Game: Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings™ Game
Genre: Simulation, Cosy
System: Nintendo Switch/Switch 2 (Also on PlayStation, Xbox and Steam (Windows))
Developer | Publisher: Wētā Workshop | Private Division
Age Rating: US Everyone | EU 3+
Price: US $34.99 | UK £29.99 | EU € 32,99
Release Date: July 29th, 2025
No review code used, bought the game myself
Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings™ Game is a game a lot of people have been looking forward to. Whether you are a devoted reader enchanted by Tolkien’s literary masterpieces, or a big fan of Peter Jackson’s movies that have brought Middle-earth to life. Everyone was eager to see how this beloved world would translate into a video game.
The fact that Wētā Workshop would develop the game made expectations high. When you’ve seen the movies, you’ll remember the excellent work they did in creating costumes, props and effects that brought Middle-earth to life in the films, helping define their iconic visual style.
And now, after two delays, Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings™ Game is finally here, released on all major consoles. I couldn’t help but check out the first reviews that rolled in on the major video game media sites. Well, they weren’t hopeful, as both NintendoLife and IGN gave a 4 out of 10. I went for the game anyway, so let’s take a look!
Creating A Hobbit
It’s truly a lovely sight, when the first scenes of The Shire in the Third Age of Middle-earth unfold before your eyes. Green vistas, foxgloves in the field, with sheep adding white dots to the green gently rolling hills. Accompanied with a whimsical tune, we see Gandalf in his cart rolling along the road, while a blue chirping bird swoops in and alerts Gandalf to a Hobbit, sleeping to the side of the road. That is the trigger for you to get busy creating your own character, Hobbit style.
Creating your Hobbit in Tales of the Shire offers plenty of options to explore. You can shape their face, tweak the ears and nose, and, crucially for capturing true Hobbit essence, choose the perfect feet. Customize skin tone, hair color, hairstyle, and overall body type. Instead of traditional gender selection, the game presents four body styles on a slider: one end features a slimmer, softer build, while the other leans towards a more robust, masculine frame.
What I like is that you can infuse your Hobbit with personality traits that subtly influence their facial expressions and voice. And while all these features can be revisited and adjusted later, one thing stays constant: you’ll always be a Hobbit, just as the world imagines the charming little folk.
The final touch is the choice of first and last name with a set of standards to choose from: I went for Goldilocks Bracegirdle.
Is Bywater a Village or Not?
Goldilocks travelled to Bywater with Gandalf, set to make a new life for herself in that quaint village after staying in Bree for a while. She can inhabit old Ruby’s cottage, which will need work, but Goldilocks isn’t scared of that (so I guess I’ll have to put in the elbow grease!). She’s the outgoing sort too, as after meeting Orlo Proudfoot she sets out to meet the other Hobbits living in Bywater.
Before long, she’s caught in the heart of a lively debate between Farmer Cotton and Sandman over whether Bywater truly counts as a proper village. The Hobbits, never ones to let things slide, rally together to restore Bywater’s Clubs to their former splendor and secure the recognition their beloved home deserves. Naturally, Goldilocks is right at the center of the action.
That is the start of Tales of the Shire, that has growing crops, foraging, fishing and cooking at its heart.
Cooking is At the Heart of the Game
As Goldilocks breathes life back into your cottage and helps Bywater to get Village status, I gradually mastered the art of fishing, foraging, farming, cooking, and forming bonds with the villages.
Not surprisingly, as the way to a Hobbit’s heart is in eating, cooking stands front and centre in Tales of the Shire, and it’s the part of the game that feels the most intricate. When you have all the ingredients gathered, you cook a meal along two texture axes: chunky vs. smooth and crisp vs. tender. And you can flavour the meal with spices using a quartet of taste profiles: sweet, salty, bitter, and sour. Crafting the ideal dish means carefully chopping, blending, frying, and seasoning with top-notch ingredients to win the Hobbits’ culinary approval.
The system works well, ingredients don’t need to be in your pocket but can be stored in the pantry too. The way the cooking is done reminds me of another game I played, The Lost Legends of Redwall: Feasts & Friends. I would have liked the ingredients in Tales of the Shire to have a nicer colour while preparing. This may sound strange, but everything you put in the bowl looks grey, making it not seem very appealing. The end result looks good though.
Next step is sharing meals with others, inviting the Hobbits of your choice to eat together with you. Of course, it’s up to you to find the most appealing meals for them, as they all have their preferences. This deepen friendships, reveals new recipes and you will get little offerings as a reward. Plus, you will get to know more about the Hobbit you ate with.
Gardening, Fishing and Decorating
Gardening and fishing in Tales of the Shire are more straightforward. They get your the ingredients you need for you meals, but crops and fish can also be sold for some much needed cash.
You grow your crops in raised beds, not straight into the soil. And aside from having to water them timely, you will also learn about companion plants, that boost the yield and quality of nearby crops. So it’s not just a matter of growing the veggie you need in your cooking, it’s also a matter of raising the best crop you can.
Fishing is a relatively restful experience, where you do have to pay attention to reel your catches in, but there’s no mini-game involved.
Decorating your Hobbit-hole is fun to do, as there are a lot of possible decorations and furniture options. Choose your wood tones, line the walls with colourful panels or bricks, place leafy plants or glowing lamps in the doorways, and sprinkle in some tasteful furniture for flair. Before long, Old Ruby’s cluttered cottage is transformed into a cozy, heartwarming Hobbit haven that Goldilocks loves living in. Important too for the shared meals, as the ambiance also influences how your Hobbit friends perceive their meal.
Graphics and Sounds
I should think that from my description above you’ve gathered that I’m pretty pleased about the game. Where it slightly disappoints for me isn’t in the actual gameplay, but in graphics and sounds.
When Gandalf first talked to Goldilocks I was so ready for some good voice acting, but sadly, there’s no spoken text in Tales of the Shire. Goldilocks and the other Hobbits add a grunt here or there, but nothing else. And you can converse with the 15 Townsfolk that are in the core of the story, but the other NPC are silent. You do see the occasional comment floating by when Goldilocks passes by, but that’s it.
I’ve seen comments online that the Hobbits lack depth of personality and charm. I don’t agree, the Hobbits that Goldilocks socialises with are well fleshed out. They don’t always sugar-coat things when you chat with them. At times they can even be a bit rude, but I think that just makes them more unique.
There is an original soundtrack for Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings™ Game made by Alessandro Coronas (you can find it on Spotify!) which is very fitting to the game, as are the sound effects.
I played the game on the Switch 2, and though the graphics aren’t too bad, it does feel like the game doesn’t make full use of what’s possible on the Switch.
Conclusion for Tales of the Shire
The release of Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings™ Game was off to a rocky start. I know the first reviews were based on a version that had plenty of bugs. But an update was implemented before the game was released, and I can honestly say I haven’t encountered any. The graphics on the Switch 2 leave something to be desired, but the gameplay is what you would expect from a good simulation game.
Working with Goldilocks on all the requests and tasks the Hobbits of Bywater set her is huge fun. Cooking and sharing meals are the key elements, and the gardening, fishing and foraging is great, as is decorating your little Hobbit hole.
I know it’s only a subtle touch, but a delightful one: while you’re out and about handling chores, the game gently guides you using two charming bluebirds that flutter ahead and perch just so, showing you the way. It always brings a smile to my face!
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot
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