Summary
- Tales of the Shire offers a fresh take on LotR gameplay, focusing on the cozy life of Hobbits in Bywater.
- Post-launch DLC could expand the game by introducing new villages, NPCs, activities, and decorations.
- Exploring villages like Hobbiton and Michel Delving in DLC packs could enhance the game's creative value.
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has proven over time to be a gold mine for adaptations, and that includes video games. Although The Lord of the Rings video games have become notorious as of late for being a bit touch and go, the franchise still sees success, like the Lord of the Rings: Shadow of Mordor series and The Lord of the Rings Online. Now, Private Division and Weta Workshop's Tales of the Shire is joining the growing library of LotR video games with an uncommon approach to gameplay involving the cozy life of Hobbits in the growing village of the Shire's Bywater.
It has yet to be confirmed how much content will be stuffed into Tales of the Shire, and whether it will receive even more content drops in post-launch DLC. However, assuming it does receive hefty DLC packs, Tales of the Shire should double down on its Lord of the Rings premise with one type of post-launch addition.
Tales of the Shire's Bird Guides Have Serious Ghost of Tsushima Vibes
Tales of the Shire includes birds as quest guides, a need feature that will undoubtedly sound familiar to fans of Ghost of Tsushima.
Tales of the Shire DLC Should Travel Beyond Bywater
Tales of the Shire Should Add More Villages From the Shire in Future DLC
Tales of the Shire takes place in the village of Bywater, supposedly from its beginnings. According to the official description of the game, players will work toward Bywater reaching "village status," and then it's unclear where the game will go beyond that. However, if Tales of the Shire receives post-launch DLC, it should essentially travel outside the borders of Bywater by allowing players to visit other villages in the Shire, especially those in Bywater's Westfarthing region.
Within the Westfarthing of the Shire is the village of Hobbiton, where Bag End, the home of Bilbo Baggins, is located. This would be a great addition to Tales of the Shire, as it would allow fans to explore one of the most famous villages of the Shire. Tales of the Shire is likely set long before Bilbo is born, but it would still be a unique bit of fan service for Hobbiton to be featured in a DLC pack. Perhaps players would also be given the opportunity to visit Michel Delving in the Westfarthing as well, which is the chief town of the Shire. Of course, these would all likely be extensive DLC packs, depending on how far the developer decided to go with these additions.
Tales of the Shire's DLC Villages Could Introduce New NPCs, Activities, and Themed Decorations
Within Tales of the Shire's new DLC villages, perhaps players could meet and build relationships with new NPCs. These new NPCs would then provide players with new quests and activities, possibly even stretching the game's gameplay loop beyond the cooking focus it currently seems to have. These new villages could also offer themed decorations for players to add to their Hobbit holes back in Bywater. Additionally, players might like to move to these new villages once they're introduced in Tales of the Shire DLC, or at least have the opportunity to create a home in every location. That would provide the chance for players to have different homes, each styled differently, thereby contributing to the game's creative value.
There are plenty of routes Tales of the Shire could go in adding DLC after launch, but adding new Shire villages feels like the most logical form of progression. There is so much potential in the vast world of Middle-earth that keeping everything contained in Bywater the entire time might diminish Tales of the Shire's return — especially considering the game is called Tales of the Shire and not "Tales of Bywater." As such, Tales of the Shire at least opening up the different villages and regions of the Shire through post-launch DLC packs would undoubtedly lengthen the game's lifespan and keep players coming back.
- Released
- July 29, 2025
- Developer(s)
- Wētā Workshop
- Publisher(s)
- Private Division
- Franchise
- The Lord of the Rings
- Number of Players
- 1
