Tales Of The Shire Picked The Perfect LOTR Location (& It’s Not Hobbiton)

Summary Tales of the Shire opts for Bywater over Hobbiton, a fresh and smart choice for originality.

The Bywater setting offers more player involvement in village prosperity, unlike Hobbiton's fixed image.

Elements like the Green Dragon Inn and familiar families in Bywater will still appeal to LOTR fans.

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game has already made one very smart choice in its setting, and part of what makes it so intriguing is that it isn't taking the most obvious approach. As a cozy life simulation game set in the more relaxing corner of Middle-earth, Tales of the Shire immediately sets itself apart from other Lord of the Rings games that focus more on high fantasy action. Even within that unique realm, however, the game is striking out in its own direction rather than relying on what would be most intimately familiar to fans of the films and books.

The grand journeys of Tolkien's books are grounded by their opening segments, which present the simple lives of Bilbo and Frodo in Hobbiton. This particular village in the Shire isn't necessarily the biggest in the region – Tolkien never goes into population specifics – but it's the most central to both the story of The Lord of the Rings and the geography of the area. Other areas of the Shire have appeared in more minor roles in adaptations, but Hobbiton has certainly been more thoroughly covered than the rest of the region.

Related Tales Of The Shire: A LOTR Game - Release Window, Platforms, & Gameplay Details The new LOTR game from Wētā Workshop and Private Division, Tales of the Shire, has finally been announced with a release window and gameplay details.

Tales Of The Shire Is In Bywater, Not Hobbiton

The Most Familiar Part Of The Shire Isn't The Setting

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Hobbiton would have been the easy answer to a setting for Tales of the Shire, but it's sidestepping the Baggins' hometown for the nearby village of Bywater, and it's a good decision to make. Hobbiton's narrative importance is usually why it's a standard in Lord of the Rings media, but it's exactly why it wouldn't be the right choice for the game. Setting things in a different village both makes for a fresher approach and opens up more freedom in how the area can be depicted, as Bywater is less beholden to exhaustive canon than Hobbiton.

It doesn't seem like the Bywater setting is an idle whim, either, as evidenced by official game details for Tales of the Shire that can be found on the website of publisher Private Division:

Create your own Hobbit as you set forth in Bywater. Though not yet established as an official village in Hobbiton, play a big part in helping the quaint town flourish.

Although the full scope of gameplay in Tales of the Shire isn't yet clear, this description points to a sense of player involvement in the prosperity of Bywater. This isn't likely to come in the form of complete town arrangement like in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but the ability of the village to reflect a sense of progress is important. Unlike Hobbiton, Bywater doesn't have to fit an image that's already entrenched in public perception, and this can open up more possibilities for both the developers and players to build and experience something unique.

Bywater's most significant role is in the Battle of Bywater at the end of The Lord of the Rings novel, but considering the tragic elements associated with this effort to reclaim the Shire from Saruman's vicious march of progress, it's safe to say that the cozy game will have nothing to do with it.

Bywater Has Enough For Lord Of The Rings Fans

There Are Still Familiar Elements To Draw From

For those craving the comfort associated with Bilbo's home of Bag End and its immediate environs, there's some reassurance in knowing that Bywater still isn't far from home. The village is in comfortable walking distance of Hobbiton, making Bywater's Green Dragon Inn a popular spot for Hobbits from both settlements. Familiar families are apparently going to show up in-game, which could mean anything from Bywater's Cotton family to members of the Baggins lineage themselves showing up for visits.

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It's nice to see the new era of Lord of the Rings games branching out more in their concepts, even if the unusual approach of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum didn't manage to stick the landing. Tales of the Shire seems more primed for success in the cozy life simulation genre, however, and the setting of Bywater is the perfect choice to balance familiarity and originality. Hobbiton might be what most Lord of the Rings fans think of when thinking of the Shire, but it's a good thing that Tales of the Shire is striking off on its own.

Source: Private Division