If you’ve ever watched The Lord of the Rings or read one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s chapters about The Shire and thought, “wow, I’d love to live like that,” then you’re in luck.
No, you didn’t just win an all-expenses paid trip to New Zealand. But a new LOTR game coming out looks to combine the Hobbit hometown with elements of games like Animal Crossing and Disney Dreamlight Valley to create an interesting spin on the cozy life-sim genre.
Tales of the Shire, from Private Division and developer Weta Workshop, puts you in the hairy shoeless feet of a Hobbit living in the Shire, where you can make friends, cook up massive Hobbit feasts, decorate your home in a hillside hole, and explore the area surrounding the Shire.
Basically, it looks to combine the features of other games in the genre with a Middle-earth paint job, and that sounds like a dream for a very specific sect of the fandom where interests cross over.
The trailer was uploaded on YouTube ahead of schedule and taken down but was caught by some accounts and re-uploaded. The official look is expected to be uploaded again shortly, but it can still be viewed on Twitter/X.
Since it’s a cozy game, there likely won’t be any appearances by Ringwraiths or a Nazgul, let alone orcs or the Uruk-hai, but they might at least get a mention. And since it takes place in the Shire, maybe a long-lost Baggins relative will make an appearance as a villager.
The end of the trailer confirms the game and its cute aesthetic and soft art style will be coming in 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. It can be wishlisted now.
