Summary
Weta Workshop and Private Division’s cozy life simTales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Gamealready has plenty going for it, considering itsLord of the Ringssetting and similarities to games likeAnimal CrossingandStardew Valley. In fact,Tales of the Shirelooks so much likeAnimal Crossingthat some players have jokingly referred to it as “Shire Crossing.” That may not be a bad thing, as Nintendo’sAnimal Crossingseries has proven to be a huge hit among cozy fans, especially after the release ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsin 2020.
One wayTales of the Shire’sLord of the Ringsgame may be able to set itself apart in the increasingly popular cozy genre is in its “club missions.” AsTales of the Shirehas not only yet to be released but has also not been explained in thorough detail, it’s unclear what these club missions could be. However, based solely on speculation, they could be more than enough to giveTales of the Shirean additional leg up on its competitors, as they have the potential to be unlike anything other cozy games offer.
What Tales of the Shire’s Club Missions Could Entail
Tales of the Shire’s Club Missions Will Likely Be a Mode of Story Progress
Although not much has been revealed about the full extent ofTales of the Shire’s club missions, what has been revealed seems to suggest they will be directly tied to the game’s main form of progress. According to the game’s description, players will “join club missions to complete daily activities and help gain official village status in Bywater.” This seems to imply that club missions will be one of the key ways players develop the village ofBywater inTales of the Shire. The main question, though, revolves around what all these club missions could entail.
Club missions may encourage players to participate in all ofTales of the Shire’s features. Based on what has been revealed so far, this includes activities such as home decoration, cooking, foraging, gardening, and exploration. Perhaps club missions will be categorized according to activities. For example, a home decor club mission might see players completing tasks associated with home decoration, whereas a gardening club mission might see players planting seeds and growing plants.
Tales of the Shire’s Club Missions Could Function Similarly to Factions
It’s also possible thatTales of the Shire’s club missions would function similarly to faction systems found in other games, and may even directly influence Bywater’s visual outcome.
Speculating further, if a player chooses to focus on exploration club missions and build up their reputation with that “faction,” maybe this would help expand the size of Bywater beyond its initial borders. Moreover, if players were to prioritize home decoration club missions, maybe this would result inBywater’s Hobbit holesbecoming more decadent over time, or even paving the way for a massive increase in population.
This is all purely speculation at this point, as almost nothing has been revealed aboutTales of the Shire’s club missions at this point. That being said, it would be interesting to see club missions either directly tied tostory progress inTales of the Shireor functioning similarly to factions and influencing the look, size, and feel of Bywater. At the very least,Tales of the Shire’s club missions will likely be a significant part of its gameplay in one way or another.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
