Game Review: Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game (Xbox Series X)

Developed by Wētā Workshop and published by Private Division, Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game looks great on paper. However, unlike J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic stories, there’s very little engaging about the game and it won’t take players long to realise just how repetitive an experience it is.

Just like daily life in the Shire. Though there is a dedicated button for skipping, so that’s something, right?

Tales of the Shire is a life simulation video game where players get to live a life of peace and harmony (sort of) in the small village of Bywater. Create your Hobbit character, give them a suitably Hobbit name (mine was Belladonna Maggot), and set about enjoying tasks like cooking, foraging, fishing, gardening, and trying to get Bywater officially recognised as a village.

If you needed any more proof that Tales of the Shire really isn’t a game designed to test, it’s this storyline. A storyline about as interesting as the personalities of many of the NPCs who don’t actually say anything, of which there are many.

I shouldn’t be too critical of the main story though as at least it allows for some variation to gameplay as you complete missions for the ‘would be’ village and its people. None of which are particularly thrilling but offer some variety in a game sorely lacking in it. The story isn’t the selling point though; the selling point is the ‘live life as a Hobbit’ aspect and it turns out that is really boring.

Not at first though. At first there’s something so nice about exploring the small Bywater area, planting a few seeds, meeting some fellow Hobbits, putting a new ornament in your Hobbit hole, and foraging for a mushroom or two. Until you have to do it again and again and again and again. Building up an array of ingredients so you can cook the increasingly elaborate dishes that other Hobbits give you as your relationship improves with them. Which brings me to the cooking/meal mechanic that makes up such a big part of the game.

Hobbits like to eat and they love to share food so to improve relationships, players must share meals with the main cast of Hobbits on a regular basis. Find a place to host (there are several), send invites to your chosen Hobbits, and the next day, prepare to wine and dine them. Give a Hobbit something they’re craving and their affection for you will increase significantly.

Happily, they will always send you a letter giving you a clue as to what they’re craving, so provided you have the right ingredients, you shouldn’t struggle here. Except, at first, you’ll have very little to offer as plants are seasonal, the seeds cost money that you don’t have, and you can’t keep making dishes made up of foraged food. Tales of the Shire is a game that gets easier the longer you play (provided you consistently plant and grow food), but well after the point where anyone will want to keep on playing.

In an attempt to bolster gameplay, an additional mechanic relating to clubs makes up a decent portion of the game’s runtime too. Where you are encouraged to reach the highest rank in several clubs like gardening, fishing, and foraging. This is done by completing various daily challenges and just generally doing the tasks in question, although that’s the slower way. Your reward for levelling up each club can range from top rated ingredients to new equipment, but don’t let the system fool you, it’s the same things over and over and over and over again. Sure, there are some nuances to each mechanic, but nothing particular notable.

It really is a dull experience. One that most will want to abandon at hour ten, let alone hour fifty, which is how long it took me to 100% thanks to the grind of the challenges. Even the idea of decorating my very own Hobbit hole lost its charm early one, and a lot of that lies at the feet of the ugly visuals. It might be a colourful game, but it is not pretty, and it has performance issues such as lag and load times.

Overall, I was severely disappointed with Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game. It might live up to its promise of a simple Hobbit life, but that’s not actually that much fun to play. It’s simply far too light on actual gameplay and story to be enjoyable and most will find themselves sick of skipping around far quicker than expected.