Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of The Rings Game preview: A warm hug of a game perfect for spring

Being 5ft2, I think I could already live comfortably inside a Hobbit hole, especially as a big fan of potatoes and eating in general.

Those were my thoughts when watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy and those were my thoughts once again when I recently experienced Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game.

Developed by Wētā Workshop, Tales of the Shire is an upcoming life and farming sim where you will get to experience the cosy life of a Hobbit in the serene landscape of the Shire.

After moving from nearby Bree, you will be the new Hobbit in town and the locals will teach you all there is to know about the village - whether that is fishing, gardening, cooking and even decorating your Hobbit hole to make it a home.

However, before you can get stuck into Hobbit life, you will have to create your Hobbit and despite not having an extensive character customisation, it is still efficient enough, especially as you can choose how much hair your Hobbit’s feet can have.

Wētā Workshop

As well as that, you can choose between the standard hair, skin colour, nose, mouth etc but you can also choose a personality type such as grumpy, cosy or jolly.

Although I thought this was more the Seven Dwarves than Lord of the Rings, it is still a cute little feature and can affect how you build relationships.

Once I had finally designed my Hobbit, I was faced with having to name them but luckily Tales of the Shire gives you the chance to pick between a bunch of presets. Not only does this stop me from panicking over a potential name for twenty minutes, it’s also a good idea if you want to have a more lore-accurate Hobbit.

However, the true magic began when the game started and I found my little Hobbit fast asleep in a tree, surrounded by the wilderness which would envelop you throughout the entire game.

After being taken to the Shire by a familiar face, which I won’t spoil for you, you are left to begin your adventure and it begins with a hearty meal.

With all life and farming sims, the first hour or so is dedicated to learning the ropes and after skipping around my home, checking out the bedroom, writing desk (which can be used to write dinner party invitations) and pantry (which I am insanely jealous about), I got to work making a creamy porridge with rhubarb for one of the many villagers you will meet, and befriend.

Much like Stardew Valley and others in the genre, as well as building a life for yourself, you will also get to befriend the locals and doing so will see them reward you with gifts.

Wētā Workshop

However, in Tales of the Shire, the best way to form friendships is by cooking and sharing meals as we all know the way to a Hobbit’s heart is through their stomach.

To do this, you can take on a cooking mini-game which allows you to control every aspect of the meal and more importantly, you will have to make sure that you have the ingredients for each recipe.

Finding ingredients through foraging is pretty simple, especially as you can follow the nearby butterflies which will take you to plants, mushrooms and all types of ingredients found throughout the world.

However, if you are feeling a bit lazy, you can head down to the village stalls which sell everything you need to cook a delicious meal.

As well as food, you can also find fellow Hobbits who sell upgrades and decorations for your home and many other much-needed items and with stock getting rotated daily, you never know what you will find in the local market.

Although Tales of the Shire mirrors titles such as Stardew where the townsfolk have schedules so you know where to find them at any time of the day, the Shire feels a lot more full.

Just leaving your home will see you faced with Hobbits hanging outside your house, fishing on nearby bridges, spending time with each other in neighbour’s houses and standing around the local market.

Although it is the bare minimum to plonk down some NPCs, it was something that stuck out to me during my time with Tales of the Shire, and as a result, playing it felt like getting a warm hug.

Wētā Workshop

It is these villagers that will assign you with various quests ranging from fetching them three fish, cooking three meals or finding a missing book.

Fishing, much like Animal Crossing, will see fish only appear in certain spots at certain times and in order to fish at all, you have to look for ripples in the water.

The fishing mini-game, although hard to master at first, is really fun and doesn’t just ask you to stand there and do nothing whilst the fish comes to you.

The Shire is quite large and when you’re new, it is hard to get around.

Luckily, Wētā Workshop implemented a way to never get lost and that is by following the birds who fly ahead of you and perch on nearby signposts and bridges.

By tracking certain quests in your journal and following the birds, you will get where you need to go (and get to feel like Snow White in the process).

I think it’s pretty obvious that I could talk for hours about Tales of the Shire and all its unique little features but what I loved most of all is its feeling of community and warmth.

From the autumnal trees lining the various bridges to the farm animals lowing in nearby fields or the villagers greeting you excitedly by name to sharing a meal with the locals, I feel as though Tales of the Shire earns its cosy description.

Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game is set to launch on 25 March, 2025 for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One.