Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game

Tales of the Shire offers a comfortable and lazy fantasy life, but it’s one that feels genuine and heartfelt. Fans of the genre will love it, as long as they’re prepared to fully embody the peace and tranquillity of a Hobbit’s way of life.

After years in the making, Tales of the Shire brings the life of a hobbit to video games: peaceful, cozy, unhurried, where your biggest concern is what to serve for second breakfast. If that sounds like your idea of paradise, the Shire is waiting.

Tales of the Shire had previously been delayed in its development, so I can understand the reticence to announce another date change, but I can’t help but feel as though the game could’ve used a bit more time in the oven. I don’t want to give the impression that there was nothing I enjoyed about this game - the care shown in areas like the dialogue, decorating, and flavor mechanics is so lovely, and I genuinely enjoyed finding new recipes and crafting meals.

Tales of the Shire is a really solid idea. It should work. There are great ideas here and some solid writing. This feels like the early access version of what could eventually be a very good game. But right now, it isn’t. Instead it is a shallow glimpse at what could be. When you factor in significant performance issues that even the Switch 2 can’t seem to brute force, and constant stability problems, it becomes very hard to recommend this game. I really want to like Tales of the Shire. I think there is a reality in which it could potentially get better in time, but it just isn’t there yet.

Tales of the Shire has a lot to do in a sleepy, cozy way, from foraging to farming to cooking up elevenses and second breakfasts. I tried to play as much as I could, but the performance on Nintendo Switch saps the magic out of it and really dampens the fun.