Tales of the Shire’s Fishing Minigame Is The Best of Both Worlds

Fishing minigames have been a staple of the cozy game genre for decades. These minigames are often a great way for players to obtain ingredients for cooking or to get produce they can then sell for some cash, and they’re usually pretty relaxing to boot, letting the player tap into the virtual nature around them while they patiently wait to reel in a big one. Tales of the Shire is the latest cozy game to put forward its own unique fishing minigame.

One of Tales of the Shire‘s four core pillars of gameplay, fishing plays a fairly vital role in the Hobbit life-sim’s story and optional content, appearing throughout the main questline and the game’s social club activities. Fishing in Tales of the Shire isn’t quite as mindless as foraging, nor is it as intricate as cooking. Instead, it strikes a careful balance, not just between the game’s own mechanics, but those of Tales of the Shire‘s competition as well.

Tales of the Shire’s Fishing Minigame Is Halfway Between Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley

Animal Crossing’s Fishing Minigame Is The Epitome of Chill

Introduced all the way back in Animal Crossing‘s very first 2001 entry, the series’ fishing minigame has remained essentially exactly the same for over two decades, featuring almost identical animations between each entry as well. In Animal Crossing, players simply need to walk up to a body of water, throw their line towards the silhouetted fish, wait for the bait to be taken, and press one button to catch the fish.

It’s an incredibly simple minigame that features just two button presses overall. But in that simplicity lies accessibility, and with very little active participation needed, players are free to embrace the calm and routine nature of Animal Crossing‘s fishing.

Stardew Valley’s Fishing Minigame Is Infamously The Opposite

On the opposite side of the coin, Stardew Valley‘s fishing minigame is much more active, infamously so. When players throw out their line in Stardew Valley, they’ll be presented with an intense minigame that requires them to keep a symbol of a fish inside the boundaries of a green rectangle, which is actively controlled by the player. The fish needs to stay in this green rectangle long enough for a bar on the side of the minigame pop-up window to fill up. Stardew Valley‘s fishing minigame is notorious for being difficult for newcomers to grasp.

Tales of the Shire’s Fishing Minigame Is Just Right

Tales of the Shire‘s fishing minigame falls somewhere between Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. Much like Animal Crossing‘s fishing mechanic, players simply need to head to one of Bywater’s many ponds or rivers, spot a silhouette of a fish, and throw out their line to begin Tales of the Shire‘s fishing minigame.

But there’s a bit more to Tales of the Shire‘s fishing than Animal Crossing‘s simplistic two-button process. Players will need to hold down the trigger to slowly reel in the fish, all while gently positioning the line so that it stays behind the struggling creature. This process continues until the fish has been dragged all the way to shore.

Though Tales of the Shire‘s fishing minigame can last a little while if players are attempting to catch a fish in a wider river – like the one found outside of Nefi’s forge – the process could never be considered difficult. Players simply need to be patient when reeling the fish in, being careful not to snap the line by pulling for too long. Tales of the Shire‘s fishing minigame is a tad more involved and engaging than Animal Crossing‘s, but it’s not nearly as tricky to learn or master as Stardew Valley‘s, thus striking a good balance between the two cozy genre giants.