Tales of the Shire Should Avoid One Lord of the Rings…

The world of Middle-earth is big, and its timeline is extensive, with its Ages spanning thousands of years each. But at certain points in the timeline, Middle-earth can feel like a much smaller place, with a range of fan-favorite characters all being located within close proximity to one another. Tales of the Shire might be set during one such period.

Set in the Third Age, likely sometime between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, Tales of the Shire is in a prime position to include a ton of cameos from popular Lord of the Rings characters. Gandalf is already confirmed to be in the cozy Hobbit life-sim, and there are plenty of other beloved LotR characters whose appearance in Tales of the Shire would make complete sense. But there's one well-known Lord of the Rings character that Tales of the Shire should steer clear of.

Tales of the Shire Shouldn't Be Afraid to Separate Its Decor From Its Theme

Tales of the Shire may be dedicated to staying within its setting, but the decorative part of the game could explore Middle-earth further.

Posts

By Megan Lorich

Tales of the Shire Should Avoid Gollum At All Costs

A Gollum Cameo In Tales of the Shire Wouldn't Make Much Sense

One reason why Gollum should not make an appearance in Tales of the Shire is that it wouldn't make much sense given the game's placement in the franchise timeline. If Tales of the Shire is set after the events of The Hobbit, then Bilbo Baggins has already stolen the One Ring from Gollum in the Misty Mountains.

Gollum pursues Bilbo for a while but loses track of him and stumbles into Mordor. Gollum works for Shelob for a few decades before he's eventually captured by Sauron's dark army and tortured repeatedly. This means that by the time of Tales of the Shire, Gollum is nowhere near Bywater.

Gollum Wouldn't Suit a Cozy Game

While the Stoor-turned-monster may have been turned into cute plushes and other merchandise, Gollum is very much a villainous and hideous creature, albeit a tragic one. As such, Gollum wouldn't really fit Tales of the Shire's cozy game tone or aesthetic. It's hard to imagine Gollum's broken, gray skin next to Tales of the Shire's vibrant green fields and brightly-lit Hobbit home interiors.

Gollum Doesn't Have The Best Reputation in Gaming

The Lord of the Rings hasn't had the best luck in the video game world, especially not in recent years. 2023's The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was an infamous disaster, with its stealth gameplay suffering from some severe technical issues, its story being lackluster, and its graphics being as off-putting as the eponymous creature.

Despite releasing almost two years ago, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is still fairly fresh in gamers' minds, with its infamously poor reception being hard to forget. It's probably in Tales of the Shire's best interest to distance itself from Gollum as much as it can, and that might mean leaving the character out of the game entirely.

That all said, if Tales of the Shire did want to reference Gollum, there are ways it could do so that don't mean giving him a fully-fledged cameo. For instance, Gandalf could simply mention the creature in passing, or Bilbo could allude to his encounter with him if he's in the game.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image