A cosy game that can sometimes feel a bit too cosy for its own good.
For any Lord of the Rings fan, a cosy game set in the Shire surely feels like a dream. After all, Hobbits are interesting folk with a lively and seemingly warm culture: farming, greeting neighbours, enjoying second breakfast, elevenses, and afternoon tea in a peaceful town.
Tales of the Shire promises exactly that: an idyllic slice of Hobbit life. But while the game's premise seems delightful and full of charm, its actual gameplay doesn’t quite live up to its potential. Beneath the surface of this warm-hearted world lies a game that, though very much cosy, feels undercooked and hollow.
In the game, you play as a Hobbit who has just moved into Bywater, a village in Hobbiton that’s still trying to be officially recognised. As a new resident, you do your best to meet everyone, participate in the community, tend to your garden, prepare meals, and decorate your home.
Visuals and environment
Visually, the game is easy on the eyes, though not exactly photorealistic by any measure. Each Hobbit has a unique design and personality, adding charm to the experience. For example, birds subtly guide you towards your destination by perching on nearby signs or stones, taking the place of intrusive arrows hounding the player. Butterflies also help point out nearby forageable items.
That said, the map is a bit inconsistent. Some areas are packed with activity, while others feel barren or underdeveloped.
Gameplay loop and daily routine
The gameplay loop is simple. You start at dawn, water your plants, and then decide whether to forage, fish, or take on missions from the main story or the club notice board. Just like other games sharing the life simulator space, like Stardew Valley, there’s a daily time limit, and you’ll need to sleep before the night ends, or you risk collapsing on the road.
Fishing, while initially confusing, has potential. Like most cosy games, fishing is a mini-game you’ll need to master, and catching a fish feels rewarding every time. There are multiple fishing spots to discover as you progress, even.
Cooking and sharing a meal is the game’s strongest feature
Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the game is cooking and sharing meals. Cooking isn’t just a matter of tossing ingredients into a pot; you need to find the sweet spot for each recipe using a visual graph that helps gauge how close you are to perfecting the dish. It’s a refreshing change from cooking sims where you’re required to memorise exact combinations: here, it’s more about instinct and feel.
Sharing a meal is just as delightful. You write letters to invite neighbours, receive replies detailing their cravings, and then cook accordingly. This mechanic adds a layer of preparation. You’ll need a well-stocked pantry, especially with spices, since you won’t know what guests want until the day of the meal.
If a guest is happy, they’ll eat with gusto and comment enthusiastically. If the meal is just okay, they’ll eat politely with a smile and still send you a thank you gift. I once served something sour to a guest who wanted something sweet, only to be met with a disapproving headshake. The audacity!
Sharing meals is also key to unlocking more recipes, items, and secrets, so it’s worth focusing on this aspect of gameplay.
Where it falls short
That said, not all activities feel rewarding. Planting and harvesting can feel underwhelming, especially since the game lacks clear visual indicators of growth until the crop is nearly ready. Decorating is similarly frustrating, as furniture options aren’t particularly exciting, and moving items around (especially on PlayStation consoles) is a bit clunky.
The game’s pace can feel too slow at times. Walking is the only mode of transport, which eats up a large chunk of the day. There’s also a missed opportunity in terms of character interaction, as you can only engage meaningfully with other Hobbits when a quest requires it. That gives your character a lot of time to do absolutely nothing, which can make the game's pace feel slow and borderline boring at times.
What Tales of the Shire lacks most is a strong pull. Most cosy games have a mystery to uncover, a new area to explore, or a problem to solve. While the main goal here is to help Bywater gain recognition as a town, the game doesn’t do enough to make that goal emotionally resonate.
Also, while the game ran smoothly on PS5 for us, players on other console platforms and PC have reported gamebreaking bugs.
Cosy for now, but not for long
One element that’s been quietly bugging me is the game’s timeline. As I spent more time in Bywater, learning about my neighbours, I started to piece together when this game might be set, and it’s not as comforting as I initially assumed.
Before playing, I thought it would take place either long before The Hobbit or far after The Lord of the Rings, during a time of peace. But the presence of a young Rosie Cotton, talk of Samwise Gamgee growing up, and news of Bilbo Baggins still travelling suggest otherwise.
For casual fans of the Peter Jackson trilogy, this might not register, because the movies completely skip this portion. But for readers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, it’s impossible to miss the shadow of what’s to come: The Scouring of the Shire.
What’s to come: the Scouring of the Shire
In the final chapter of The Return of the King, Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin return home to find the Shire under oppressive rule. New laws, demolished landmarks, and polluted waters mark a complete transformation.
Bywater is hit especially hard, with Hobbit Holes destroyed, The Green Dragon Inn taken over by ruffians, and Sandyman’s mill replaced by an ugly, noisy construct full of machinery, sending pollution into the environment.
The four hobbits rally the Shire. Pippin brings reinforcements from Tuckborough, and together, they win the brief Battle of Bywater. Saruman (revealed as “Sharkey”) is found to be behind the destruction, and although Frodo shows him mercy, Saruman is killed by Wormtongue, who in turn is slain by Hobbit archers.
Afterwards, Sam leads the effort to restore the land. He replants trees, uses Galadriel’s gift of earth from Lothlórien, and breathes life back into the Shire. By 1420, the land flourishes again, with the Party Tree replaced by a mallorn sapling and a new generation of children being born.
That said, knowing that many of the neighbours you interact with in Tales of the Shire will be dead (19, specifically, would die in the battle), imprisoned, or wounded within two decades is... heavy information. All the effort you and your fellow Hobbits pour into making Bywater flourish will be undone.
So yes, it’s a very curious choice of location for developers to place this cosy little game, just a little over two decades before the looming tragedy.
Verdict
Overall, Tales of the Shire is a gentle introduction to Hobbit life, perfect for those who want to experience a laid-back version of Middle-earth.
However, the game feels unfinished. With noticeable gaps in the map, limited activities, and static interactions, it lacks the depth that gives other cosy games lasting appeal. The gameplay loop feels sleepier than it should. Tales of the Shire has potential, but it needs more polish, additional content, and a stronger core objective to truly shine.
Tales of the Shire is available now for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC, for US$31.49. We received a copy of the game for this review.
