Cozy Game Reviews was not given a complimentary game code for Tales of the Shire. Check out our transparency policy.
Hours played: 15 hrs
Rolled credits: No
Coziness rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Tales of the Shire is the brand new Tolkien Game Universe (TGU, anyone?) made by Weta Workshop and released in July of 2025. I can’t think of any better setting for a cozy game than the Hobbitverse, where sunshine naps, community festivities, and hearty meals reign supreme. Tales of the Shire is a cooking game x light farming sim, with social/life sim being a key components.
However, I also covered League of Legend’s attempt to break into the cozysphere and was left thinking that some developers are just trying to capitalize on the cozy game trend without really understanding what the community looks for in these types of games.
With the 2023 Gollum game being an absolute stinker, it also seems like whoever is pulling the strings of the LOTR franchise is not vetting for quality products. Or allocating enough resources to make stuff good.
So keep in mind that anything I say is not a ding on the developer; moreso, a critique of the ever-turning wheel of capitalism that would see all our beloved childhood franchises ground to dust for an extra buck.
When I first booted up Tales of the Shire, I was optimistic. I put any negative reviews out of my mind, knowing that I am the ideal audience for this game. While it may not click with the mainstream media, it certainly should click for me.
Right off the bat, the character creator is disappointing. There are only 5 body types, 5 body sizes, and 5 faces to choose from. There are 13 hairstyles total and only 6 hair colors. There are no funky colors like pink or purple. So don’t get your hopes up for inclusive representation here.
Once you are in the game, you will inhabit an abandoned home and a few gardening plots (very Grandpa’s Old Farm coded) in a place called Bywater. The dwelling is a mess and you can clean it up in decorate mode, which is something I quickly realized I need from every cozy game ever. Let. Me. Clean. But in all seriousness, I loved tidying up and decorating with my own items as I obtained them, even if the decorator screen is totally clunky.
The mechanisms of gameplay revolve around meal planning: befriend villagers to unlock recipes, forage or fish for ingredients, and tend a garden to stock your pantry with produce. You can also visit the town market for items like animal products and spices.
What you can’t do, however, is talk to the NPC hobbits unless it’s about a quest or a reward item. Which is….certainly a choice. Cozy games love leaning on community-building as a theme, and evolving conversation snippets tend to be a key element of this. I was surprised that Tales of the Shire didn’t let you interact with your neighbors in the most basic way imaginable.
The core of the game is about hosting meals for friends, and wrestling up a enough community cache to earn Bywater the status of an official “Village” title. It’s wholesome and sweet; quaint and simple. Exactly the sort of soft-boiled focus I love for my cozy game meandering. Give me a light task list, but mainly just let me roam.
There isn’t a lot to do in Bywater, but there is more than enough to fill your day. If you are looking for tasks, the message board for different clubs (Cooking, Foraging, Gardening, and Fishing) can offer some helpful ideas. And check your mail daily, as some hobbit will become disgruntled if you haven’t invited them for a meal recently.
Foraging is particularly worthwhile, as you can find herbs, nuts, berries, and fruits all around the map. These will restock daily or weekly, and may even change season to season. I can’t help but feeling that exploring the nap wouldn’t feel so empty if the hobbits you pass had dialogue to offer you. The occasional bubble will appear over their heads with a thought, but you can’t interact meaningfully.
Befriending hobbits around town will unlock additional areas. Though the unlockables feel cheap and not satisfying to access. One of them is your front door, inexplicably barred when you first move in. Another is a dock fishing spot that you can see but not access for no real reason that makes sense. It feels like little parts of a complete game were chipped away and added as “rewards” instead of meaningful advancements.
Gardening was my favorite activity. You can freely place plants in planters (no grid) and experiment with different combinations. Will a carrot grow better beside a bushel of rosemary or a crop of potatoes? Each plant has liked and disliked neighboring flora, just like gardens in real life. You can score higher quality produce by pairing them up favorably.
You can move the planter boxes around to decorate your yard as you please. The same goes with anything inside your hobbit hole. Move and place benches, bookshelves, decorative clutter, cushions, tables, and cutlery. Change the wallpaper, the wood type, or brick color across different accents of the house.
Money is a bit hard to come by, as every piece of produce is precious material for much needed feasting. But you can buy items to decorate with, or clothes to add to your closet. The stores around town change stock frequently, though variety is lacking somewhat. It’s fun to customize and collect, if you can find the spare funds.
Overall, there is a good game here. But it’s a bit unrealized. The strength of the game coasts on its famous IP, and it gets lucky in that its target user group enjoys quaint repetition that wouldn’t be acceptable in other genres.
The graphics range from being subpar to horrendous. My game crashed twice. Tales of the Shire may be a fun game, but it’s not a game we should praise lavishly or seek to emulate. It’s a cop out. A half-baked product that happens to scratch the right itch for casual gamers. It is not polished, and cozy gamers deserve more than a mediocre money grab from underfunded developers.
We can—and should—expect more from developers that seek to enter the cozy gaming space. We painstakingly carved out this niche, and it’s not fair to take advantage of the trend.
Tales of the Shire is easy and friendly and fun. Sort of the basics of what a life sim game should be. Next time, let’s aim for inspired and unexpected and delightful. Design a standalone world that takes our breath away, instead of just recycling used air.
Stay cozy, gamers!
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