When I first watched Lord of the Rings, I wanted to be an elf and marry Legolas.
Wētā Workshop’s game, Tales of the Shire, lets you live like a hobbit in a cozy life-simulation world. With so many people loving wholesome games and the Lord of the Rings series, it felt like it was only a matter of time until a game about hobbits came out. Hobbits love to garden, eat, and enjoy life, sometimes even going on big adventures. I got to play a preview of the game for two hours, but it didn’t make me as happy as a hobbit in their snug home. While the game has charm and good ideas, it needs lots of improvements to become really special.
You start by creating a character who leaves Bree to live in Bywater, a small village in The Shire. When you get there, your first tasks are to prove that Bywater is a real village, not just “Backwater” as one grumpy local says.
This part of the game teaches you the basics: fishing, cooking, gardening, foraging, and making friends. I liked many of these activities. Fishing is a fun mini-game, and cooking feels detailed because you chop and cook ingredients instead of just pressing buttons. Gardening and foraging let you find fresh ingredients, which makes cooking more enjoyable. I loved wandering the woods to collect mushrooms and herbs. Companion Crops was another fun feature where certain crops grow better next to others, making gardening more interesting. After gathering everything, you can store it in a big pantry to use later.
But making friends in the game was not as fun. You can invite neighbors over for dinner parties, which is enjoyable, but that’s about it. Many villagers felt too similar, with the same jokes and boring fetch quests. I spent too much time running back and forth between a few hobbits, which got annoying.
The environment of The Shire is beautiful and cozy, but the game has some issues. Bywater feels full of hobbits, which is good for making it lively, but most are NPCs you can’t talk to, making the village feel empty despite being crowded.
Instead of a mini-map or compass, the game uses blue birds to guide you. This sounds cute, but it can be frustrating if you move faster than the birds or lose them in busy areas. Bywater’s natural layout with bridges and winding roads made it hard to navigate without constantly checking the map, which took away from the fun.
Fans always hope for more engaging gameplay.
With boring fetch quests, frustrating features, and lack of interesting characters, I didn’t want to leave my hobbit home. Unlike Stardew Valley, where you can enjoy being reclusive, Tales of the Shire pushes you to interact with neighbors. Without many activities or events, like birthdays or festivals, the game feels repetitive. Even though I love life-sim games, Tales of the Shire didn’t captivate me. It has some good features, nice music, and charming art, but it needs more work. Luckily, the game has been delayed to early 2025, giving the team time to improve it.
