The Indie Informer

Sun drifted in on a sea-scented breeze the day I picked up the controller. My snug, high-backed chair had a purring visitor, as one of my cats decided to curl up on top like a fuzzy headrest. To complete the scene, jasmine steam floated from my freshly made cup of tea, infusing the air with comfort. Still, Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of The Rings Game was cozier than all of this, and I’m earnestly hungry to play more in March.

I’ve long been a fan of The Lord of the Rings, and this isn’t my first preview for Tales of the Shire. And while I walked away from Summer Game Fest’s early look with cautious optimism, the limited time an event like that offers isn’t the best way to experience a life/farming/cooking sim like this. Now, with two hours under my belt, I’m convinced of its village-life charm.

My journey begins, suitably, with a nap. Having trekked my way from the village of Bree into the Shire proper, I can understand the appeal of a short rest in a sunny glade. Rudely, however, I’m interrupted by a bearded traveler asking after me. This is the convenient set-up for the character creator.

The customization options are adequate, with enough pre-set hair, skin, and foot styles to make your own brand of hobbit. Don’t expect to vary too much from the green country’s regular inhabitants, though. There is also a hand well of culture-specific names to choose from.

In this case, you may also go completely off-script with your own name. I went half-and-half, picking Indie as a first name and Underhill for my last. The sprinkling of book and movie nomenclature references here makes me smile and reminds me that the creators are just as invested in the lore as I am.

Identity chosen, I hop in the tall strangers cart towards my new home. During the ride, I keep an eye out for something I can not stand in IP-connected games: heavy-handedness. A few moments toed the line — like Gandalf’s eventual introduction — but his sly mention of a friend in Hobbiton hit the right tone. In fact, after the game’s opening, this problem disappears almost entirely.

In a decision I so appreciate, the developers have set their sim in Bywater. It’s a place mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but only in passing, offering me a mixture of familiar nostalgia and new discovery. I detail meeting the loveably doltish Orlo and walking into my house for the first time in my previous preview, so I’ll skip over that to focus on my new experiences.

Unlike the unfortunate made-for-event quest that had me going back and forth to the same hobbit, my two hours this time were open to anything I wanted. The built-in, more subtle tutorial sent me out to meet my neighbors while searching for a book. The characters give me equipment — like a fishing pole — teach me to watch for ingredient-loving butterflies, encourage me to shop in the main square (which is a circle), and more.

There is a delightfully hand-drawn map I can bring up to figure out where my objective is, but one of the game’s mechanics makes this mostly unnecessary: Birds. Living in the Shire is apparently like being a Disney princess because no matter my quest, a flock of songbirds is ready to point the way. They land on direction posts, fence tops, and gateways as I run along the landscape to assure me I’m heading toward my objective. It never felt over-the-top, but if it becomes so, it’s easy to dismiss the feathered helpers by untracking a quest in the menu.

Some of my favorite times in my playthrough involved veering off the beaten track. Tales of the Shire boasts lovely fields, woods, and rivers to explore. These are helpful for fishing, foraging, and just appreciating the location’s beauty. Of course, collecting ingredients means there has to be something to do with them. And it’s no secret a hobbit’s life centers around food, cooking, and sharing meals with friends.

Back at home, I have a writing desk specifically intended to invite new friends to food-filled fêtes. The townsfolk I’ve met running around are automatically placed in my journal, which details our relationship level and their likes or dislikes. I don’t really know anyone well enough to have much to go on, but when they accept an invite to my kitchen, they hint at what kind of flavors they are craving that day.

This is where the hard work starts. I head to the kitchen with a pantry full of gathered resources — bitter mushrooms, spicy seasonings, sweet berries, and so on. Though my book of recipes is fairly small — it will grow the closer I become with my follow villagers — there is enough for a small gathering. I try to hit the perfect consistency using the cutting board and frying pan while only adding ingredients that cater to my guests’ palates. I have to create enough meals for each member of the party, which thins out my stores considerably, but the next day, I’m ready for a party.

A pair of neighborly hobbits drop in and head to the dining room where I carefully place the prepared dishes. One guest absolutely loves my meal while the other finds it pleasant enough. Either way, the event is successful enough that each wants to give me a gift — these can be either recipes or decorations for my home — and our friendship deepens.

With my new goods, I look around my home and enter decoration mode. My hobbit hole is customizable in a myriad of ways, and I spend an entire day digging into my options. I stash piles of cloth that had been sitting on the floor to start. Then, I place bottles and vases carefully onto book shelves or small tables. These larger pieces of furniture I then move around the house, finding suitable nooks or corners for them to adorn.

After that, it’s time to look at the kinds of flooring and wallpaper I’d like. The game offers a helpful “change all” button so I can apply green paint throughout my home, but also lets me put up purple stripes only in the bedroom. My sleeping space also gets a special starry sky, so it feels like I’m camping when I drift off.

Also counted in my decorating sphere is my front garden, where I can move around little soil plots, place old wagon wheels, or change the home’s exterior walls. My options during this playthrough are limited, but I can’t wait to see what I can create when I can afford to buy, or more friends gift me, increasingly varied decor.

The soil plots aren’t just decoration either. I can use them to start a garden with vegetables, herbs, or flowers. This adds another to-do item to my daily routine. Besides checking the mail and heading out to gather ingredients, I now make sure to diligently water my plants before running off to meet friends, go shopping, or enjoy some fishing.

Tales Of The Shire swept me into a world I’ve always wanted to enter and gave me all my favorite life-sim activities to enjoy. It’s not yet fully polished — evidenced by a few moments of technical stuttering — but this fresh look has sold me on the experience.