Press Played LotR: Gollum and is Unimpressed; Release Date and Gameplay

After several delays - the latest being dictated by the cold reception of the first gameplay - studio Daedalic Entertainment and Nacon have finally announced a new release date for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. The title will be released on May 25, on PC, PS4, PS5, XOne and XSX/S. The Switch version is still in the plans - it will be released later in 2023.

The announcement of this information was combined with a gameplay presentation (available above), and was also preceded by a press screening. So what is the industry media saying? Is it worth waiting for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum? It depends - the game seems to be uneven and a tad off from modern standards.

Middle-earth as lored.

• The game world is particularly good. The great attention to detail is praised. On the walls, for example, one can notice tapestries depicting Eärnur - the last king of Gondor (until Aragorn took the throne after a long reign of stewards).
• It was also noted that Daedalic Entertainment is sticking very closely to book lore - which was facilitated by its collaboration with Damiri Knapheide, an expert on J.R.R. Tolkien's work.

Where Smeagol cannot, Gollum will go

• On the whole the moral choices made a positive impression. They were presented using the dual nature of the protagonist. In the game we will encounter situations that we will be able to solve either as Smeagol (in a good way) or as Gollum (in a bad way).
• Although the developers assure us that our choices will carry significant consequences, journalists who had the opportunity to play The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, did not find them too significant. Nevertheless, they stipulated that this may have been due to the limitations of the demo version of the game.

Gameplay "not from this era"

• The gameplay was the worst - the structure of the gameplay was divided into platforming, stealth and puzzle sequences. Sometimes we can decide how we will play through a stage, but generally it is imposed on us.
• What's worse, the game seems very linear and unforgiving of mistakes. The result of a failed jump or detection by enemies is usually death and the need to repeat the stage from scratch. The individual actions - jumping, sneaking, etc. - were implemented correctly, however.

In addition, there is a complaint about a kind of detective mode, since without it it is sometimes difficult to find the right way. What some journalists also warn is that if someone is firmly attached to Smeagol/Gollum played by Andy Serkis from the film trilogy, they may recoil from The Lord of the Rings: Gollum already at the start. Will this actually be the case? We'll find out in May.

• The Lord of the Rings: Gollum in the Encyclopedia of Games
• The Lord of the Rings: Gollum on Steam

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

May 25, 2023

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