Here we are - the superstar, the titan, the colossus of Daedalic’s roster for the next year of video games. Ever since its announcement in March 2019, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been met with a swirling mix of concern and fascination that quickly established it as a potentially polarizing take on Tolkien’s illustrious legendarium. This is actually what enticed me into attending last week’s Daedalic Digital 2021 in the first place - I’m a massive Tolkien buff, and I’m firmly rooted on the side of “making Gollum a video game protagonist is a good idea, actually.”

Admittedly, I was disappointed that we weren’t offered an interview for Gollum, and that we wouldn’t be receiving footage of what we viewed on the day of Daedalic Digital. The new gameplay trailer is different from what was displayed last week - we actually saw tons more of the game. This is why I’ve also written a specific piece about how Gollum’s take on Mordor could be the best one in video games yet, as well as one on how the game appears to tackle the Gollum/Smeagol dichotomy with real finesse. In case you hadn’t noticed, despite my disappointment, I was extremely impressed with what I saw during the 20 minutes of gameplay we were guided through last Thursday. I know it was tailored-to-press, and I’m waving my arms about clutching handfuls of salt here. Still, let me explain why Gollum looks so good.

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Daedalic got the idea for Gollum five or six years ago, but only officially signed the contract in 2017 - the idea to gun for the rights to Tolkien actually came from another studio. After a lengthy pre-production period of and many different ideas about what the first game should be - yes, according to Daedalic CEO Carsten Fichtelmann, Gollum is planned to be a series - the studio finally started dev on the game and is gunning for a tentative release date of Q3 2022. The build we saw was apparently ten months old, so it’s a little rough around the edges - one NPC looked like a PS3 character. Still, despite the fact that even Gollum himself didn’t look great, it’s important to bear in mind this build will be over two years old by the time the game launches, and therefore doesn’t even remotely count as an accurate representation of launch quality. The actual environments here - which are by far the most important elements of a decent Gollum game - are brilliantly designed, both in terms of aesthetic and functionality. The emphasis on verticality over broadness in map design reminds me a lot of early Assassin’s Creed, and the virtual rendition of the iconic Barad-dur in a modern engine is an absolute treasure to look at.

We met Gollum just as he emerges from the slave pits of Barad-dur, which occurs as he is attempting to escape slavery under Sauron (in the books Sauron lets him loose on purpose, but makes Gollum believe he escaped of his own accord - sneaksy Sauron). Naturally, Gollum has all kinds of options when it comes to mobility - jumping, climbing, sneaking, and so on - and both Gollum and Smeagol are on full display here, creating an intriguing scenario in which your protagonist is constantly at war with both you and themselves. According to the devs, you can climb any surface and “feel sounds in the darkness.” In their words, Gollum has “developed skills other humanoids don’t have.” 500 years of eating raw fish with their eyes still intact does funny things to a hobbit.

The maps are faithful to Tolkien’s original cues for the height and verticality of monolithic structures in Middle-earth, which means the game enjoys serene vistas despite ostensibly being fairly grimdark in tone and mood. Like Isengard’s Orthanc, Barad-dur is reeling with demonic machinery - remember the two towers are largely designed to critique the Industrial Revolution. This structure allows Gollum to place a huge emphasis on parkour, as well as the difference between light and dark environments when it comes to stealth and progression. Combat is obviously a relatively minor part of the game - as the devs put it, “he can only take out enemies by surprising them from behind.” Remember, Gollum is far smaller and weaker than the orcs inhabiting Mordor - if he’s going to take one on, it will be from the shadows with a particularly sharp rock. It’s also worth noting that the assassination we saw took three or four seconds to execute - you really don’t want to take anyone on unless you are absolutely certain it is safe to do so, lest you be locked into an animation flailing off of an orc’s neck as a stray Uruk rounds the corner. All of this is considered in order to stitch together a cohesive stealth experience designed around freedom of movement and approach.

Daedalic also stated that news of Gollum’s actions will propagate among NPCs as you progress through the game, meaning that opting to act as Smeagol or Gollum will be significant beyond the immediate scenario you’re dealing with. Some NPCs will actually help you along the way - remember, Smeagol can be nice sometimes - so there’s a lot of weight riding on the choices you make as you play through the game. The example we saw focused on Gollum guiding someone through a dark corridor given his unique ability to see in the dark. However, because Gollum is so frail, his burly companion needed to move objects blocking the way. This sounds like PS2 mission design, I know, and I was sceptical watching it, but it was surprisingly fluid despite how early the build is. Oh, also, there are underwater sections. Thank Eru Iluvatar that Gollum is a good swimmer, eh?

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is set to launch in Q3 2022 and will be playable on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Apparently we’re going to meet some pretty well known characters, some of whom play a huge part in the overall story. Fingers crossed for Tom Bombadil.

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