Games set in Middle-Earth have always been a bit of a mixed bag. However, Lord of the Rings: Gollum looks to be an exciting new entry. Gollum certainly makes an interesting — albeit odd — choice for a protagonist. Daedalic Entertainment, which serves as both developer and publisher, hasn't shown off a lot of the game yet but recently shared a teaser trailer. The devs have since shared quite a bit of info about Gollum's gameplay and how it ties into the world of Middle-Earth.
Set to release sometime in 2021, Lord of the Rings: Gollum will appear on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. Daedalic has said it's planning to expand Gollum's story beyond the source material in J.R.R. Tolkien's books, which means some surprises are likely in store for the character and those who play the game.
So far, the story seems to focus on Gollum as he's stranded in Mordor and looking for a way out. This is why a big part of the gameplay will be focused on stealth. Players can sneak around to avoid enemies and climb up sheer cliffs and tall buildings by using Gollum's spider-like climbing skills. Daedalic has compared the stealth mechanics to Prince of Persia, and the sneaking around in LotR: Gollum will feel true to the creepy character. After all, Gollum was more of a stealthy assailant than a true warrior in the books. It wouldn't make sense to have him taking on enemies head-on.
Lord of the Rings: Gollum Isn't Just A Stealth Game
While stealth will play a large part in Lord of the Rings: Gollum, it's not the only thing fans have to look forward to. The other important mechanic will involve making choices as his two personalities, Gollum and Sméagol. Gollum's dueling psyches make for all sorts of plot twists in the books and movies, and it'll be interesting to see how that affects gameplay as well. Devs at Daedalic have said this will alter the narrative choices quite a bit, as players who use Gollum heavily will have different outcomes than those who prefer siding with Sméagol. This won't alter the story overall, since Daedalic is staying close to source material, but it will provide variations in the journey along the way, as the narrative is expanded for the game.
It appears that people won't be playing solely as Gollum/Sméagol either. Daedalic has teased allies to help Gollum along the way, and has said that these allies will come with special abilities. This means fans could be seeing some favorites like Aragorn or Gandalf at some point in Gollum's story, and various Elves as well, since they would all exist within the narrative of this prequel.
As 2021 nears, Daedalic should share more information regarding The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Gollum is an interesting, and somewhat unique, character that should be refreshing to control compared to the typical action-adventure heroes, and it sounds like the gameplay will reflect Gollum's dueling personalities quite well.