Summary
Cooking may be one of the core aspects ofTales of the Shire’s gameplay, but it doesn’t forego including a variety of other cozy-themed mini-games like fishing either. As revealed inTales of the Shire’s trailers and preview footage, players will have the opportunity to fish in the game, likely in the waters of the Bywater Pool and The Water river that runs through Bywater and Hobbiton. It can be assumed that players will then be able to use the fish they catch in cooking recipes as they prepare dishes for their fellow Bywater residents. Unfortunately,Tales of the Shire’s fishing initially doesn’t seem all that extensive.
In a recent post made onTales of the Shire’s official X page, developer Weta Workshop shared an image showcasing various elements of the game’s fishing mini-game, including several different types of fish and fishing poles. While the response to the shared image has been mostly positive, the image showcases what appears to be a surprisingly shallow reward system built into the fishing mini-game, with only 12 different types of fish and two unique fishing rods. It could be that Weta has chosen not to reveal too much about the game’s fishing system, but that’s a more optimistic point of view considering what has been revealed. Hopefully,Tales of the Shire’s fishing mini-game will go above and beyond the recent reveal.
Tales of the Shire Can’t Sink Its Fishing Mini-Game
Tales of the Shire Needs a Wide Variety of Fish for Players to Catch
The most obvious thingTales of the Shireneeds to make certain about its fishing mini-game is that it includes much more than the 12 different types of fish that have already been revealed. WithTales of the Shire’sAnimal Crossingcomparisons, especially,Animal Crossing: New Horizonsgives players a whopping 80 different types of fish to catch, soTales of the Shiremight need to step up its game. If it turns out that it really only features 12 different fish types, players could get bored with it rather quickly.
Perhaps the only thing that would hold backTales of the Shirefrom including a greater number of fish would be theLord of the Ringsloreit’s rooted in. Weta Workshop has gone to great lengths to ensureTales of the Shirehonors its source material as much as possible, so to deviate from that even in the slightest might compromise its integrity. At the same time, fish types might be an area thatTales of the Shirecould stretch itself a bit, so long as these fish types fit within the context of Bywater’s climate.
The only other issue the game might face with fish types is its limited fishing space, butAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsalso has limited space and still manages to make fishing feel exciting every time.
Tales of the Shire Should Give Players Plenty of Incentive to Fish
Tales of the Shire’s cookingmay be more than enough incentive for some players to fish, catching some of the game’s rarest fish to make some of its best dishes. However, other players may need a more rewarding system than that. According to the image shown onTales of the Shire’s X page, players will get at least two unique fishing rods — as well as unique lures to go with them — but two may not be enough.Tales of the Shirecould make its fishing mini-game more enticing by offering players several different rods and lures for their fishing achievements, and perhaps even give them trophies to decorate their Hobbit holes with.
Hopefully,Tales of the Shire’s fishing mini-game will be more than meets the eye.Tales of the Shire’s Bywateralready looks like a worthwhile place to spend some quality cozy time, so it can’t afford to shortchange one of the best mini-games in the cozy sim genre.
