A brand-new LOTR title is out today in the form of Tales of the Shire: A Lord of The Rings Game, and reviews are just starting to land for this 'hobbit life sim' on Xbox.
So far, impressions are quite varied - but unfortunately, the overall consensus is veering to the lower end of the review scale here. Still, it's interesting to parse through the early reviews and have a gander, so, we'll round those up down below for you to have a good look at:
CGMagazine (8/10)
"That actually sums up my time with Tales of the Shire in general: a novel, yet not revolutionary, take on cozy games. Hobbitkind isn’t reinventing the wheel here, but there’s enough of a unique spin here that should satisfy Tolkien fans like a nicely-presented Second Breakfast. The quaint experience of living in a hobbit-hole and some satisfying gameplay loops compensate for other nitpicky problems with map design and progress scaling. Well-employed uses of the Tolkien “license” go a long way too, like an obligatory Gandalf cameo in the intro and a few other nods to the more famous halflings of Hobbiton."
TheSixthAxis (7/10)
"Now, Tales of the Shire is going to appeal to a very particular sort of person. Some might decry the limited Lord of the Rings connections – at least those who expect to be walloping orcs with swords – but there’s a heap of Animal Crossing here, alongside some Stardew Valley and Story of Seasons, wrapped up in a thoroughly convincing Lord of the Rings landscape. For fans of cosy gaming, those for whom a busy little fantasy life is what they want at the end of a day, rather than a grand adventure, Tales of the Shire is a gentle and lovingly crafted entry in the genre."
PC Gamer (6.7/10)
"Despite all the bustling around I do in Bywater, there's not quite enough to do to fill my days. Some of the activities are good ones: the cooking system is one of my favorite in games ever, and foraging for mushrooms, fruit, and herbs across the rolling hills and lush meadows of a beautifully detailed Bywater is pleasantly chill, but fishing is too basic to be interesting and farming is a letdown."
GamesRadar (3/5)
"I can thankfully say that, for all its faults, the cozy title does the lore justice and honours the work that we all love. Will I return to Bywater? Probably not. But am I glad I visited the hairy-footed residents? Undoubtedly so."
DualShockers (5.5/10)
"The constant crashes and lack of an autosave have put me in quite an anxious state for a cozy game, as I make sure to save before doing anything. While I feel the game has made its way 'there', it's not quite ‘back again’ and needs a bit more time before it’s really ready for an adventure."
Nintendo Life (4/10)
"Cosy gaming+hobbits seems like a match made in Valinor, and Tales of the Shire tries hard to meet that lofty goal - but in its current state, at least on Switch, this game is unfortunately almost as much of a slog as schlepping evil jewellery to a distant volcano."