Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game Reviews
There’s some cozy joy to be had in the slow-paced daily life of a Hobbit here, but Tales of the Shire ultimately fails to capture the magic of The Lord of the Rings or invent much of its own.
Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings ™ Game offers a means to jump into Tolkien’s world of Middle-Earth to live a life as a humble hobbit in Bywater. I loved embodying the simplistic life of a hobbit just trying to fit in, and forming bonds with the locals by ways of making them meals. While I fully believe that this game would benefit greatly from some quality of life changes as well as additional crafting and NPC engagement amidst a broader story, I have had a lot of fun as a hobbit and I can see the potential for it to be a fabulous game that will bring me back to continue my new adventure!
People remember The Lord of the Rings for its epic scale, but at its heart, it's a story about home. About why it's worth fighting for. About friendship, gardens, laughter, and peace. Tales of the Shire is the best Middle-earth game at understanding this.
Tales of the Shire is a decent life-sim game with an engaging cooking mechanic, but that's the most stellar thing about it. Bywater, while picturesque in its own way, doesn't feel like home, and it doesn’t help that the game is also flawed by its technical and optimization issues, which only turns the experience more sour.
There's room for improvement. It remains to be seen whether they'll continue to support and polish the game or whether they'll simply wash their hands of it as soon as it's released.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Instead of a high-stakes quest, Tales of the Shire is a slow, community-driven experience. You meet hobbits, complete small quests (yes, sometimes they're fetchy), and build relationships. It feels true to Tolkien’s vision of the Shire: a world outside the world, untouched by the urgency of war and darkness. It’s not about what you accomplish but how you settle in. And for me, that’s exactly what I wanted. ...Tales of the Shire does have a few technical hiccups. On my Switch, I didn’t run into crashes or major performance issues (aside from the lack of music), which others did report on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. But I did see texture loading delays. Furniture and hobbit outfits sometimes started off much simpler and snapped into detail a few seconds later, especially in cutscenes or busy shops. It’s not game-breaking, but it is noticeable. I’m hopeful this will be patched, because everything else ran beautifully. Movement was smooth, loading times were short, and I didn’t experience any framerate drops. Compared to the complaints in other Tales of the Shire reviews, my experience was much more stable.
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 allows you to live out the life of a hobbit in a warm and welcoming world, with some nice ideas throughout.
I am a bit disappointed with Tales of the Shire. The idea was great, but the execution just didn’t capture the magic of Tolkien’s world.
There is something magical in Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of The Rings Game, but it’s sometimes hard to find it… Still, I keep thinking that while a Hobbit hole means comfort, Tolkien’s favorite characters also deserve a bit more depth than just resting on genre fundamentals.
Tales of the Shire perfectly captures the atmosphere it set out to create. It's clear that the developers understand and love the series. It's truly enchanting to experience the daily life of a Hobbit, forge bonds with captivating characters, and prepare delicious food.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If you’re searching for a game where you can stop, smell the roses, wander through the fields, and dive into a pleasingly simple life, Tales of the Shire is for you.
For those looking for a quiet life in Hobbiton, Tales of the Shire is perfect. Wētā Workshop masterfully delivers a game about community in a cozy format that's small in size, but big in heart. It only seems to struggle when it gets too close to it's environments.
Tales of the Shire captures the serenity of living life in a backwater village as a Hobbit, warts and all.
Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game offers a very fun gameplay loop and a great year living in Middle-earth, but fades out a bit too quickly and should offer more to keep the player going beyond the main story.
Tales of the Shire is a new take on the life-sim genre for the Lord of the Rings franchise, but it frequently falls flat in the areas that matter most. The focus on cooking is refreshing for the genre, but it quickly proves to be rather lacking. Meanwhile, the other activities don't give nearly enough depth to engage players, including essential actions like talking to the other villagers.