The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a narrative-based game that follows the titled character during a time before we knew him in the movies. This series is supposed to be based on the J.R.R. Tolkein books and not the movies at all, so film buffs may notice quite a few differences to the character once it releases.
The developer of the upcoming game, Daedelic Entertainment have revealed 11 screenshots from the game for us. Here is everything we know about the upcoming game from these screenshots and what they have said so far.
Release date
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is set to release in 2021 for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch. In the past, Daedalic Entertainment has said that the game would be coming to “all relevant consoles at that time,” so it can be assumed it will also come to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Graphics
While Daedalic has said that the game will not be based on Peter Jackson’s movies, screenshots have confirmed what Gollum will look like in the game, and he seems similar to the films. They also appear to be going for more of a cartoonish design when compared to other games in the Lord of the Rings franchise like Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor.
Gameplay
Gollum is a smaller creature who can be vicious when separated from the ring of power, but he is not very powerful on his own. For that reason, this game will be taking more of a stealth approach. In the following screenshots, you see Gollum hiding behind an orc captain, climbing a tower above guards, running from giant spiders, and possibly plotting a way to enter a stronghold.
Gollum should have the ring of power, but it remains to be seen if you can use it whenever you want to go invisible and for how long. It could also be interesting to see what kind of drawbacks using the ring has on you or other uses for it.
Gollum is also a creature with dual personalities. We see it in the movies and can expect to see the same kind of treatment in the game. In the following screenshot, we see what appears to be an adventure game-like choice system. The green choices can be expected to be more cowardly, friendly options like Smeagol would make. The red can then be deduced to being more selfish, aggressive decisions that Gollum would do. It is unknown at this time if making these decisions will alter the story in any way, or potentially give multiple endings.
Story
Not much is known about the story at this time. Daedelic has said in the past that this is only part one of this series, and it takes place before the The Hobbit novel. With Smeagol already looking the way he is, we can imagine he has gotten the ring of power already. However, with the screenshots showing him entering strongholds, it may have been stolen from him, and he is trying to get it back.
With the game giving you choices, there could potentially be separate ways to enter a fort, and one may be through a spider den. In the last screenshot, one of the ways getting into the fort may be by passing the same giant spiders he was running from earlier. That is only speculation, though.
