TALES OF THE SHIRE

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Some say that the cosy games genre is getting a little oversaturated. The pandemic's contribution to the colossal success of ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS made the genre take off to new heights of popularity. And since then, it has become a bloated bag of games, polluted by dozens of mediocre titles that tried to ride the wave of popularity. I am not so keen on such an outlook - for me, the more, the merrier! It's not like this particular genre of soft, soothing entertainment was ever in the spotlight before. Not like players were spoilt for choice. And so, having this unexpected Golden Age of relaxing games still feels fresh. And most wholesome.

Of course, it doesn't change the fact that not all games are made equal. Some are obvious clones of passing formulas. Others are just cheap, made for a quick cash grab. Some of course are works of art and passion. And frankly, I am not sure how to label TALES OF THE SHIRE on that spectrum.

When I saw the first teasers of this game, I was elated. Hobbitmaxxing was a dream! Who amongst us wouldn't love to live in the Shire? A peaceful idyll, full to the brim with countryside bliss. A picture-perfect rendition of that soft and tender village life, where the biggest problems are so small and simple. With friendly neighbors, perfect weather, charming animal husbandry on the side, and beautiful households with meadows as rooftops. For me, that representation of the Shire always felt like a wistful rendition of so-called "Simpler Times". Of endless summer holidays. Of colorful and cheerful winters, cozying up by the fireplace with a mug of hot tea. An evening filled with lackadaisical strolls through the farms and forests and lazing around, chewing on a stalk of grass, counting bees passing by.

The small hamlet of Bywater may be tiny, but it is dense with delightful vistas.

That all sounds just so good. And I'll be damned - the game delivers on that, in spades. There is a lot of goodness baked into this title that instantly hooked me in. The atmosphere, for a start, is impeccable when it comes to the recreation of the feelings mentioned above. Your little soon-to-be village of Bywater is a tiny hamlet with scarcely a few dozen inhabitants, but it is gorgeous to behold and full of life. The map might be small, but it feels dense and perfectly curated. It fills me with warmth and joy just skipping through it - the whimsical architecture, the swaying grasses and flowers. Little creeks, ponds, and rivers. Cascading waterfalls and ancient rocks. All that wrapped with a very gentle art style, which rapidly grew on me. Yeah, I will agree that it has some of that PlayStation 2 era fidelity, but once you see it all in-game, it works so well with the density of things on display.

Then you go on your little adventures, and the game starts feeling even better! Cooking meals is a genuinely fun mini-game, growing in complexity as you progress with the questline of the Cooking Club. The variety of ingredients and meals is quite staggering! Gardening is another delightfully simple activity that aims to stock your pantry with your own goods. Foraging is mostly just a time-killing activity - you cannot end the day early, you must wait for the night to strike to go to sleep, so once your daily tasks are done, quests are fulfilled, you will likely spend the rest of your day foraging or fishing. Oh, yeah! I do like the fishing mini game, too - it is simple, but quick, intuitive, and just pleasant in its rudimentary mechanics. Add to that a pretty decent pacing and progression with the main story and the four clubs for cooking, gardening, foraging, and fishing, and bam! You get a relaxing game with quite a respectable list of things to do and enjoy.

Or so I thought. Because as much as TALES OF THE SHIRE could delight me, it showed also an astonishing lack of polish or - putting it mildly - frustrating design choices. This gives the title, which isn't cheap for a small indie game by the way, a sense of being an Early Access title that could use a lot of polish to shine. I wish the game had some voice lines - lack of them feels criminal! I wish there were a rudimentary crafting system to make your own furniture or decor. I wish there were some deeper relationship options, not just everything based on food. I wish the starting backpack wasn't only 10 items you can carry. I wish that fish of the same type would stack in your hold! I would love to be able to interact with more villagers just for a chit-chat... And most of all, I wish the game were optimized, even a little, because it isn't, it seems, at all. My PC is a beast, a monster of the highest specs imaginable, and yet this title, not even on highest settings, barely chugs away at 40-50 FPS. That should be illegal.

Cooking is the heart of the game and fortunately, it is a pretty fun and robust mini-game on its own.

And yet, despite the obvious flaws, I have a hard time putting it down. Yeah, even the seeping in repetition of the day-to-day affairs doesn't chase me away. So there is something here. The vibe, the aura, the soothing tranquility of it definitely helps. And for every little bit of frustration, there is something delightful to be happy about. The blue birds' navigation system feels ingenious. It's immersive, cute, and works like a charm. Music and audio in general are stellar - perfectly matching the scenery, shifting between locations to aid the mood. Little duckies and swans everywhere that you can greet. There's a duck in a helmet and a cuirass, which is like, the best thing ever.

And of course, I'd be remiss to not mention the other big part of the game - home decor. It feels pretty darn vast! Every single piece of your hobbit household can be edited, from the supporting beams to the floors and windows. Every room can be crammed full of furniture and knick-knacks of your choice. It can be quite a canvas for your creativity, and you can make your house truly yours. But see, even here I feel that there is something lacking. On one hand, I can easily praise how easy to use the system is and how robust the ability to change things to your liking... But then, most items aren't even interactable in any way. You can't sit on your chairs or benches. You can't pick up a book to read it - even just have some minor animations of relaxing wth one. Most of the objects are fully static and inert. It's a bit of a bummer.

And so, it is hard for me to judge the title. I am hooked on it, playing it for hours every day since it came out, so that sounds like a firm recommendation, right? It has charm, plenty of it, spilling out of every corner. It's beautiful and relaxing, like the absolute best titles of the genre. Being a hobbit in this soft, idyllic village just feels right. And yet, despite all that, there are so many bits and bobs missing, so many corners to bump into, feeling like there was a missed opportunity here and there. And the game running so poorly doesn't help, either. It's a great game, a superlative piece of relaxing fun - as long as you don't expect too much out of it and the core features keep you entertained. Keep it simple, keep it easy, and it might be a perfect title for you to unwind with.