For somebody like me who’s determined to get caught into any whimsical life sim, Tales of the Shire seems like an ideal match. On paper, it guarantees a comfortable life in Center-earth, full of farming, adorning, cooking, and fishing. However the demo displays a determined try to make a comfortable recreation whereas the subgenre is so in style moderately than specializing in constructing a recreation that welcomes new Lord of the Rings followers whereas letting long-time ones stay out the dream of dwelling as a hobbit. Consequently you are presently met with one thing that lacks an identification and is frankly simply disappointing.
To start out, plenty of it’s boring. There is no higher method to put it. And that is coming from somebody who has put 1000’s of hours into loads of life and farming simulators which revolve round a quite simple process. Farming feels fairly pointless, except for getting substances to cook dinner, and there is a lot you may cook dinner with out having to farm, which rapidly stripped my willingness to do it within the first place. Within the demo, you are restricted to solely having 5 planters as effectively, moderately than with the ability to customise and streamline your individual farming house.
Alternatively, you may have the choice to exit and forage for substances, which I rapidly opted for as soon as I realised farming was giving me the identical satisfaction as stubbing my toe. Foraging is likely one of the most detailed and fascinating elements of Tales of the Shire, which got here as an enormous shock on condition that it is hardly spoken about by any NPCs within the few hours I spent within the demo. Relatively than issues like mushrooms being labelled with umbrella phrases like “pink toadstool” and even higher—simply mushroom—they’re modelled and named after real-life edible mushrooms. I discovered plenty of pleasure in selecting Puffballs and Chanterelles, or plucking Wild Beef off tree trunks and scurrying residence like an excited raccoon to retailer my findings within the pantry earlier than I needed to gingerly pluck them out to cook dinner with.
Relating to cooking, a bit of extra effort has been put in in comparison with farming. I imply, with the quantity hobbits eat and discuss meals, you’d anticipate the eagerness to shine by way of within the exercise of making ready meals. However, regardless that it appears like cooking has extra substance, it is actually simply plenty of clicking and hoping for the perfect. You chop substances like greens to be both chunky or clean relying on what you are cooking, and have the choice to fry them to change the feel too. For those who match the feel to what a small grid in the precise hand nook suggests, your meal shall be higher high quality and enhance your friendship with whoever you invite over for dinner. It is a whole guessing recreation, however it’s extra entertaining than watching taters develop in planters.
As for the story missions, plenty of the quests I used to be informed to finish concerned me going from one character to a different to ask them about one thing, after which being informed to go and discover another person to speak to. It felt like a endless chase for info with no actual reward, and I ended up simply being extra pissed off on the recreation once I was prompted to maneuver onto the following sufferer. However, I’ve to offer Tales of the Shire the good thing about the doubt right here because the demo solely presents the primary few hours of the sport, and I perceive that this was a simple method to make me conversant in the map and meet the opposite hobbits within the shire. However nonetheless, I am unable to assist feeling prefer it might’ve been executed in a extra entertaining manner than “go and ask them a few ebook”.
Plus, characters in Tales of the Shire are quite simple and don’t have any defining options to set them aside, which makes issues difficult whenever you’re attempting to familiarise your self with everybody, otherwise you’re requested to talk to somebody particular. It is like the identical character mannequin has been copy and pasted all through your entire map, and even the character you create has nothing particular to set it aside from the remainder. A degree of similarity is anticipated, given we’re all hobbits within the Shire, however the fashions really feel so disappointingly lifeless. One of many solely defining options of characters within the recreation is the addition of thick black eyelashes that make everybody seem like they’ve simply began listening to My Chemical Romance and visited the pharmacy for the most affordable eyeliner. Even Gandalf has fallen sufferer to this style development, and I frankly assume he’d be extra of a smokey eye fan.
The Shire itself has extra going for it fortunately. Despite the fact that it mirrors the identical cutesy, chibi-esque model of the characters, areas like your house have a good bit of element. It does appear like the sort of place I would wish to stay in, with hobbit holes overflowing with flowers and vegetation, so it is enjoyable to discover to begin. The map manages to supply fairly a bit to see comparable to a market, a tavern, and loads of different hobbit holes, with out feeling too overwhelming, and I preferred {that a} path of birds leads you to your vacation spot moderately than you having to aimlessly run or skip round hoping you find yourself in the precise place.
After spending 4 hours within the demo of Tales of the Shire, I am assured in saying that it presently appears like a careless, half-baked try to resolve the previous couple of years of Lord of the Rings video games. There’s an excessive lack of substance to mechanics, characters, and even dialogue. So moderately than being a turning level, it appears like one other nail within the coffin. However now its launch date has been pushed again to 2025, I discover it arduous to imagine I am the one individual conscious of its faults. I desperately wish to stay hopeful that will probably be the following recreation I unintentionally pour tons of of hours into, discovering a brand new life for myself in one of the vital whimsical worlds possible. For that to occur, although, much more work goes to should be carried out between now and its launch subsequent 12 months.
