The cozy sim game has really flourished in the past decade or so. Stardew Valley raised the bar and informed a generation of developers on what people seek in this specific genre. Since then we’ve seen some interesting variations on that specific formula and with such wide appeal, it’s a little surprising we haven’t gotten more licensed games using existing IPs as cozy sim games. I knew a little bit about Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game before gaining access to this Hobbit Day Demo but I had no personal interest in becoming a hobbit before that. Now that I’ve had some time with Tales of the Shire, my hobbitless future has become uncertain.
Tales of the Shire starts out in the character creation screen, where you have a decent amount of options to create your hobbit. Despite having a considerable amount of options to choose from, I found that most of the hobbits ended up looking a little samey. However, once I got into the game itself, I found that my hobbit didn’t really look like any hobbit that existed in the small village of Bywater. I let Tales of the Shire choose the name for me and it came up with Mungo Bracegirdle, which I found pretty hilarious. However, once in the game people referred to me as Mungo Roper, which was confusing to me. I was interested in becoming a hobbit, not a film critic! Alas, the name stuck and I didn’t care enough to recreate the character, so Mungo Roper it is!
Mungo starts off her journey from Bree to Bywater by napping in the shade as a wizened old man on a cart approaches her and takes her to Bywater. He reveals, just as he leaves, that he is in fact Gandalf. Color me shocked. Once there, I’m greeted by some nice hobbits of Bywater and some not-so-nice hobbits of Bywater. However, I’m simply tasked with finding my home, making a small meal for myself and my tour guide, and meeting the town. As I’m introduced to the town, I start gathering tasks that hobbits would like help with. A primary quest is to find a book of rules threads meeting new hobbit homies and completing tasks for them. And as we begin collecting our tasks, Tales of the Shire reveals its hand.
Though Tales of the Shire is a life sim of sorts, it follows its own day/night cycle and doesn’t require you to play every day. Pulling you into living as a hobbit, a world without clocks, there are simply phases of the day. As far as I can tell, phases just indicate where other hobbits will be spending their time and, thankfully, there’s a schedule tracker attached to your map. The map of Bywater has a fair amount of information to it and has a homemade quality to it that’s a nice touch. You’ll be using the map to get around, track locations, and find other hobbits, but the magic is in the path design. When you select a location to go to, little blue birds will begin to guide you through Bywater. As you follow paths, these birds will land on waysigns, arches, and all manner of hobbit architecture to indicate how you’re supposed to be skipping.
While meeting others I was tasked with things like fishing, farming, cooking, and foraging. All the cornerstones of cozy farming sims made an appearance which was fine. I think the appeal of Tales of the Shire is supposed to be spending time within Middle-Earth. You’re going to be playing a farming sim anyway, so why not one in a location you’re already familiar with? A sentiment that became more apparent when I realized how shallow some of these activities were. Farming is as simple as planting seeds in a seed bed and making sure it’s watered. Foraging is finding packs of butterflies and following them to spices, mushrooms, or fruit. This was actually very cute. You’re a hobbit with things to do so you follow the birds and the butterflies and let them lead the way, adorable!
I was downright gobsmacked when I realized that the fishing mechanic they wanted me to use was the same one from the original Nier/Nier Replicant. Hold down the reel button, don’t let the tension get too high, and pull in the opposite direction of where the fish is heading. I cracked up when I realized what it was asking me to do. Fortunately, it’s presented well with an indicator as to which way to pull and a very easy-to-see tension indicator. As much as the fishing in Nier took a while to understand and get the hang of, Tales of the Shire presents it in a way that’s both easy to understand and quick to pick up.
I’m still not sure I completely understand cooking. The goal of cooking appears to be nailing the texture of the food you’re cooking. As a guide, Tales of the Shire gives you a big graph with an X/Y axis that shows you how smooth, tender, crisp, or chunky the item you’re cooking has become. As you cook, you’re able to kind of navigate where you’d like the finished product to be. Cooking isn’t just something you need to do to give to people or satiate yourself, it’s tied to the relationship mechanic in a very big way. Hobbits are creatures that love to eat after all. One of the big ways to improve your relationship with your fellow hobbits is to invite them over to share a meal and cook for them.
You’ll sit down at your desk to send a formal invitation to other hobbits in Bywater for a future date and time. Afterward, you’ll receive an RSVP that explains what type of meal the hobbit is expecting to be eating. It seems rude but it’s actually very helpful because you still need to trigger the invite to invite the other hobbits over. This allows you to take your time, run to the market, maybe forage on your own, to get better ingredients to make exactly what the other hobbits want. Knock it out of the park and you’ll improve your relationship with them. I enjoyed this mechanic, even though I don’t think it’s particularly novel, it’s implemented very well and really brought me into the game.
I also found myself enjoying the painterly art style of Tales of the Shire. Originally, I was put off but the style really fits with the theme. As I wandered around Bywater and took the time to take in all the vistas, foliage, and wildlife I was taken aback by the game’s beauty. Thematically, it felt perfect and really pulled me in. I wasn’t just playing a character living in Middle-earth, I was living in Middle-earth. Some of the objects are beautifully crafted as well, which really shone as I spent several hours cleaning up and organizing my hobbit hole. And that is not a euphemism. Unfortunately, this doesn’t lead to very clean or good looking food. Some of the food items look downright disgusting, despite everything else in the game looking beautiful.
Do I want to live in Bywater or anywhere in Middle-earth? No. I don’t think I’d like that very much. But I did find my visit to Bywater very entertaining. While I don’t spend a lot of time playing cozy sim games, I could see myself getting sucked into Tales of the Shire. Even in urgent tasks, it has this lazy river style of weightiness to the tasks that allows you to say, “I’ll get to that later, I want to fish now.” I’m looking forward to hearing more about Tales of the Shire in the coming months and hopeful for a release date soon.
