The art direction is not bad, but on a technical level this is extremely dated. The texturing is poor, the models look off (wtf is going on with the noses), the shadows & lighting seem non existent, the UI looks like it was designed by a 4yr old... And for the most part it seemed quite boring honestly. A Farmlife-sim set in the Shire should be an easy win ffs!
@@jordanfitzgerald7886 The basterization-of Tolkien’s masterpiece can never be fun. Show me Africa on Middle Earth’s map. Diversity-for the sake of-diversity is redundant.
Have you guys played Palia? This is very much like Palia. It isn't designed to look like it is for PS5 PRO or require an RTX 4080 SUPER to run. It is low on resource demand so everyone can play it. It'll most likely be available for Nintendo Switch as well.
This looks like a Nintendo game for the Gamecube. Same template with no voice acting and annoying sounds, colorful and overly friendly to the point of being cartoony, button pressing dialogue, jump switch screens. Graphics match too.
Two things: 1) I wish they would have shown more of the middle of the game instead of the slow beginning. What can you do besides walk around and talk? Is this more of an animal crossing sort of game or more of a walking sim sort of game? 2) To the people complaining about how this game looks or how there is very little audio/no voice acting, this game looks similar to that of Breath of the Wild (which had minimal voice acting) and Animal Crosssing (which had no voice acting). You don't need to see every pore on every character in a game for it to be fun or interesting and you certainly don't need voice actors. I'll wait for reviews and hopefully more gameplay before making any judgments.
Its amazing how people can look at all the negative replies and down votes and say, "this is all fake!". Seriously? How thick headed can you be? All you have to do to make a good game is listen to the players. Although, this game is a lost cause...
What the hell is wrong with Gandalf's hand? What is wrong with.... everything? The art style, the character designs, the textures. Everything melts together, it's actually hard to look at. Why are there no shadows? This game looks like Wii shovelware.
I'm gobsmacked that anyone making this game actually thinks making it look and feel like a game that wouldn't look out of place 30 years ago believe today's gamers would want to waste money on this plus LOTR is iconic a loved this is insulting to that seriously who aside two year old is this aimed at.
Hey, you should ask around Ubisoft, apparently AC won't need it's shadows, maybe you can use those since you forgot to enable high graphics preset you used for previous trailer.
Am I the only one who seems to like this? I'm not really much of a gamer so I don't care too much about graphics, and this also doesn't seem like the type of game where graphics matter that much. This is meant as an escapism game for people who just want to wind down and relax
@@niklbauglir Well, if you watch the interviews from WETA Workshop who are developing the game, they clearly love and respect the world Tolkien created.
Letting you name your own character is dangerous. They'd have to spend months compiling a huge blacklist to make it 'safe', removing any fun you might have had otherwise... damn, there you go, perfect example - blacklist - we can't say that anymore.
Quite disappointing, looks and runs like a Nintendo game. Especially with all the text bubbles and no voice acting. With some lighting and shadow it would have looked a zillion times better too.
Picture this.... The Year is 2022, and the game "Choo Choo Charles" was released on stream by an Indi game developer called "2 Star Games" and it did Wonderfull Two years later, and a Gaming Company called "Wētā Workshop" made this?
It's a stylised cosy game by a small developer. The graphics were hardly going to be jaw dropping. Also the graphics are a similar vein to other "cosy" games (Stardew, Dreamlight Valley, Minecraft, animal crossing, etc,etc)
The art direction is not bad, but on a technical level this is extremely dated. The texturing is poor, the models look off (wtf is going on with the noses), the shadows & lighting seem non existent, the UI looks like it was designed by a 4yr old... And for the most part it seemed quite boring honestly.
A Farmlife-sim set in the Shire should be an easy win ffs!
They're not here to create good games...only push agendas.
Finally a real criticism that isn't just "the creators hate LOTR"
@@dove4881 "The creators hate LOTR" is a legitimate criticism when they are actively destroying his vision.
@@wiliestrogue2924 it's just a silly shitty game not a huge deal
@@dove4881 It's a big deal to the MILLIONS of Tolkien fans around the world. Accept that this game will be DOA.
Looks like Sauron stole money for development of this game.
🤣
The game has cozy ness of Palia but graphics look awful and game play looks boring.
Looks like one of those fake ad games
funny its all over my phone twitter when you scroll by ads. its always this game.
@@simonemancuso3576 it looks like Fable
All light Link the wind waker
How many legend of Zelda the wind waker and that other game called fable
Characters didn’t have shadows, all mechanics are graphics quality look cheap and awful 😂
My GTX 560 will be sweating
My RTX 3080 too 😂
"Cast it into the fire. Destroy it." - Elrond
"No." - Isildur
@@dingrock5302Isildur must be Anita Sarkeesian’s ancestor.
@@IsekaiApostle HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Why? it looks fun. its just a cozy shire game. You people really need lives.
@@jordanfitzgerald7886 The basterization-of Tolkien’s masterpiece can never be fun. Show me Africa on Middle Earth’s map. Diversity-for the sake of-diversity is redundant.
I'm sure a dozen people will like this game......
It would probably make its money back on only 12 purchases, too.
Only idiots would love this game 😂
you severely underestimate how much women like this type of game, its basically animal crossing but in lotr
@@ChrisKHTsang imagine games existing that are not aimed at male chud gamer incels
Why does Gandalf look like a bearded woman?
What, because he has painted lashes? Are you ok?
@@laerwen how are you replying to every thread LOL
@@Meaganttv Saw a comment about it and had to look for myself. Has to be a dev/someone associated with company or IGN employee.
@@laerwenmen let alone old people don’t paint out their lash let alone use makeup unless their extremely self conscious🤡
He's probably trans now
Ah, finally after all these years, a new Dreamcast game.
This looks like a student project in Unity.
True! 😅
Unity would have turned out a better looking game from just using free assets.
Have you guys played Palia? This is very much like Palia. It isn't designed to look like it is for PS5 PRO or require an RTX 4080 SUPER to run.
It is low on resource demand so everyone can play it. It'll most likely be available for Nintendo Switch as well.
The people who made this hate the source material and want to destroy it.
Facts
when people show you who they are, believe them
What? How?
It’s WETA. So no.
the people who made this make it for a female audience and for younger audiences too. Its clearly animal crossing set in lotr
People always saying “they don’t make games like they used to.” Well here you go, right back to 2010…
@@mattspeer01 games were way better in 2010 that’s seriously offensive to gaming back then
skyrim was made in 2011 super meat boy was made in 2010 seriously they weren't that bad in the past some crash bandicoot gams were made before then
@@Aymen19827 weren’t that bad? Bruh games were so much better back then, so many bangers.
@@Boocat94 test
These games ain't got nothing on any of the older ones, shix even ps1 games like metal gear solid and ff7 are like completely diffrent level
Brings a whole new meaning to "Minimum Viable Product"...
In the book (SPOILERS from 1955) Saruman "improves" the Shire, that must be in the DLC pack.
They forgot to activate shadows or what? It looks really bad
Shadows are for poppies
It should be better if shadows were turn on...
Poor graphics and mechanics in 2024😂
it's a nintendo switch game
Looks like shadows were patented by Nintendo as well.😂
someone wants to give gollum a run for its money, eh?
Well the best part about this is the round of layoffs coming once it's released
I don’t mind the style or gameplay, but this game would need voice-acting for me to consider playing it.
Despite the dumb comment section, the game looks promising! A relaxing game of lotr for ps5 👌🏻
Waiting anxiously for the release 🎉
Finally a new ps2 game, amazing!!!
The Hobbit on PS2 was actually fully voiced, had several fun game mechanics, and a much more distinct art style.
I'm dead xD
This looks like a Nintendo game for the Gamecube. Same template with no voice acting and annoying sounds, colorful and overly friendly to the point of being cartoony, button pressing dialogue, jump switch screens. Graphics match too.
Don't insult the GameCube
This looks like a mid DreamCast game
A game only for Twitter/Gaming Journalists
🤣
“Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or made".
Tolkien didn't even say this, it would be awesome if people would stop faking their reverence for the source material they don't even know.
@@marcuswright8418 man!! That was good!! 👍🏼
@@worldsbestdad1 I know it's not a quote, but it fits him quite well regardless.
Not even grunts... pure silence in the dialogue... Wow.
There's actually sound in the video but it got muted because of the whip-cracking sound effects when Farmer Cotton is on the screen
"Full of diversity and NO testosterone. 10/10" - IGN
you know it will be!
No shadow in everything and all characters
yeah, because games are about diversity right? .....never about fun.......who cares about entertainment.
The game looks awesome! For a PS2 game that is. If you ignore that these are not Lord of the rings hobbits.
Imagine being someone named larwen and spending your sunday white-knighting this creative bankruptcy 😂😂😂
Two things: 1) I wish they would have shown more of the middle of the game instead of the slow beginning. What can you do besides walk around and talk? Is this more of an animal crossing sort of game or more of a walking sim sort of game? 2) To the people complaining about how this game looks or how there is very little audio/no voice acting, this game looks similar to that of Breath of the Wild (which had minimal voice acting) and Animal Crosssing (which had no voice acting). You don't need to see every pore on every character in a game for it to be fun or interesting and you certainly don't need voice actors.
I'll wait for reviews and hopefully more gameplay before making any judgments.
@@xxFireFox86xx Agreed
They going to patch in voice acting or just be content with the eventual 11 total copies sold?
Why do they keep missing the mark with this IP so badly
Have you played return to Moria?? It's dwarf focused but it's a really fun game!
Because they hire devs on gender rather than merit
Ultimately the fault of the Tolkien estate letting their IP get fractured and failing to demand quality standards.
Wii’s got some great games.
Saruman was right to wreck the Shire. *Happy Hobbit Day!*
Did you forget to turn shadows on? This looks bad. 👎
16 mins of gameplay that shows almost nothing.
It says the "first 16 minutes of gameplay". First. Reading comprehension.
@@laerwen yup
"shows nothing"
First. Reading Comprehension.
see how easy that is?
So why is Farmer Cotton Black 🤣🤣🤣
He's a harfoot now :'))))
Forced diversity as usual
Nothing about this game looks fun.
you know your game is good when your 16 minute showcase makes me fall asleep.
This looks like it was made ten years ago really for a game releasing in 2025
So many people are gonna be out of work after this releases 😢
Been watching for 5 minutes and haven’t seen gameplay yet
@@ErikLe1 go take your Adderall and come back
Why are all of the LotR games so bad lately? It's like they want to sink the IP.
It's almost 2025.. and we still have games with no spoken dialogue.
Yeah there is not even a noise when they talk. There used to be in old RPG games the text would at least have some beeps or mumbling noises.
How can a dev watch this and say "Um, yeah, it looks fine enough". DOA.
Because some nerd who will never play it said so on the internet. Ok.
@@laerwen kind of a monkey’s law statement. You’re right, because one is going to play this.
@laerwen it was made for Fantasy nerds
🤔 Character customization and cut scenes are not gameplay. It's just a way to ensure the video hits that RUclips money mark.
Tales of the Shite is here bois
So witty, did you think of that one all by yourself?
@@laerwen bro why are you commenting on every negative comment lol
@@general_GAS probably one of the devs 😅
@@baroku94 you know what, you may be onto something
It looks like poops back on the menu Bois!!!
hope this had like a 200 dollars budget and was a very side project of the studio
Nope, made by a group of women, and you already know exactly what they look like.
@@AlmostAeroGauge oh no women who like games 😥😥😥 and design simple games for people who like chill farming Sims oh no!!!
Its amazing how people can look at all the negative replies and down votes and say, "this is all fake!".
Seriously? How thick headed can you be? All you have to do to make a good game is listen to the players. Although, this game is a lost cause...
What the hell is wrong with Gandalf's hand?
What is wrong with.... everything? The art style, the character designs, the textures. Everything melts together, it's actually hard to look at. Why are there no shadows? This game looks like Wii shovelware.
Looks EXACTLY like the stuff my ex gf's little sister used to play on the Wii back in 2009.
Will look better with shadows.
Oh god you're right. Thats why it looks so flat.
Why do they keep allowing people to ruin LotR?
Rings of power, That stupid Smeagol game, this monstrosity
I'm gobsmacked that anyone making this game actually thinks making it look and feel like a game that wouldn't look out of place 30 years ago believe today's gamers would want to waste money on this plus LOTR is iconic a loved this is insulting to that seriously who aside two year old is this aimed at.
The way the game keeps taking control away from the player irritates me more than anything.
Is this an out-of-season april fools joke?
The game is beautifull, reminds me old lotr games from ps2, congrats to developers to bring middle earth for us.
When you hire staff based on immutable characteristics instead of talent, experience and skill, you get output like this.
Target audience: quirky 20-somethings whose entire personality is Animal Crossing and Pinterest.
Also love tattoos and piercings and think getting Starbucks everyday makes you quirky
Even a 5 year old would be bored after 5 minutes playing this.
Sauron is looking more and more like the hero Middle Earth deserves.
Finally! A game that my GT 740 can run!
You won't ever play this game. Go back to Call of Duty.
@@laerwenOf course they won’t, anybody with the taste of a grown adult who enjoys Tolkien’s prose won’t be playing this slop. Go back to Flappy Bird.
This looks like someone played a bunch of those playable ads on mobile, took those gameplay mechanics and made a game out of that.
Your mom looks like a playable ad
So excited to boot up my gamecube for the first time in a while!
It definitely doesn't look like a cheap game ugh ugh
wow this looks unbelievably terrible
@@randalthor6872 just looked, it makes sense now 😭
Man it sucks they keep butchering LOTR
A cute game about Hobbits is "butchering" LOTR? How?
All the big franchises are getting butchered nowadays
@@laerwen What are you stupid? is this your first time playing a LOTR game?
Hope the Devs saved plenty of their special funding 'cause their game won't be making much more.
"My Gandalf what beautiful lashes you have" red hobbit hood
"All the better to slaaaay with" Gandalf
Slop trying to take advantage of the lotr IP.
Hey, you should ask around Ubisoft, apparently AC won't need it's shadows, maybe you can use those since you forgot to enable high graphics preset you used for previous trailer.
looks like they put all of the budget into the LOTR rights and no money on game development. This looks like it was made by one person in a month. :D
So if it can be made by one person in a month, why haven't you done it?
@@laerwen not all things need to see the light of day
@@general_GASLOL buuuurn
Am I the only one who seems to like this? I'm not really much of a gamer so I don't care too much about graphics, and this also doesn't seem like the type of game where graphics matter that much. This is meant as an escapism game for people who just want to wind down and relax
No voice acting killing me
Why does it need voice acting?
@@laerwen Well from this video it quite clearly needs it.
Not all games have VA fyi
It's pretty standard for this kind of game to not have substantial voice acting
Clearly don’t care about toiiken
how so?
@@jvlmedia2 how so not?
@@niklbauglir Well, if you watch the interviews from WETA Workshop who are developing the game, they clearly love and respect the world Tolkien created.
Another studio goes broke trying to make a sub par LOTR game
*I hope we can nane our own character. Small ask, but I am huge on funny names that make me laugh when I read them in dialog.*
Letting you name your own character is dangerous. They'd have to spend months compiling a huge blacklist to make it 'safe', removing any fun you might have had otherwise... damn, there you go, perfect example - blacklist - we can't say that anymore.
And this game gonna cost 60 to for 2010 looking ahhh graphics
This could've been great but the art direction is so horrifying that it's gonna turn so many people away
Creepy Gandalf 👀
No VO kills these types of games
Even a small amount of voice acting could have went a long way.
This is a mobile only game, right? No voice acting and 3rd gen console graphics, must be a mobile only game.
Quite disappointing, looks and runs like a Nintendo game. Especially with all the text bubbles and no voice acting. With some lighting and shadow it would have looked a zillion times better too.
who the hell green light this game?
Was this made for cocomelon or a GameCube, either way looks bad
Bruh, This made me nostalgic for the game Overlord, for Overlord XD
Picture this....
The Year is 2022, and the game "Choo Choo Charles" was released on stream by an Indi game developer called "2 Star Games" and it did Wonderfull
Two years later, and a Gaming Company called "Wētā Workshop" made this?
what cell phone this for?
16 min of gameplay 15 min of dialogs 😒😒
There are visual novels that are more appealing than this.
This is not going to sell well
You are psychic and can see the future?
@@laerwen He probably just has common sense. Something alot of people lack hence your confusion.
Depends on the lord of rings fans who are gamers too
@@laerwenno, but he has common sense...
@@laerwenHe has common sense, dum dum.
the graphics are nice but there is no sound for a lot of things in the game's environment...
Looks like I'll need to dust off my old wii!
Jokes aside, hope all involved in this game and at ign lose their jobs!
this looks like a cross between my original xbox 360 avatar and the first Fable
only a LOT less interesting and well polished!
This is what you get when you stop hiring on merit. Not a dime for this slop.
How much are they charging for this??!!
Dr. Disaster covered this game. 🐿️
Still better than Rings of Power.
that at least is true...but still nothing to be proud of xD
just imagine the lord of the ring game that is just as good as black myth wukong... i wish that day would come sooner...
It's a stylised cosy game by a small developer. The graphics were hardly going to be jaw dropping. Also the graphics are a similar vein to other "cosy" games (Stardew, Dreamlight Valley, Minecraft, animal crossing, etc,etc)
no dialog?
How long will it take until those Mutants stop destroying every single brand/franchise?
What an abomination again ..... utterly disgusting.
That's gonna be a no for me dawg.
Ok to say no. Just means the game is not to your taste.
Dude, these devs saw how bad golum was and said "hold my beer"
Mario Sunshine looks better then this