The Lord of the Rings has one of the biggest (and coolest) casts, but a game can only include so many characters. Tolkien packed not only LotR but also The Hobbit and Silmarillion full of friendly (and orcish) faces. While Return to Moria offered us a look at life under the mountain, Tales of the Shire is going a different direction. What could be better than a cozy game set in the Shire? A cozy game set in the Shire with some iconic characters. That’s exactly one of the devs teased during The Nerd Stash’s hands-on time with the game. Here’s what we know so far.
Leave the Crystal Descent to the Dwarves. Hobbits prefer a quieter lifestyle, consumed with their gardening, fishing, town gossip, and a good bite (or six). Despite their general adversion to adventure, the Hobbits have gotten entangled with some of Middle-Earth’s most famous faces. A dev working on Tales of the Shire confirmed to us that we’ll see some iconic and “familiar faces” in the game, although they’re remaining tight-lipped about who those surprise guests might be. Given the setting and lore, however, we can speculate about some likely candidates.
The most fitting characters are Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf. Frodo and his cousin already live in the Shire, of course, and Gandalf is an infrequent (but iconic) visitor. That said, fans of the books know the list of possible appearences is long. In the Shire alone we could see Brandybucks, Tooks, and Burrows, as well as other Baggins. Bilbo’s first adventure began with a surprise visit from a band of Dwarves, so even that’s a reasonable possibility. It’s fun to imagine the pure chaos energy of a Dwarven dinner party in the Shire, but that’s just wishful thinking until we get actual names. Forget canon. I just want dinner with Legolas.
