Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game brings Tolkien fans to the Shire in a new cozy adventure that wears out its welcome a bit too quickly.
Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game
Developed By: Wētā Workshop
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PCs, and Nintendo Switch
Release Date: July 29, 2025
On paper, Tales of the Shire seems like it should be a slam-dunk of a game. Taking the Hobbits from Tolkien’s Middle-earth, who are known for their laid-back ways, and give them their own cozy-sim game. Let players explore a small bit of the beloved fantasy world while living out their best hobbit life though farming and cooking. Honestly, it’s the perfect combination of IP and gaming genre which makes it all the crazier it’s taken this long to make it happen.
All of which makes Tales of the Shire‘s shortcomings all the more frustrating. It should have been an easy win, especially as Lord of the Rings games in general have been struggling as of late. Instead, it’s a tedious outing that reminds you of better cozy games and what could have been.
I take absolutely no pleasure in saying this. I desperately wanted to like this game as both a Lord of the Rings fan and cozy-game/farm sim enthusiast. In fact, I greatly enjoyed my hands-on time with the game earlier this year (more than many of my fellow peers). The problem is nothing seemed to change from that early build, and many of the same buggy issues that were present remain in the final game; even with an extra delay thrown into the mix.
What I got to see/experience in my hands-on time was a small snippet of the game. Just enough to give a sense of where it was headed. Despite some polish issues, it seemed like the game was on the right track. It starts off fairly basic and like any cozy/farm game. You’re a newcomer into town, given a vacant (and rundown) house to live in with some meager farmland to work. You meet up with other characters who inhabit the town, doing odd jobs for them, tending to your own land and chores, all while building up your—and the town’s—reputation.
The first little bit gets you started on all you need. From planting crops, swapping tools around, fishing, and, most importantly, cooking meals for your fellow townsfolk. If you’ve played this genre of game before, these first couple hours should feel immediately familiar. It’s all about getting started and comfortable with the map/controls so that you can go about living your best virtual life however you please.
Since I wasn’t able to go much further in that hands-on preview, it seemed like the game was on a similar path and I could see the potential once things opened up. A few hours into my playthrough of the full release, however, and it became clear Tales of the Shire doesn’t go any deeper.
Instead, almost all of the gaming mechanics feel stuck on this most basic level. Aside from cooking, nothing really expands in the experience. How you fish at the very beginning is exactly how you fish at the end. The fetch quests given to you by neighbors all feel samey, and the “bird navigation” for getting around the map (which I disliked in the hands-on preview) is frustratingly vague, making it easy to get turned around.
There’s not much variety when it comes to farming/harvesting either. The seasonal changes that happened every few weeks of in-game time, are largely cosmetic without impacting the way you play/manage your chores.
The cooking element, which is a crucial focal point of the game, has some fun depth to it. Having to prep meals to a certain consistency, snagging higher end ingredients (or just different ones), and other things to elicit specific flavors makes for some fun challenges. Especially when part of the meal-making is tied to figuring out what your companions like and working to tailor the food to their tastes.
But even this has its issues. Namely, when it comes time to actually serve your meal to whoever you’ve invited—sending out invites themselves is a neat idea but becomes tedious quickly. Anyway, a core part of the game is throwing these “Dinner Parties.” It’s how you progress in the story and forge relationships. But for something named “Dinner Party” it doesn’t feel like much of an event.
For the most part, your meals will consist of setting down the food on top of your table in the vicinity of the person eating. As you make different dishes for different hobbits, you’ve gotta make sure to put the proper food in front of them. They’ll then grade your overall dinner experience which unlocks other stuff or can nab you special gifts (depending on how well you did).
It’s a neat concept, but in practice it feels exactly like it sounds: using the joystick to place a plate in front of an NPC. Later in the game, you’ll be able to pick specific venues for your hosting duties, and even do some decorating. Getting to that point is a slog, however, of doing the same stuff over and over again.
Maybe it would work better if the mechanics were more polished, or if the dinner parties themselves felt more…lively. One of the biggest issues in the game overall, is a distinct lack of any kind of voice over in the game; barely even reaction noises (gasping or laughing). There’s a general absence, overall, of ambience to make the world feel alive.
Ultimately, everything in Tales of the Shire mostly serve to remind you of similar games that did them better. One could argue all such games are intentionally designed to be “boring.” Unlike Animal Crossing or Harvest Moon, Tales fails to capture the sense of whimsy and joy from accomplishing these menial tasks and feeling like you’re existing in their world. Instead, it all feels monotonous, with occasional glimpses of the game you hoped/wanted it to be. The result is a game that doesn’t actually make you feel cozy.
This is not to say the game is entirely without its charms. There’s some fun dialogue and tidbits of lore for Lord of the Rings fans to enjoy. Personally, I loved the “run” feature for characters. Your hobbit doesn’t actually run when you press the button to move quicker. Instead they shift to a skipping/prancing animation. It’s such a silly thing, and I’m not even entirely sure my character moved any faster, but it fits the overall tone/vibes of Hobbits in the Shire.
This, combined with a number of similar small flourishes sprinkled throughout the game, show a level of care from the developers. Glimpses of the kind of game it wants to be, but there aren’t enough to elevate the overall experience.
