The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

Source: Gollumgame.com

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, one of the more mysterious video games unveiled in recent years, will place players in control of one of cinema's iconic characters. It is slated to transport gamers to a hitherto undiscovered era in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth realm in an attempt to introduce a new story and lore to the renowned Lord of the Rings tale. While Bilbo and Frodo Baggins are unquestionably heroes in the story for discovering, carrying, and ultimately slaying the One Ring and the Dark Lord Sauron, there’s another hobbit who had a very important role to play — Sméagol aka Gollum.

What is the plot of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum?

According to Daedalic, the game is set before the events of The Lord of the Rings and will take place in the years after Gollum obtains the one ring, as reported by Hollywood Reporter. According to reports, the game will take players through the untold tale of the famous character's transition from being held captive in Mordor to following the Fellowship of the Ring in Tolkein's first book.

Most fans are unaware of the established legend surrounding what transpires during this time, which includes a section in which both Gandalf and Aragorn search for him. As a result, it gives plenty of people the chance to control Gollum as he avoids orcs, men, and elves equally while looking for answers about what happened to the Ring after it was lost to Bilbo in The Hobbit.

However, beyond that, very little is known about the plot of the game as the developers have done a superb job of keeping leaks under wraps while revealing little about the game’s storyline.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum gameplay

Source: Gollumgame.com

While the plot may be wholeheartedly J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings: Gollum will differ from the majority of other games bearing the The Lord of the Rings brand in that it won't involve any intense combat. The initial gameplay reveal trailer highlighted just that as it featured more stealth-based skills and parkouring abilities that Gollum could employ as he traverses through each level.

This is due to the fact that he cannot defeat opponents by charging into battle; instead, he must rely on his sense of hearing and his ability to see in the dark in order to use shadowy areas to subdue his adversaries. Gollum is a skilled freestyle climber who has developed his abilities over the past 500 years, and the gameplay reflects this, according to lead game designer Martin Wilkes.

“The game mixes stealth with vertical climbing parkour. If you want a reference, you might think of it as similar to Prince of Persia. It is mostly a non-combat game, but Gollum will be able to stealthily take out enemies. However, this will not be easy and always come[s] with big risks. We want players to carefully weigh these encounters. After all, Gollum’s strengths lie in cunning, not combat,” Wilkes told IGN.

However, every action that involves exerting force of any kind depletes Gollum's stamina gauge, so gamers need to plan out every move and must be aware of their surroundings before leaping forward to complete another difficult climb. Additionally, a portion of the gameplay will centre on Gollum's conflict with Smeagol, the Hobbit-side of his personality. That is a crucial element in the books and the films, and CEO Carsten Fichtelmann confirmed as much to The Hollywood Reporter.

“You already have that big conflict in the character… which means there is a good reason there are decisions to make in the game: the Smeagol decisions or the Gollum decision.”

Furthermore, it is confirmed that Gollum's choices have been portrayed as dialogue answers or decisions that correspond to his various on-screen personalities. Additionally, these responses or decisions have an impact on the game's setting because The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has a branching narrative that changes depending on the player's choices.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum trailers

Sneak Peek trailer

Cinematic trailer

Gameplay trailer

What platforms will The Lord of the Rings: Gollum be released on?

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is scheduled to be released on PC, current-gen, and last-gen systems. Although the PS4, Xbox One, and Switch have since been added as launch consoles, it was initially announced as a next-gen only game. In-game actions-based haptic feedback features, such as a variety of them, will be available to PS5 players as well as enhanced DualSense features.

When will The Lord of the Rings: Gollum be released?

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is formally scheduled for release on May 25, 2023, on the majority consoles. It was first revealed in 2020 with a release window in 2021 which was postponed to 2022 rather than being released that year.

Just over a month before the scheduled launch date of September 1, 2022, Daedelic Entertainment postponed it indefinitely so the programmers could provide "the best possible experience." That has turned into nine months although the May 25th 2023 release date is now fixed.