Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Tales of the Shire is a The Lord of the Rings-themed take on Stardew Valley

By
A Hobbit gardens in Tales of the Shire.
Private Division

Private Division revealed a new game set in the Middle-earth universe called Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game. The title, developed by Wētā Workshop Game Studio, is a cozy life simulator set within the world of the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

In 2022, No Rest for the Wicked publisher Private Division first teased that it was working on a game based on The Lord of the Rings with Wētā Workshop, the visual effects studio whose initial claim to fame was working on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Wētā Workshop has technically had a game studio since 2014, but Tales of the Shire will be its most significant release yet.

Recommended Videos

Tales of the Shire is meant to be a relaxing life sim where players go about their day in a town of Hobbits called Bywater. It looks like it will draw inspiration from games like Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Fae Farm, and Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story. It’s a cozy game where players can customize their home, explore, farm, fish, and cook every day in between conversations with the Hobbits that inhabit Bywater. The ultimate goal is to throw an amazing Bywater Festival for the Shire where characters like Gandalf can potentially show up.

Related: 
Best new movies to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Max (HBO), and more

It definitely seems like it will be a breath of fresh air for The Lord of the Rings games following Monlith’s gory Middle-Earth action titles and 2023’s disastrous The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game will be released for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch sometime during “the second half of 2024.”

Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese
A former Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese now reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

I played the first two hours of Tales of the Shire, and I’m not won over yet
A hobbit in Tales of the Shire.

The farming and life sim genre is extraordinarily crowded as many developers try to chase the success of Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Some are more successful than others. For example, August’s Fields of Mistria impressed in early access by sticking to the genre’s core conceit and creating a town full of villagers that you want to get to know better. Now, Weta Workshop is attempting to capitalize on this trend with a video game based on The Lord of the Rings.

In Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game, players control a Hobbit who Gandalf brings to the Hobbiton town of Bywater. From there, it’s up to players to familiarize themselves with and cook for the townsfolks, farm and forage for food, and raise the standing of the village. After playing its opening two hours, I'm finding some creative ideas in Tales of the Shire, but a lot of work will need to be done if it's going to rise to the top of a crowded genre.
A mixed stew
If you’ve played a life sim game before, the basics of Tales of the Shire won’t be that shocking. I found its opening hours to be more similar to a game like Fae Farm rather than Stardew Valley or Fields of Mistria. Most of the time is spent on meeting the villagers of Bywater rather than getting into the farming routine. While players have control over customizing how they farm, Tales of the Shire seems more interested in having players explore Bywater and cook for its residents.

Read more
Celebrate Rings of Power’s return with free Lord of the Rings games via Prime Gaming
Your character riding a dragon that's shooting fire breath at a bunch of orcs.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power just came back for its second season, and Amazon Prime Gaming is showing up to appropriately offer a number of free The Lord of the Rings games for Prime users.

The highlights here are the critically acclaimed Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year edition and Lego: The Lord of the Rings, which are both free to claim for GOG with a Prime subscription. Both are available now. If you use Luna, you can also grab Middle-earth: Shadow of War. On September 19, you can grab Lego: The Hobbit as well.

Read more
The best games like Stardew Valley
A player fishes in their local pond.

Working the farm, forming relationships with the townsfolk, and just enjoying the vibe are what make Stardew Valley such a great game to settle into once you know the basic tips and tricks or a few handy cheats to take the edge off. Easygoing games like this have become incredibly popular -- especially for those who don't typically play games -- but it can be hard to find more that offer that same type of experience if you don't know where to look. The cozy game genre has become a bit bloated as of late with games not quite as polished or fully featured as you would hope. We've worked the land and harvested only the ripest games like Stardew Valley to satisfy your desire for more farming-sim goodness.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Read more