The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Needs to Balance Companions Carefully

gamerant.com:

Daedalic Entertainment is no stranger to the video game industry, but nevertheless, it may get more attention in 2022 than ever before. That's because of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, its new stealth-heavy action-adventure game set in the world of Tolkien's works. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum gives players control over Gollum, longtime bearer of the One Ring, as he travels across Middle-earth in search of his lost treasure, but he won't be the only major Lord of the Rings character that players meet. Daedalic has already confirmed that Gollum will feature major characters like Gandalf, some of whom will probably help Gollum on his journey.

According to certain footage of the game, Gollum will feature friendly NPCs that the titular protagonist can ally himself other in order to overcome certain obstacles. While Daedalic will probably come up with a few original characters to play these roles, it also seems plausible that Gollum will team up with a few major Lord of the Rings characters in this way. While NPC allies for Gollum sound great, Daedalic has to make sure that they don't interfere with Gollum's difficulty level. Strong NPCs could take away from the tension and challenge in Gollum's encounters with enemies.

Lord of the Rings: Gollum — How Daedalic Entertainment Can Nail Ringwraiths

Gollum, unsurprisingly, hasn't been billed as a game centered on combat. Gollum may be a star of Middle-earth, but he's known more for stealth than skill in battle. Nevertheless, it sounds like players will have to fight off enemies once in a while, and if Gollum features NPC allies, it seems likely that they'll defend Gollum from danger once in a while. That opens a door for a lot of interesting gameplay sequences. For instance, a