The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Is Looking Less Than Precious
The Stoor hobbit Sméagol, corrupted into the twisted form of Gollum by the One Ring, is not the most obvious protagonist for a video game. But there is potential for the dual personalities of The Lord of the Rings’ sneakiest character to translate into fun gameplay. A battle between cowardice and vindictiveness, fought within the very mind of your playable character, could spin off into challenging choices and unique mechanics. Sadly it looks as if the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: Gollum from developer Daedalic Entertainment is struggling to find such an entrancing angle.
During a recent hands-off presentation I was shown just over 20 minutes of beta gameplay footage from The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. This was split across two Middle-earth locations: Cirith Ungol, the path that runs through the mountains of Mordor and acts as the stage for the game’s first chapter, and Thranduil the Elvenking’s Woodland Realm. While Gollum is inspired by the books rather than the movies these locations draw from more or less the same palette used for Peter Jackson’s fantasy epic, and so are instantly recognisable.
Taking place just a few years before The Fellowship of the Ring, the story sees Gollum desperately searching for his precious ring while attempting to stay out of Sauron’s clutches. This scenario forms the framework of a stealth game in which you must avoid fights at all costs, lest you find yourself captured by the dark lord’s servants.
Gollum is a linear game made up of what Daedalic says are mostly confined environments, explored through a combination of stealth and climbing. While frequent use of both are required, there are sequences in which you can opt for your preferred approach. A pathway patrolled by enemies, for
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