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. 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. It's an awkward experience, to say the least, but running up against these types of bizarre, broken sequences that add little value to the overall texture of Tolkien's fantasy are sadly far too common an occurrence in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.ĭeveloper Daedalic was always going to have a hard time justifying why audiences needed to know what its titular character was up to in the events preceding The Fellowship of the Ring, but throw in off-putting visuals, shallow gameplay, and a litany of bugs, and The Lord of the Rings: Gollum offers an experience that's not so much an unexpected journey as it is one to avoid altogether. Not only that, but these bug-eyed beasts are sadly as stupid as they look, barely registering my presence until I'm right in front of their sightlines, and even then, it's touch-and-go as to whether they actually start galumphing towards me, or get stuck in a clipping war against the ground. Instead, the one I'm playing currently involves herding Borocs into a pen via a minigame that feels (and, unfortunately, looks) like something you'd expect to play in a title released two generations ago.

Platform(s): PS5, PS4, PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Oneīut that's a tale for another day.

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