One of the most widely known and memorable elements of both the original books and Peter Jackson’s movie adaptation based on these literary classics is the character of Gollum/Sméagol, the river hobbit who was corrupted by the One Ring. While most people remember Andy Serkis’ legendary performance, Daedalic Entertainment is bringing a new rendition to audiences in a video game revolving entirely around the tortured creature. Revealed back in 2019, Gollum was supposed to launch by now, however Daedalic chose to delay the production to give it some more polish and fine tuning. We suspect the on-going global COVID-19 pandemic, which has causes numerous media delays, also had something to do with this. We don’t have a fresh release date yet, but the game is expected to arrive sometime next year. Shown off at The Game Awards, this new trailer - though cinematic - gives players a better sense of how Gollum and Sméagol’s conflicting personalities will factor into gameplay. The aggressive Gollum and the fearful Sméagol favor different approaches to overcoming certain obstacles and solving some problems. In this case, these problems are orc shaped, and one favors violence while the other urges caution and stealth. Again, this is a cinematic trailer and not in-engine, though we imagine some of the things seen here are a representation of actual gameplay mechanics. These would be sneaking, stealth takedowns, attracting enemy attention with noise and environmental features that can contextually be activated, like the barrel of molten ore. Details on the story are scarce, but will cover those periods of the book trilogy where Gollum is separated from the other characters, mostly his incarceration in Mordor where he reveals that the ring may be in the Shire under duress. His escape hence is likely going to be the main goal in the game itself, which will feature several locations throughout Middle-Earth and all sorts of enemies to outsmart or clobber. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be hitting PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch sometime next year. We expect more details closer to launch, whenever that will be.
