Tales of the Shire wants to make sure 'every detail is just right' when starting your hobbit life, but the character creator still looks incredibly disappointing
Hobbit life simulator Tales of the Shire is setting up for its launch in July, and an Inside Look video has been uploaded to share an update on development. Spotlighting elements of gameplay like farming, personalities, and how decorating your home works, there's a lot on display to encourage making the experience your own.
The Inside Look also features a spotlight on character customisation, which is one of the elements particularly marketed to help make your experience with Tales of the Shire unique to you. However, as much as the game is presented as your key to Hobbit life, I can't help feeling like the features on display are still incredibly lackluster.
When I played the demo of Tales of the Shire in September 2024, I was pretty quick to complain about the lack of unique appearance in each Hobbit. Although you are given the freedom to change your face, ear, and body shape, skin tone, haircut and personality, the sliders still feel limited and only slightly change your appearance.
Obviously they aren't shown in detail during the update video, but from what we can see each slider doesn't look much different, despite the UX designer stating "We want to make sure that you can change everything from your face shape to your foot hair." Unfortunately, things just don't look as in-depth as I imagine a lot of players would want the experience of creating their Hobbit-y self to be.
The emote library shown off in the same video does seem to bring a bit more life to the character sprites, which is something I look forward to seeing in action throughout the game. Dialogue between characters has been carefully created with gestures to make these interactions worth listening to and more lively, and even though these animations are over-exaggerated and cartoonish it definitely fits the aesthetic Tales of the Shire has built for itself.
But even though I'm not feeling particularly enthusiastic about the character customisation, the Inside Look video definitely reassured me that the natural world is still well worth exploring. Between foraging and hunting down various critters across the map like insects and fish, there is something enchanting about its appearance which makes me feel hopeful that, character creator aside, I’ll be able to enjoy the mechanics of Hobbit life regardless of the looks.