The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (PS4)

Product Information

Whether it’s a book, a movie, or a video game, creative works generally exist for a reason. Sometimes it’s to delight, by entertaining with stories or fun gameplay. Other times it’s to inform, with news or by exposing the audience to different perspectives. Or it makes you think, with interesting ideas that challenge you to consider or reflect. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, however, is a game that does none of these things. Instead, it thrusts you into the role of the titular character without doing anything meaningful with his defining internal conflict, and sends him on a series of missions that are neither fun to play nor interesting to experience. The one question it poses is: why would someone want to play this? A new Lord of the Rings video game is coming in 2021". Polygon. 26 March 2019. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023 . Retrieved 25 May 2023.

Tolkien 1980, p.241, Gollum was captured in Mordor in the year 3017 and taken Barad-dûr, and there questioned and tormented.. IGN (6 July 2021). "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum - Gameplay Overview Trailer". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023 . Retrieved 11 May 2023.Romano, Sal (23 March 2023). "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum launches May 25 for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and PC, later for Switch". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023 . Retrieved 23 March 2023. The Switch version will follow later in 2023. a b c Pape, Sam (25 May 2023). "The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum Review - We Don't Wants It, We Don't Needs It". GameSpot . Retrieved 25 May 2023. ChatGPT was used to write Gollum game apology, it's claimed". VGC. 8 October 2023 . Retrieved 8 October 2023. There are generally three phases to any level, and they range from uninteresting to just plain bad. There’s the chores phase, in which Gollum goes from one waypoint to another to complete some menial task. There’s always some conceptually different scenario, like crawling through small openings to detonate explosives, but functionally it’s a series of marches across the same areas over and over again. It never feels like there’s any point to it, just busywork. It could be fun to run around with Gollum, thanks to his surprising sprint speed, but he has a stamina meter that depletes in just a few seconds and takes far longer to replenish. Trying to get anywhere involves too little speed, too much waiting, and an unfortunate amount of hearing Gollum choking on his own breath. Gollum awakens in a slave pit beneath Barad-dûr. He begins life as a slave, where a frail man teaches him to do the work expected of him. Gollum is eventually tasked with helping the frail man steal tower plans and ultimately assists him with blowing up a bridge in a bid for freedom, but is caught by the orcs. Attempting to save himself from execution, Gollum blames either the frail man or an orc that steals his food, and is subsequently freed.

As always, we've been busy putting together some highlights headed to both PlayStation 5 and PS4, as well as a larger selection of games that'll be available throughout the next couple of months. Have a browse below and let us know if you decide to treat yourself in the comments. Whether you are a long-time fan of the world created by J. R. R. Tolkien or whether you are exploring The Lord of the Rings for the first time, the Precious Edition offers an even more immersive game experience. The sound design, however, is strong. The raspy, almost choking speech of Gollum is well acted, as is the clearer and more timid Sméagol side of his personality. It sounds exactly like someone who saw Andy Serkis’ performance in the movie trilogy would expect. Even small details, like the clammy sound of Gollum’s hands slapping on different surfaces as he climbs or runs, or the reverberation of ringing bells in certain spaces, stand out as authentic, with impressive attention to detail. Aunque Gollum no es un buen luchador, es más que capaz de estrangular a un enemigo incauto cuando se presenta la ocasión... o de buscar un modo más creativo y menos arriesgado de salir de un aprieto. Macgregor, Jody (15 April 2023). "The Gollum collector's edition really is called the 'Precious Edition' ". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023 . Retrieved 26 May 2023.

Thankfully, even if The Lord of the Rings: Gollum doesn't land as a compelling chapter in the tapestry of Middle-earth's history, the game can still hold interest as a character study of its tragically corrupted protagonist. This is partly due to Daedalic adopting a more sympathetic view of Gollum than other adaptations have, exploring the suffering that the deformed Hobbit has endured under those who too often underestimated him, and even giving him a few friendlier faces to bond with along the way. Some of this characterisation doesn't always quite correlate with the feistier, more manipulative Gollum that many of us are more accustomed to, but it's certainly a unique perspective that allows you relate to him a little better over the course of the game's two dozen hour runtime. Miller, Matt (26 May 2023). "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Review". Game Informer . Retrieved 26 May 2023. McWhertor, Michael (30 June 2023). "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developer to close after disastrous launch". Polygon . Retrieved 3 August 2023.