Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game Preview: A Slice of Life in Middle-Earth

I’ve always thought that a cosy game set in the Shire would be my Junji Ito “This Was Made for Me” moment. Combining my two great loves: The Lord of the Rings and adorable life sims, to allow me to live life as a Hobbit would. In a nicely decorated hole in the ground without worries or taxes, probably. So when Wētā Workshop announced Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game, know that I was bouncing around like Tom Bombadil, himself.

And while Tales of the Shire might not look exactly like what I had in mind in regards to artstyle, I was eager nonetheless to get my hands on it. In my short, two hour demo, I experienced a healthy dose of what’s to come from Tales of the Shire. Enough to know that I’ll be eagerly awaiting its full release.

Your new journey begins as expected of a Hobbit; roused from a nap under the summer sun by a passing, but familiar, wizard. You’ve come from Bree — the Prancing Pony inn, to be exact — and you’re looking to begin your own life by moving to Bywater. You hitch a ride with this wandering wizard, dressed in grey, who happens to know a great deal about Hobbits. But, before you do, you’ll need to decide what you look like, and what name you go by. 

My Dear Bagginses and Boffins, Tooks and Brandybucks…

Hobbits are often stout creatures, with round features and pointy ears. Homely, in appearance and nature. Tales of the Shire’s character creator takes that to heart, though provides only a moderate amount of options. You’re able to choose your weight and body type, with five different nodes for each. There are a few frumpy facial shapes to choose from, different hairstyles, ear shapes and, most importantly, foot-hair. Colours for all features are fairly limited, keeping with the vision of Hobbits we’ve grown fond of in The Lord of the Rings over time. There’ll be no brightly-coloured, heavily tattooed Hobbits in this village — they’d be the talk of the Green Dragon Inn for the next 40 summers. 

Once you’ve decided how your Hobbit looks, you’ll be able to choose a name from a selection of premade first and last names (or custom first name), many of which are common in Hobbit lore. Are you an Underhill or Sackville? Perhaps a Bolger or Boffin? With your own Hobbit created, it’s time to hop into Gandalf’s wagon and continue on to Bywater.

Boil 'em, Mash 'em, Stick 'em in a Stew

Not long after arriving, you’ll meet a hungry Hobbit called Orlo Proudfoot who has taken it upon himself to be the village’s postman. He’ll show you to your new Hobbit home, which has fallen into some disrepair. Orlo admits that he has something important to tell you, but that he’s too hungry to remember as he missed Second Breakfast. You’ll offer to fix him up a meal, which triggers one of the game’s primary mechanics and minigames — Shared Meals. Throughout your adventure in Bywater, you’ll collect various recipes to cook and offer to your neighbours. In doing so, and by preparing their favourite flavours and textures, you’ll grow closer to them and earn rewards.

You have to send out invites in order to start a Shared Meal, which is done the day before, and you won’t necessarily know what sort of food your guest likes until they RSVP the next day. You’ll then be able to prepare the meal through a short minigame, where you’ll chop and fry ingredients, and then serve it up at your chosen location. In this demo, we only had the option of our Hobbit Home, but it seems other locations will open up over time. 

With Second Breakfast over with, Orlo encourages you to venture into the village square, where you’ll meet Farmer Cotton in the midst of a heated discussion with Sandyman, who runs the local mill. The argument is centred on whether or not Bywater meets the requirements to be considered a village in its own right, rather than just an extension of Hobbiton.

In order to prove to Sandyman that Bywater is in fact a village, Orlo suggests you look for a Book of Rules. Apparently, the book used to reside in the home you’ve recently acquired, but that it was lent out by the previous occupant. Here begins Tales of the Shire’s first quest, which will see you run backwards and forwards across Bywater to find out what happened to this book. It also serves as a way for you to meet some of the village’s inhabitants, such as Delphi the healer, and Old Noakes the grumpy fisherman, both of whom will teach you some additional skills for foraging items and ingredients. 

I Don't Know Half of You Half as Well as I Should Like…

The extent of this demo covered a few main quests and side quests that span the first few days of your time in Bywater, getting you acquainted with the region, its inhabitants, and some of the general mechanics. In order to help you get around, the game implements a non-intrusive waypoint system. There’s no minimap on display at all times, so if you’re following a specific quest or you place your map marker on a custom point, in-game birds will guide you to your destination. These blue birds sit on signposts, logs, or structures, facing the direction that you’ll need to go, making it easier to get your bearings in the Shire’s often puzzling layout.

 As for the quests themselves, the demo only offered a small taste of what’s to come which, unfortunately, feels like a lot of busywork. While preparing for Shared Meals is fun, the majority of quests had me running backwards and forwards between various Hobbits to hand over easily found resources. That said, some of the side quests did offer a small glimpse into the general lives of Bywater’s NPCs. 

Delphi, for example, is known as the village’s healer, possessing deep knowledge of the local flora which she learnt from her mother who has passed away. She admits she’s not as skilled as her mother was, and it's clear her passing still brings her great sadness, but Delphi is hesitant to share too much just yet. With a relationship system in place, you’re encouraged to build bonds with the local Hobbits in order to learn more about their lives and personalities. The demo doesn’t explore this too much in its few in-game days, so it’s unclear how deep this will go. Speaking to Delphi also allows you to unlock foraging as a mechanic, allowing you to find and pick herbs, mushrooms, and other wild fruit and vegetables to sell or use in your cooking. Other characters help you to unlock gardening, where you can plant and maintain your own vegetable patches, and fishing, allowing you to find and catch fish in the local rivers and ponds. 

There are also a few elements to play with that weren’t immediately highlighted, such as the extent of your Hobbit Home customisation. There was a surprising amount of depth here. You were able to change the wallpaper, floor tiles, and ceilings, but also the shape of the beams and the colour and style of the windows. You can get more granular with the furniture you choose to decorate with, which can be items you’ve purchased from the village stores or earned through helping other Hobbits. All can be placed, rotated, and stored as you wish. You start off with just a few rooms to deck out in your home, but it seems poised for expansion later on in the game. In full Hobbit fashion, you’re able to customise and decorate your garden, so you can build a garden that even Sam Gamgee would be proud of. 

Come On, Hobbits. Long Ways to Go Yet!

Tales of the Shire’s artstyle might cultivate some polarising opinions. It’s a very soft, almost painted style that’s made to emphasise the game’s cosy nature. Where that excels is in its environments, which look idyllic and lived in. A quintessential vibe for a Hobbit dwelling. Where it falls short is in the character models, which look a little less charming and, at times, a bit awkward. There’s an interesting feature in that every character appears to be wearing heavy eyeliner, which leads me to believe MAC has set up a Hobbiton branch somewhere. 

The style will likely fit right at home on the Nintendo Switch, which has become a bastion for stylized cosy titles, but might feel underutilised on other platforms. This is only emphasised by some of the game’s limitations at this stage. Not every NPC you see in Bywater can be interacted with, seeming to serve only as world padding. Also, not every home and establishment you come across can be entered, as you’re met with only closed doors in these cases. It’s these little barriers that you’d come to expect in an older game, not so much a newer title, and diminishes the feeling of freedom and exploration.

Despite how you might feel about its appearance, Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game is very clear on how it wants to be perceived. It’s a cosy game, allowing you to live out the ultimate dream: to be a humble Hobbit living life in the Shire. There’s no stress, no combat. Just gardening, cooking, and learning to slow things down. Which, for this workaholic Lord of the Rings fan, is a match made in heaven. What remains to be seen is how much depth we can expect from the full release, and if there are any surprises that await us.

A PC preview code was provided by the publisher.