The Lord of the Ringsis quite a diverse franchise, at least in terms of the themes and genres it dabbles in. Debuting with 1937’sThe Hobbit,The Lord of the Ringsfranchise began life as a piece of children’s literature that contained some darker moments, but primarily remained a lighthearted adventure.The Lord of the Ringstrilogy, on the other hand, is a dense epic that tackles themes of religion, mortality, power, and corruption.
Over the last few years,The Lord of the Rings' video game output has started to show almost as much diversity as the original source material. Monolith’sMiddle-earth: Shadowgames were mature action-adventures,Return to Moriawas a survival crafting game, the much-malignedGollumwas a stealth game, and the upcomingTales of the Shireis a cozy life-sim. But there are still plenty of diverse themes and genres inLord of the Ringsthat are just waiting to be explored in a video game format, and a horror game could be the perfect accompaniment toTales of the Shire.
A Lord of the Rings Horror Game Could Balance Tales of the Shire’s Coziness
Tales of the Shire Is a Cozy Game Through and Through
Every piece of pre-release marketing forTales of the Shirehas gone out of its way to show just how cozy the final product will be. As its name implies,Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Gameis honing in on the coziness present within the everyday life of a Hobbit residing in the Shire.
This coziness is at the forefront of every aspect ofTales of the Shire. The game’s color palette uses lush greens, earthern browns, and vibrant pinks, yellows, and red to emphasize the bright, colorful, and calming nature ofa Hobbit’s life, which goes hand in hand with the game’s simplistic, almost watercolor-like art style.
Tales of the Shire’s cozinessis also represented by the game’s activities. Taking inspiration from other cozy life-sims on the market,Tales of the Shirewill have players tending to their garden, harvesting crops, catching fish, preparing meals, and serving them up to fellow Hobbit neighbors in an attempt to increase their social standing in the village of Bywater. Players will also be able to decorate their home at their own leisure.
Tales of the Shireshows the bright side of Middle-earth, the peaceful way of life that Frodo and the rest ofthe Fellowship of the Ringfight so desperately to protect.
A Horror Lord of the Rings Game Could Show The Other Side of the Coin
ButThe Lord of the Rings' world isn’t all green fields and flowing streams. A good portion ofThe Lord of the Rings' novelsand movies are dedicated to showing just how dark and evil Sauron’s forces are, and threatening that the darkness will spread across Middle-earth if the Fellowship fails. During these darker moments,The Lord of the Ringsleans into the realm of fantasy horror, and that’s a genre worth exploring in video games.
While there’s no shortage of good ideas for aLord of the Ringshorror game, one easy idea would be to simply do a good version of what2023’sGollumwas supposed to be, a stealth game in which the player controls a character attempting to flee from orc captivity. But this time it would be from a first-person perspective, forcing players to see the horrifying visage of hulking Uruks as they desperately hunt the player in darkened caves and rusty fortresses.
