A question that has stumped philosophy since the age of Plato and Aristotle is: Are so-called "cozy" games really cozy? They are, in essence, "home economy simulators", in which various aspects of daily subsistence and society are gamified. The gameplay loop is all about growing and producing resources, and then selling, buying, and trading them. Even human relationships are handled via "points". While some might find this hyper-rationalization to be comforting, I find it can cause anxiety. As you progress, you have more stuff to tend to. Make sure you have enough raspberries in your pantry before winter comes. Keep an eye on your neighbors and provide them with enough transactional services before they start hating you. And don't forget to feed the chicken.
As you might guess, I'm not sold on the genre. I am, however, a big fan of Tolkien's works.
As a [i]The Lord of the Rings[/i] game, [i]Tales of the Shire[/i] fares well. It brings a small corner of the Shire to life with considerable charm and delight. Hobbits look, talk, and act as they should. Life is inward-looking, wholesome, congenial, and almost entirely consumed by the desire for good food and good company. Tolkien would approve of this depiction. Without spoilers, I'll note that there are nods to Middle-earth, its peoples, and its history at large, and they are interpreted with an originality that looks to the books themselves for inspiration rather than later media representations. I approve.
The presentation as a whole employs a minimal, almost water-color style. It won't take your breath away, but the 3D models, animations, color palettes, and sounds are all suitably endearing. The change of seasons is a high point for the look-and-feel. The background music is OK, I guess, but I wish it played a bigger role. Importantly, there is no voice acting. It generally feels like a bigger budget could have allowed for a more fleshed-out and satisfying result.
As a cozy game, I dunno about this one. It's slow-moving and not very complex, which might sound nice but it can also try one's patience. The game area is not huge, but without a fast travel system you will be spending most of your time walking (or skipping!) to and fro. Cooking is a central system but you'll have to look to online guides to learn it properly. There aren't many other game systems and just not that much to do. As such, the purposely repetitive gameplay loop wasn't able to maintain my attention for long sessions. Wake up, read the mail, water the plants, fish some fish, sell at market, buy cooking ingredients, cook, sleep. That was 90% of how I spent my time in this game.
To be fair, there are also quests (here called "tales") as well as various challenges. The main quest's story is actually lovely and it succeeds in tying the premise together. Most others, however, are quite forgettable fetch quests. The lack of voice acting, the smallness of the setting, and the limited cast of characters mean that quests will quickly all feel like more of the same. The biggest problem with this game is that the main quest ends quite quickly. The "epilogue" is long, empty, and grindy. I dropped the game after a few hours of that.
True to the "cozy" goal, the stakes are very low and you can't really fail anything. Play "badly", e.g. cook the wrong meal, and it just means it will take you more time to win over your neighbors. The good thing is that you can truly play at your own pace and not worry too much about "progress". On the other hand, it sometimes makes it harder to care about your activities. The game expects you to imbue its systems with your [i]own[/i] meaning and rewards. Decorate your Hobbit-hole as you see fit. Buy new clothes... or don't. The best way to play [i]Tales of the Shire[/i] is to roleplay as a Hobbit. If you're not committed to that idea and are expecting an "adventure" to be presented to you then you will surely be disappointed in this game.
I didn't come in with very specific expectations. I did come out with an appreciation for this interpretation of the Shire, a craving for mushroom pies, and some smiles. I had a pleasant enough time with [i]Tales of the Shire[/i], but it's hard to recommend it. Fans of Tolkien as well as fans of cozy games won't find anything especially new and exciting here. That said, the game does basically do what it says on the tin. And that might be exactly what you're craving.
