Tales of the Shire is finally here, and while the game isn't exactly a perfect life sim, there are some strong aspects that can hopefully help the game shine over time. As a cozy life sim based on the beloved The Lord of the Rings series, Tales of the Shire nails the atmosphere and lore of its source material, but as a life sim, there is still a lot of potential that still has yet to be met.
When it comes to the world of cozy life sims, titles like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing reign supreme. With such heavy-hitters in the genre, it's hard for Tales of the Shire to meet those high expectations, but there is one particular feature that the game does better than Animal Crossing, and that is NPC personalities. As the wait for the next Animal Crossing game continues, Nintendo may actually want to take note of how Tales of the Shire handles its NPCs.
Every Lord of the Rings Location Referenced in Tales of the Shire
Tales of the Shire drops players into the burgeoning village of Bywater, but it references plenty of other Lord of the Rings locations in its runtime.
After Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the Next Entry in the Series Needs to Take the Tales of the Shire Approach With NPCs
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched on March 20, 2020.
It has now been over five years since the last entry in Nintendo's beloved cozy sim series, and while New Horizons had the benefit of reaching an even larger audience thanks to a worldwide pandemic, there were some aspects of the game that felt like a step back for the franchise. One of the most notable was with its NPCs. In New Horizons, many of the characters players meet along the way felt static and robotic, lacking any distinct personality traits. This hasn't always been the case for the franchise, and this made the lack of NPC personalities in New Horizons feel even more jarring.
Now, granted, Tales of the Shire's NPC interactions definitely aren't perfect, but their personalities overall feel more fleshed out than New Horizons' side characters. When exploring Tales of the Shire's setting of Bywater, interacting with the various NPCs within the village opens up the game's quests, so players get to interact with a fun offering of side characters.
Tails of the Shire nails the atmosphere and lore of its source material.
Tales of the Shire's NPC interactions do have their downsides, too, though. For example, none of the characters in Tales of the Shire have voiced dialogue, which can make for some awkwardly silent moments. Animal Crossing doesn't feature traditional human speech, but the franchise's special in-game language at least fills dead air. If the next Animal Crossing entry were to combine its version of speech with Tales of the Shire's expressiveness, its NPCs could be stronger than ever.
One specific NPC that many The Lord of the Rings fans will recognize is Rosie Cotton, who runs the village's gardening club.
Future Plans for the Animal Crossing Franchise Are Still Being Kept in the Shadows
Now that the Switch 2 is here, and five years have passed since the last entry, many fans of the series are wondering when Animal Crossing will show itself again. It's still surprising that the Switch 2 was announced and launched without any mention of a fresh Animal Crossing game, but it's still incredibly early in the new console's life cycle.
There are 15 unique NPCs that players will interact with in Tales of the Shire.
Only time will tell when a new Animal Crossing game is ready, but until then, Tales of the Shire holds a special charm that a lot of cozy fans may enjoy. The Lord of the Rings- based game may not hit the high notes that many of the genre's heavy hitters do, but it's still a solid offering that can bring some comforting gameplay.
- Released
- July 29, 2025
- Developer(s)
- Wētā Workshop
- Publisher(s)
- Private Division
- Franchise
- The Lord of the Rings
- Number of Players
- 1
