneScape is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. The Lord of the Rings Online is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Old School RuneScape | The Lord of the Rings Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | — |
| Minimum CPU | — | — |
| Minimum RAM | — | — |
| Install size | 2 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Old School RuneScape · The Lord of the Rings Online.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Old School RuneScape and 1 for The Lord of the Rings Online. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Old School RuneScape and The Lord of the Rings Online in scope?
Old School RuneScape has drawn 20,728 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 2 GB. The Lord of the Rings Online has drawn 23,171 Steam reviews.
Is Old School RuneScape or The Lord of the Rings Online better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Old School RuneScape rates higher (7.2 to 7.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Old School RuneScape or The Lord of the Rings Online?
Old School RuneScape is cheaper right now at Free, against Free. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.