The Lord of the Rings franchise hasn't had the best run recently. 2023's Gollum was infamously panned by both critics and fans, Return to Moria was received a bit better but was far from a hit, and the recent Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim anime movie failed to live up to the lofty expectations left by its live-action predecessors. Now, all eyes are on Tales of the Shire to deliver the win the Lord of the Rings franchise needs right now.
A cozy Hobbit life-sim is a great use of the Lord of the Rings IP, but Tales of the Shire needs a lot more than just a great premise to sell copies and be the critical hit the franchise needs. Tales of the Shire has released a handful of gameplay trailers over the last year or so, most of which have focused on specific activities like gardening, cooking, and customizing the player's Hobbit home. But very little has been revealed about what players will be doing outside of those activities, and that's ultimately what will make or break Tales of the Shire.
Tales of the Shire Has A Big Chance to Stand Out on One Classic Cozy Sim Feature
Tales of the Shire has The Lord of the Rings' extensive appendices and rich lore to draw upon to make its worldbuilding and mechanics stand out.
Tales of the Shire's Open-World Exploration Will Ultimately Make or Break It
Tales of the Shire's Exploration Needs to Feel Worthwhile
Most cozy life-sims' gameplay loop is split into two equally important halves. The first half is the game's exploration phase, where players need to venture out to gather resources, harvest crops, complete daily tasks, and socialize with nearby villagers. The second half of the gameplay loop sees players use those gathered resources to upgrade and customize their home or the surrounding area.
Based on its gameplay trailers, Tales of the Shire is going to deliver a similar gameplay loop, and it needs to make sure its exploration phase feels suitably rewarding. Tales of the Shire needs to ensure players are gathering resources that are genuinely useful for the loop's second phase, and that those resources refresh at a consistent and clear rate, thus encouraging players to return day after day.
Tales of the Shire's World Needs Plenty of Variety
But the repeated rhythm of that two-part gameplay loop can get stale pretty quickly if players are just completing the same activities over and over again. Only a handful of open-world activities have been confirmed for Tales of the Shire so far, those being gardening, fishing, foraging, and heading to social spaces like a nearby market.
Currently, Tales of the Shire's open-world activities might not offer enough variety to keep fans engaged for very long, especially as countless other life-sims already offer very similar experiences. Tales of the Shire needs to have some more distinct open-world activities that really embrace the game's Middle-earth setting. For instance, Tales of the Shire's Steam page mentions "discovering secret glades and lost treasures of the Shire," which could hint at some kind of fantasy scavenger hunt that players could chip away at every day.
Tales of the Shire's Steam page also mentions "ever-changing weather that affects daily routines and seasonal surprises based on time of year." Hopefully these evolving weather and seasonal effects will have a significant impact on gameplay, presenting the player with unique challenges and opportunities depending on the season. For example, it might be fun if the player needed to find a different way to gather fish during the colder months when the lake is frozen. Little tweaks like this could help Tales of the Shire's activities to not lose their luster over time.
- Released
- July 29, 2025
- Developer(s)
- Wētā Workshop
- Publisher(s)
- Private Division
- Franchise
- The Lord of the Rings
- Number of Players
- 1
