If another Lord of the Rings game would be coming to us soon, I would’ve never expected it to be centered around Gollum. I was a big fan of the first Shadow of Mordor game, but didn’t get the chance to check out the sequel. I know what happens, and it’s bonkers, but the gameplay looked awesome enough. What I did like about it was how it tied into the movies and I do believe that the Lord of the Rings lore should be expanded. So when no third Shadow of Mordor game was announced, I wasn’t too surprised, but I was a bit disappointed. I think we Lord of the Rings fans deserve another game, and it looks like we’re getting one next year. But honestly, who would expect a game about one of the franchise’s most memorable characters, Gollum/Smeagol? That was a bit of a surprise for me.
Now I originally didn’t think a game about Gollum would work because there’s not much that can be done with it. At least, that’s how I took it before I saw the new trailer for the game. IGN released a gameplay overview trailer where the producer of Daedelic Entertainment personally walked us through the details of what the game is about. In short, I liked what I saw. Obviously there was a lot of gameplay where Gollum was crawling around and being creepy. That was expected, but Harold Riegler (the producer) showed us some incredibly detailed and beautiful shots of the game. Honestly, he pretty much sold me when he emphasized on how they wanted to be faithful to the lore of Middle-Earth.
According to him, the developers behind the game took many notes from the book, specifically the details of the world itself. The game will take Gollum to several key locations of Middle-Earth, including Mordor, Mirkwood, and the mines of Moria. The story of the game is one that Lord of the Rings fans are all but too familiar with: Gollum is on his quest to find his precious ring.
I remember Gollum’s appearance in Shadow of Mordor, where he was a reluctant ally to Talion. His presence in the game didn’t seem like a forced cameo, which I liked. Was he entirely essential to the plot of the game? You can argue that he wasn’t, but he did do something in it and it was still fun to see him. The only thing about Gollum, at least in my opinion, is that he works when he’s a supporting character. This game puts him in the center stage and that makes me very curious.
So I can get behind a story where we’re playing as Gollum and we need to search for the one ring. What I can’t really imagine is what kind of gameplay we’ll be looking at. I mean, it’s not like Gollum is an intense physical threat like the Saruman or the Witch King of Angmar, so I wouldn’t expect any crazy action gameplay. Well, the developers think the same way, rightfully so, and the trailer showed us what playing as Gollum would be like. What I saw was a lot like Uncharted and little bit of Sly Cooper merged together.
The gameplay trailer had Gollum climbing walls and cliffs like Nathan Drake and doing some crazy parkour. But of course, the small creature would be no match for Orcs or imposing Uruk-Kai, but those are the ones pursuing the ring for the dark lord. What does Gollum do when he comes across them? The gameplay trailer shows a lot of stealth, specifically Gollum using his size and the environment to sneak around enemies. That is very fitting for a game where Gollum is the main character and from the looks of it, I can tell the developers know what they’re doing.
What also really struck me is that Harold Riegler understands that Gollum takes no sides. He’s not interested in protecting the free people of Middle-Earth, nor does he care about returning Sauron to his physical form. The game will emphasize how Gollum is on his own side, but has come across almost every character from the movies. This will lead to some interesting interactions, and Harold Riegler revealed which characters will be making appearances.
One character that wasn’t really a surprise was the Mouth of Sauron, a character who was cut from the theatrical version of Return of the King. In the Gollum game, however, it’s confirmed that the Mouth of Sauron will be showing his face. It’s about as ugly as you would expect it to be, but I’m very interested to see what role he plays in the game. Could he be tasked with hunting down Gollum or is he secretly plotting against Sauron? A rather unknown character like him could be the main antagonist for this game. More importantly, given his small role in the films, a main antagonist role can give his character more development.
And who else will Gollum be encountering in the game? Well, there is one character who wasn’t in the Lord of the Rings movies, but had a big presence in the Hobbit movies. King Thranduil, the father of Legolas and leader of the Elves of Mirkwood, will be appearing. From what the producer said, Gollum will at one point be a prisoner of the Elves of Mirkwood and will have to escape them. Who knows how Thranduil will react to Gollum’s existence, but given his pragmatic nature, he’ll probably think it best to keep him as a prisoner.
And the last big Lord of the Rings character who will be in the Gollum game will be the big wizard himself. Can you really leave out our man Gandalf? Not a chance. Gandalf is very much aware of the tragic story of Gollum and his obsession with the one ring. In Fellowship, Gandalf even told Frodo he spent weeks looking for Gollum, but the minions of Sauron found him first. This could lead to the first on-screen interaction between the two characters. It could also mean that we’d be trying to escape from Gandalf himself. This game sounds more exciting now that I think about it.
The trailer for the Gollum game really got me hyped. It will be released some time next year on multiple platforms and now, it just might’ve made my to-buy list.
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