Hobbits are known to have quite an appetite, as evidenced by The Lord of the Rings' Peregrin Took, who utters the infamous line, "What About Elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon Tea? Dinner? Supper?" While the rest of Middle-earth fears an oncoming war with the forces of darkness, the most Hobbits have to fear in the Third Age is when their next meal will take place, and Tales of the Shire goes out of its way to capture that classic Hobbit trope through gameplay.
Cooking is a core mechanic in Tales of the Shire, with it being the main way players increase their standing with the rest of Bywater's townsfolk. But if there's one thing in Tales of the Shire that's more frequent than cooking and consuming food, it's the rate at which the player is rewarded for doing so.
Tales of the Shire Review
A Lord of the Rings life-sim, Tales of the Shire tries to live up to its inherently great premise, but the Hobbit game falls short in a few ways.
Tales of the Shire Rewards Players Just as Frequently as Hobbits Eat
Tales of the Shire's Social Clubs Reward Players for Everything They Do
Around three hours into Tales of the Shire, players will begin a questline that sees them forming a handful of social clubs with the help of some of Tales of the Shire's 15 villagers. There are four clubs in total, one for each of the game's core mechanics: fishing, gardening, foraging, and cooking.
Once Tales of the Shire's social clubs are established, players will start to earn a small amount of XP for that club whenever they complete an associated task. Every fish the player catches, every mushroom they forage, every pie they bake, and every seed they plant rewards them with a satisfying burst of XP.
Tales of the Shire is also home to an assortment of social club tasks that can be accepted at the Ivy Bush Inn. These tasks are very simplistic, but each one rewards the player with a large helping of XP and some useful ingredients for cooking. Gaining enough XP will eventually see the player's social club rank increase, which rewards them with more substantial items, such as upgraded fishing rods, increased backpack space, and extensions to their Hobbit home and garden.
Tales of the Shire's Fellowship Ranks Come With Their Own Wealth of Rewards
Another important progression system in Tales of the Shire is its Fellowship ranks. Whenever players complete a personal task for one of Bywater's villagers or invite them to a shared meal, their Fellowship rank with that Hobbit will increase. Reaching a new Fellowship rank will award the player with special recipes, unique furniture items, and even more valuable rewards like a fixed front door or pet chickens that can produce eggs.
Tales of the Shire's Main Quest Ensures Players Get a Taste of Everything
Simply playing through Tales of the Shire's 10-12-hour main quest will ensure that players get to experience all of these progression systems multiple times over, as most story quests are essentially just side activities that are made mandatory. Setting up social clubs, for instance, is part of Tales of the Shire's main quest, and players need to cook several meals for a variety of Hobbits during the campaign.
Even if players solely followed Tales of the Shire's story questline, they'd find themselves being rewarded for their actions at a constant and consistent rate. It's this abundance of incentives that really helps to prop up Tales of the Shire's somewhat rudimentary mechanics.
- Released
- July 29, 2025
- Developer(s)
- Wētā Workshop
- Publisher(s)
- Private Division
- Franchise
- The Lord of the Rings
- Number of Players
- 1
