The farming and life sim genre is teeming with developers attempting to replicate the success of games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. While some achieve this goal, others fall short. August’s Fields of Mistria, for example, impressed in early access by adhering to the core principles of the genre and creating a town full of endearing characters. Now, Weta Workshop is trying its hand at this trend with a video game set in the world of The Lord of the Rings. In Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game, players take on the role of a Hobbit brought to the Hobbiton town of Bywater by Gandalf. The game tasks players with familiarizing themselves with the townsfolk, cooking for them, farming and foraging for food, and ultimately raising the standing of the village. After spending the first two hours exploring the game, I’ve discovered some creative ideas within Tales of the Shire, but it’s clear that significant work needs to be done before it can compete in this crowded genre.
If you’ve played a life sim game before, the core mechanics of Tales of the Shire won’t be a surprise. The opening hours felt more akin to a game like Fae Farm than Stardew Valley or Fields of Mistria. The majority of the initial gameplay focuses on meeting the villagers of Bywater rather than diving into the farming routines. While players have the ability to customize their farming approach, Tales of the Shire seems more invested in having players explore Bywater and cook for its residents. Navigating Bywater felt intuitive, and I enjoyed unique navigational elements such as bluebirds guiding players to main objectives and butterflies leading them to plants for foraging. The frame rate of this early build was inconsistent across performance and quality-focused modes, although I appreciated the vibrant world. Tales of the Shire promises a truly cozy experience, a stark contrast to the fantasy action found in most other Lord of the Rings games.
Cooking in Tales of the Shire is far more complex than in other life sim games. Players must pay close attention to the food they make, how they cook it, and who they serve it to. Each dish has a sweet spot between smooth, chunky, crisp, and tender, and players must cook it accordingly. Sometimes, a simple chop is all that’s needed instead of a frantic button mashing frenzy during the cooking minigame. I appreciate that Tales of the Shire elevates cooking and serving food into a more involved process. Most life sims relegate these systems to mundane menus, but in Tales of the Shire, they are the heart of the experience. It’s when Tales of the Shire experiments with these new ideas that it truly shines. Unfortunately, this creativity is lacking in other areas of the game. The majority of the missions thus far have been simple fetch quests, and the inhabitants of Bywater haven’t yet developed enough depth to compensate for this. Lesser life sims often forget that the virtual residents of their towns need to be memorable characters that keep players engaged, and Tales of the Shire falls into this trap in its opening hours. While the game benefits from being set in a familiar universe, characters like Gandalf and Frodo are not present in your town (at least not in the early game). Essentially, it’s an original fantasy life sim like many of its competitors, with hobbits filling the roles of humans. I don’t expect to remember these townsfolk as fondly as the villagers from Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, or even Fields of Mistria.
While cooking is deep and engaging, gameplay systems like farming and fishing feel relatively basic by comparison. Once I’ve explored every corner of Bywater, I’m unsure how Tales of the Shire will keep me coming back, especially if it continues to rely on fetch quest-based mission design. The camera in Tales of the Shire can also be frustratingly finicky, particularly considering the small and cramped buildings designed by hobbits.
If the idea of a Lord of the Rings cozy life sim game excites you, Tales of the Shire is likely to appeal. However, its first two hours don’t showcase its best features, with only a few clever design choices keeping me intrigued. I hope the game improves between now and its release next year, as the performance issues and camera problems are certainly fixable. Fixing the fundamental issues in time might be a more challenging task. Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game launches for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and iOS and Android via Netflix on March 25, 2025.
