Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

recent news dropped that Weta Workshop is creating a cozy hobbit video game - see a story here: https://www.ign.com/articles/tales-of-t ... our-dreams

as someone who doesn't do combat video games and enjoys cozy games, I am very interested it what this is going to be like!

Here's to hoping Tales of the Shire turns out to be something akin to "Dredge". A cozy, non combat game with some of the best horror aesthetics I've ever seen.

Longer "trailer" is out - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pu71Wyk2HA

I personally don't love the art style but will wait to see what the gameplay is like when it comes out before making any decisions.

Well that is rather interesting news. I am getting a sort of The Sims x Animal Crossing sort of vibe from what I can see in the trailers. I'm not completely sure what to make of it but the fact that they are embarking on something new is rather nice to see.

I do however feel that it is something of a relaunch tester in a way. The generation that were present for the LotR films and games that came originally have obviously been spoilt over the years with the movies and media that we had available. This could almost be seen as a way to pull in a younger audience to build up a younger fan base that will grow with the RoP series (which I will admit I haven't started watching yet) and god forbid, a potential remake of the movies which would be a travesty in its own right.

I do believe that finding ways to keep the story alive is important but they just need to be careful not to water it down too much so that it doesn't lose the magic that kept us all hooked in the first place.

Some demo play videos have come out. It definitely looks cute and cosy with a lot of the focus on food gathering/cooking and sharing with others to build relationships. So - very hobbity! Exploring Bywater looks nice. I'm not really into crafting/farming/cooking sims (and have too much a backlog/other games I'm far more interested in) but for those who are into this vibe, I hope they enjoy!

has anyone given this a go? I haven't - I love the idea of wandering around/living in the Shire but I really hate farming games so it's not for me, but curious if others have enjoyed.

Apparently it plays better on PC than on Switch. I’ll be honest, I’d be more likely to play it if it were on mobile!