Tales of the Shire is a jack of all trades but could be a master of none

Cozy games are plenty, with the likes of Stardew Valley, Stray, Spiritfarer, Disney Dreamlight Valley, and Animal Crossing filling up players’ game libraries every day. As such, the upcoming Tales of the Shire has to bring something completely new to the genre, and I’m not sure it does.

Tales of the Shire perfectly portrays life as a food-orientated Hobbit, with the stunning Smials dotted around an adorable village which is in turn filled with well-rounded NPCs, plenty of activities, and multiple stores, all set in a beautiful meadow-style landscape.

As such, Tales of the Shire manages to expertly blend its Lord of the Rings IP with the cozy game genre, implementing all the features and visuals we’ve grown to love from similar adventures.

So, when we got to sit down with Tales of the Shire and clock in a fair few hours of exploration, questing, farming, fishing, and most importantly cooking, it’s safe to say we were in cozy game heaven.

Throughout we were met with a plethora of well-designed mechanics, beautiful visuals, and one overbearing question… what makes Tales of the Shire different from the other cozy games out there?

Jack of all trades

Tales of the Shire has everything, from fishing, farming, quests, lovable NPCs, and naturally, tons of cooking.

Cooking is the primary feature of the game, and in turn, food motivates most of the other aspects. However, that doesn’t mean Weta Workshop has forgotten to add great mechanics to all tasks. Every element has this LoTR and Hobbit spin to it. In fact, even sprinting has been changed to skipping for a true happy hobbit style.

For example, Fishing has a challenge tied to it. Just like Disney Dreamlight Valley, Spiritfarer, or even Stardew Valley, you have to be skilled to reel in a tricky fish, making it a fun and sometimes tense task. Farming has an aura of Among Trees about it, in which you grab your watering can and water fully to tend to the plants daily and keep them delicious. On top of this, NPCs all have favor, which in turn contributes to the town’s view of your character, so you have to be careful what you say and do.

Then there’s the cooking. In our first preview, we described Tales of the Shire as less Stardew Valley and more Cooking Mama, honing in on the food focus and the wonderful mechanics that follow it. Players can chop vegetables, make perfect recipes, and use a variety of cooking utensils, which makes it feel like a world away from similar cozy games.

This is the element Weta Workshop has really tried to perfect. Players can invite NPCs for a meal, increasing relationships, and most of the prior tasks lend themselves to the cooking element. Thankfully, it feels like Tales of the Shire has made good progress in making the cooking a fun activity.

There’s a challenge to the task but also a satisfying Cooking Mama-style element to it, with players having to bring the best ingredients and make sure the texture is perfect.

Is it a master of none?

As previously mentioned, the cozy genre is immense, and for a game to stand out it has to have that ‘selling point.’ For Disney Dreamlight Valley it’s the recognizable characters and regular updates, for Stardew it’s the perfection of almost every feature and the notion that it’s a classic, for Spiritfarer it’s the touching storyline, and for Animal Crossing it’s the unique building, characters, and nostalgic design.

So, what does Tales of the Shire have that others don’t? This is our primary hesitation after exploring the game.

Sure, it has farming, but it’s more restricted than Stardew or DDV. There’s plenty of fishing, but the catches aren’t as challenging or widespread as Animal Crossing or Stardew.

It has a series of villagers, but you can’t speak to all of them like DDV or romance them (as far as we’ve seen) like Stardew Valley.

There’s a relatively linear storyline with some clever ways to teach you about the world you’re thrown into, but is it as touching or memorable as Spiritfarer? That’s yet to be seen.

Then there’s the main cooking mechanic. Tales of the Shire does this in a way the previously mentioned games don’t, but where does it set itself apart from Cooking Mama?

Thankfully, this is where it brings the most promise. While it doesn’t have as many elements as Cooking Mama, the distinct focus on food is entirely unique for modern cozy games. All the fishing, quests, farming, and even befriending NPCs are done through food. You’re constantly looking for ingredients and trying to host dinner parties to become the talk of the town.

However, with the primary element just being chopping, frying, and making sure the textures are right, it’s hard to really be thrown into the exciting cooking vibes. You feel like you’re helping out in the kitchen rather than truly mastering any craft.

As such, it does lead to a lack of innovation on the majority of the features, as you’re only doing those tasks for one goal. Should fishing and farming come to higher fruition then it’ll cater perfectly to a variety of players, but at the beginning, it just feels like that ‘selling point’ is purely the cooking, which isn’t as detailed as the likes of Cooking Mama.

The draw of busy

Now, just because a game doesn’t quite have that unique element we’re looking for doesn’t mean it can’t thrive. In fact, I truly believe this will be a great game.

It might not let me chat with every villager or create a massive plot of potatoes from the beginning, but this cozy game manages to complete exactly what it set out to do, keep me roped in and enjoying whatever feature I want whenever I want to.

I’m excited to see what more the cooking can bring, and whether the farming or fishing will come into its own, allowing for more of a focus on other tasks. But regardless, it’s hard to deny just how entertaining Tales of the Shire really is.

It’s perfect for the fans and just as wonderful for those who haven’t seen a LoTR film (me included…I know, but I have seen The Hobbit many times if that counts).

Ultimately, while there’s room for hesitation, we can’t wait to jump back in and try our hand at all this adventure has to offer.