Tales of the Shire Needs Its Own Bilbo, Even If It’s Not Exactly Bilbo

Tales of the Shire Needs Its Own Bilbo, Even If It’s Not Exactly Bilbo

Tales of the Shire is drawing closer, as the game is set to be released on March 25. Announced during the first half of 2024, Tales of the Shire is an intriguing title, as it brings the world of The Lord of the Rings into a cozy life simulation setting. Both fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s franchise and the life sim genre have been eagerly awaiting the game’s arrival, especially after it faced a delay.

While the developer Weta Workshop has provided a decent amount of detail about what to expect in Tales of the Shire, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding the various characters in the town of Bywater. With the game being part of The Lord of the Rings world, it feels almost inevitable for familiar faces from Tolkien’s world to appear through cameos. As a central figure in Tolkien’s stories, Bilbo Baggins will hopefully make an appearance, but even if he doesn’t, Bywater may feel incomplete without a Bilbo counterpart.

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Tales of the Shire Can’t Ignore One Undersung Aspect of the Lord of the Rings Franchise

Tales of the Shire should not neglect the humorous moments which hobbit characters provide in Tolkien’s original novels.

Tales of the Shire Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Bring Bilbo Baggins’ Restless Energy to the Party

After the events of The Hobbit, Bilbo is left feeling rather unhappy. To be thrust into adventure and turmoil just to come back to the sleepy Shire bores him, which leads him to become somewhat of a restless grump. It’s a charming contrast to the cheeriness and carefree nature of the normal Hobbits he lives among, and Tales of the Shire shouldn’t sidestep this type of personality.

Of course, Bilbo Baggins himself is the ideal cameo to bring this grumpy personality into the spotlight, but if that’s not possible for some reason, then the next best thing would be to introduce a character with a similar temperament. The unconfirmed cameos in Tales of the Shire could bring many different characters into the spotlight, but Bilbo and his personality would serve as a great way to balance the seemingly non-stop cheeriness of the game.

Tales of the Shire‘s release date has a deeper meaning. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo destroys the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom on March 25.

Tales of the Shire May Want to Avoid Being Too Happy-Go-Lucky

Compared to other Lord of the Rings stories, Tales of the Shire is a major change of pace. It opts for a slower, more peaceful approach to the franchise, instead of focusing on the battle between good and evil, Tales of the Shire aims to bring players a fresh perspective. While this could be the right way forward for Lord of the Rings games, making every Hobbit cheery could quickly grow generic over time. A cozy life sim set in the Shire is a perfect match, but the risk of making things overly-cheerful may also alienate some longtime fans of the franchise.

Tales of the Shire‘s first-time developer, Weta Workshop, has a long history with The Lord of the Rings, as it was the special effects studio that helped bring the live-action films to life.

Tales of the Shire Can Hopefully Help the LOTR Game Slump

The Lord of the Rings games have had a rough couple of years. Between the notoriously abysmal Gollum game and the mixed-reviewed Return to Moria, the franchise has had trouble finding its footing since the success of games like Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War. Tales of the Shire may not be a return to what makes Lord of the Rings so compelling for many, but getting an easy-living Hobbit experience could have its own powerful draw.

As March 25 inches closer, it will be interesting to see just what all Tales of the Shire has in store for both lovers of The Lord of the Rings and the cozy life sim genre. Even if the game is selective with its cameos, bringing the spirit of characters like Bilbo and others forward could make up for some potentially missing faces.

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