I love a good, cozy game, and throwing fantasy into a mix seems to be an ideal recipe for success. Tales of the ShireThe inspired hobbit adventure has all the ingredients needed for size, but it does not quite make a satisfactory meal.
Tales of the Shire He invites players to a cozy corner of Middle -earth, which is far from the usual current high rate in the whole Lord of the Rings concession. Instead of epic battles and deadly gloomy forces, you focus on cooking, gardening, community and the noiseless charm of the Hobbit life. Unfortunately, it only gives this promise a bit, because ultimately he tries to balance the charm with the substance.
Prosecution of birds and butterflies by a charming, engaging environment
The world is certainly the best part of this game. It is a lively, green, open world, with lots of discovering and discovering. There is a lot to love, but my favorite part is an addictive exploration mechanics.
Birds, butterflies and skipping are the best examples of this. The birds act like your guide, flying in any direction to go after tracking the mission or mark the location on the map. Instead of distracting arrows or symbols, you can follow the charming compact blue birds that blend in with your surroundings, keeping you in a picturesque natural landscape.
Similarly, butterflies jump around the ground to lead you to all nearby resources that you may want to pick up. They are even marked with colors to adapt to this type of element that you will find if you follow them. And who needs a run or jumping when you can go to the destination? All these mechanics cooperate so that this cozy Shire world really feels at home.
Mostly known mechanics with several hobbit phrases
There are all the expected cozy functions of the game, including gardening, feeding, fishing, decorating and cooking. They are mainly equal to the course, except for cooking and gardening, which have a delightful depth for them.
Instead of simply throwing the ingredients and go on, we encourage you to chop and cook dishes to add various textures and flavors. Mastering is a bit hard, but it is one of the best parts of the game and probably the best cooking system that I met in every cozy game.
In gardening, planting some crops close to each other may result in better harvest, while others have failed after placing close together. For this reason, you must be a bit strategic in the field of placing plants, and navigation is a slightly hard but fun system. I would like other gameplay systems to have the same depth as these two, because they really shine.
The villagers who charm, but do not have a real depth
Townsfolk, which you meet around Shire, are integral for everything you do and create central points of central history. But although they are delightful, they are also incredibly shallow. This is my biggest problem because one -dimensional characters reflect the amazing immersion elsewhere.
Apart from tasks, occasional pop-ups and meals, there is no way to talk regularly with villagers. When you approach them, they will ask if you need something and the only option is to say goodbye if you do not work on the task that concerns them. The only exception are characters that can trade or have items for sale, but there is also no special dialogue or depth in these interactions.
Shire revolves around relationships, so why do I know if I don’t know anything about 15 living villages living there and that most of the heroes are the same? Apart from Townsfolk, many other NPC wanders, but you can’t interact with them in any way.
I can’t get to know the characters better, give them gifts, spend time regularly or build relationships with them in a different way, and this seems so huge supervision. Even sharing meals with villagers, which is the only way you can really spend time with them, does not teach us anything recent but the types of food.
Mission Townsfolk gives you tedious, because most of them are tasks that send you around the map there and back between the same characters with only any intriguing dialogue. These tasks are particularly frustrating because there is no way to travel swift.
There is a basics of size here, with an incredibly charming style of art, a wonderful world and fascinating characters that I really want to know more about, but Tales of the Shire It just doesn’t. If you are looking for a super relaxing and cozy experience, you will have a good time with this, but do not expect a game that will remain with you.
