Hey, guys, so having spent a week with the new Gollum.
You may recall a few months ago I released
a video talking about my experience playing
a preview beta version of the game.
![](https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/werasrela321/23swiWoe87qSTcTYPnMuLr8bpK71XzV2Zte5V6Qiww6FsF8C1qc5oZZ3JQ3aXcnuSK4ZQ.PNG)
And while the animations were rough, it seemed
like a game with some promise.
It has an interesting premise and focuses
on one of Tolkien’s most iconic, tragic,
and interesting characters.
I’ve seen a lot of reviewers panning the
decision to have players play as Gollum, but
I gotta say I still think it’s an idea that
could be interesting if executed really well.
First off, let’s start with the thing I
was most interested in for some time now - the
lore.
As with anything adapting Tolkien’s world
that’s dealing with bits and pieces of information,
there’s a fair amount of original events
and characters within the story.
And for the most part, I think these original
aspects work pretty well.
I found myself legitimately interested in
the Candleman character around the time he
is recounting the tale of Earnur - the last
king of Gondor.
There’s other things directly from the books,
like a reference to Beren & Luthien, a brief
glimpse of Erebor, Gandalf’s interrogation,
and a moment with Gollum just as it is described
by Legolas at the Council of Elrond.
However, it feels like these moments are just
too few and far between to make this a must-buy
for lore fans.
Omissions like Aragorn capturing and traveling
with Gollum seem like something that would’ve
made for a great cutscene at the very least,
if not an entire level of the game.
Now, a lot of reviews have focused on the
graphics and gameplay.
![](https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/werasrela321/23tm6rUtPN2tPjX3VJSfiytYf7ipv4jQe9WtP4U4oy8so84pNLXaV8AkBAHVsKQ84uG3s.PNG)
And as I’m just a Tolkien fan who tends
to play only a few games per year, I’ll
defer to those judgements when it comes to
things like performance and how this compares
to other wtealth games.
That being said, even I could notice some
of the buggy issues this game had at launch,
and I was surprised how taxing it was to run
on my PC considering the graphics of the game.
Speaking of the graphics, much has been said
of the quality elsewhere.
Personally, I didn’t mind the graphics looking
like they were from the XBOX 360 era, as I
knew this game was coming from an independent
publisher - I simply never expected this game
to compete with even last-gen games like Shadow
of Mordor in terms of graphics, gameplay,
or complexity.
But the lower expectations I had in terms
of these categories were not the same as the
gaming community at large - and for good reason…
And this brings up what is, in my opinion,
the biggest issue with The Lord of the Rings:
Gollum - the Pricing.
Quite simply, this game had no business being
released while priced as a AAA game.
As I’ve alluded to, I never went into this
game expecting it to be the heir apparent
to the excellent Shadow of Mordor games.
It’s made by an indie developer, and as
such, I went in expecting it to be more simple
in general, including the visuals and gameplay.
![](https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/werasrela321/23tRsvdrYLrUYWUhvFSbpZjHVF1UQtvvteTnw5siWzEHHQcd8x42nZyv6LWPTwT47u1eY.PNG)
However, when a game like this carries a $60
price tag, and has an optional $10 DLC on
top of that, it communicates to gamers that
this is a game of a certain caliber - a level
that Gollum simply does not achieve.
Not that I don’t enjoy and appreciate adherence
to the lore and deep cut references, it’s
just those things do little good if the game
in question isn’t an absolute blast to play.
I might be willing to bump this game up a
point or so if it were more reasonably priced
for the experience it provides gamers.
As for my recommendation, if you’re a big
time Lord of the Rings fan or someone who
is really into stealth games, I’d say wait
for the game to go on sale.
You’ll feel a lot better about the purchase
if you do.
![](https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/werasrela321/23tGaDVx92MeZ3X3ZEE4WPjZDhvrWtEX3fTjokiBkquxKKWjzBSw4zKcbopKfk3SoA8BH.PNG)
If you’re not a big Tolkien fan and just
someone who is a general gamer, there’s
plenty of other things to be had that will
get you more bang for your buck - especially
in the $60 price range.
So yeah, at the end of the day, the Gollum
game wasn’t the smash hit I hoped it would
be, but I do think there’s reason to be
optimistic for the future of Middle-earth
gaming.
There’s some things coming out this very
year in both tabletop and video gaming that
show promise, and as I’ve said before, I
think the Embracer purchase of Middle-earth
Enterprises will bring even more Middle-earth
video games in the near future.
And yeah, there’s a chance we’ll get some
clunkers in the years to come, but you never
know when we might get a new all-time classic.
If the reception to The Lord of the Rings:
Gollum proves anything, I think it shows that
expectations are pretty high when it comes
to adapting Tolkien’s world no matter the
medium.
![](https://images.hive.blog/768x0/https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/werasrela321/23uFKXLGhUo4CzDfQCmGPp8JyY8kmbtwcnSH3jXQJWQBAKpzGyF2Nb8PXuhPTwazAWfgG.PNG)
Personally, I’m hoping at some point for
a massive open-world game where we get to
explore all of Middle-earth, and something
that has the kind of investment that we’ve
seen other nerdy cornerstone franchises get
in recent years.
Only time will tell.
Thanks for read , byee.
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