The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is an upcoming stealth game from Daedalic Entertainment. Taking the role of the corrupted hobbit Gollum, you’ll sneak through the dangerous land of Mordor, bypassing orcs, ringwraiths and all sorts of other dangerous creatures as you go. Given how many Lord of the Rings games we’ve seen in the last two decades, it’s hardly unprecedented to have another one. But it's worth pointing out that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum takes inspiration from the books rather than the movies.
Otherwise, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will will explore one of our favorite fictional characters of the 20th century. Here’s what we know about Lord of the Rings: Gollum so far, and what we’d still like to learn.
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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum release date
Tom's Guide attended a Daedalic Entertainment press conference, where we learned that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will debut in the second half of 2022. Contrary to popular belief, it was never intended to be a next-gen launch title.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum trailer
Daedalic has released a brief teaser trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which shows the titular character crawling out of a creepy cave while looking out at a burning volcano. That doesn't tell is much about that game, but if this footage is indeed in-engine, it could mean that we're in for some gorgeously moody visuals.
At the very least, we can say that the game will have a slightly cartoonish, exaggerated art style. Everything in the game looks a bit askew and ugly, not unlike the titular character himself.
A more recent trailer shows off some in-engine footage:
In this footage, Gollum evades some enemies and starts to sneak through the orc pits of Mordor.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum gameplay
Tom's Guide saw an extended preview of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, where we got a good sense of the stealth gameplay, vertical platforming and open-ended exploration.
First off, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum does not feature any combat, as any denizen of Mordor could thrash the titular hobbit easily. Instead, players will have to explore the game's large levels thoroughly, looking for ways to evade enemies, whether by sneaking past them or finding alternate routes entirely. While Gollum can kill unsuspecting enemies by sneaking up on them, doing so takes a long time, and isn't viable in every situation.
Parkour platforming will also help Gollum get from place to place, and players will have to decide whether they prefer long-way-around platforming challenges, or a more direct path that might bring them in close contact with deadly enemies.
Finally, players will have to make personality choices, depending on whether they want to tackle certain problems in a conniving "Gollum" manner, or an evasive "Sméagol" manner. This isn't a strict evil/good binary, however; Gollum remains a little twisted and fearful, no matter what you do. But your choices can affect the story as the game progresses.
Lord of the Rings games have always been a bit of a mixed bag, although a lot of them have wound up as cult favorites over the years. (The Third Age and Battle for Middle-earth) come to mind. LOTR: Gollum may not be the next Shadow of Mordor-style hit, but Daedalic has promised that if the game does well, two other character-centric LOTR adventures could follow. And for the moment, that’s very precious.
