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

I know this game has gotten some poor reviews, but I am truly enjoying every part of it. I love roleplaying in my cozy games, and Tales of the Shire very much makes me feel like I am living the Hobbit life! Gardening, fishing, cooking for my friends, and frolicking about the Shire in all different seasons.

Shire Tales is a fantastic experience and deserves to stand proudly alongside games like Lord of the Rings Online. Let nobody say otherwise, because this is a game that understands something incredibly important about Tolkien's world: Middle-earth is not just about battles, heroes, and great wars. It is also about the quiet moments, the friendships, the food, the stories, and the simple joys that make the world worth protecting. The greatest strength of Shire Tales is its incredible portrayal of the Shire itself. It captures the warmth, charm, and peaceful beauty of Hobbit life in a way that feels authentic. Wandering through the countryside, meeting hobbits, exploring cosy homes, and taking in the smallest details makes you feel as though you have truly stepped into Tolkien's world. The hobbits are the heart of the game. Their humour, traditions, personalities, and love of the simple things in life are wonderfully represented. This is a place where a good meal, a friendly conversation, a warm fire, or a quiet evening can be just as important as any grand adventure. The story is another highlight, focusing on the kind of personal journeys that make Middle-earth feel alive. It un…

Absolutely love this game. I do wish you could do more and it was more in-line with 'The Hobbit' series, rather than literally just being about Hobbits. I also wish there were more interactions with the other Hobbits. I feel happy to play this game and do the same stuff over and over again, but if you don't like that kind of stuff, then I wouldn't recommend this game to you. Also the house design tool is a bit frustrating at times.

This game is a low-key cute and so cozy. I love the touch of the Tolkin tales added in and enjoy the lore that it builds without being too tied to the stories. I've played about two years fully through and I'm still enjoying it and discovering new parts of the map, recipes and game elements.

i love it

A game for anyone who’s ever wanted to live in the first 20 min of The Hobbit! The gameplay loop is exactly what you expect from a cozy game: farming, fishing, foraging. With quirky villagers giving you quests along the way. I appreciated that the Easter eggs to the wider LOTR universe are subtle. While you definitely feel you’re a hobbit in the shire, you are not connected to that main plot and the gossip and priorities of your village reflect that. A bit of design I loved in this game was the different size perspectives. Most things in Bywater are built to hobbit size, so feel normal. But then you stand next to a duck, a cow, the local dwarf; and your relative size makes you realize why most races mistake hobbits for children. Also, speaking of the local dwarf, a big thank you to whoever decided to give us a female dwarf with just as glorious a beard as her male counterparts as Tolkien intended! Other reviews I read mentioned performance issues on the steam deck. For most of my play time I didn’t experience and issues. Towards the end as my pantry got full and my garden expanded there were some lags/glitching when interacting with them. But nothing major. Overall a sweet game…