Daedalic surprised many when it announced Gollum as a Lord of the Rings protagonist, yet fans were disappointed by a lack of quality in this story about an aging hobbit’s quest for a ring.
Clever ideas often outstay their welcome or run into bugs and frustrating mechanics (Gollum’s stamina depletes quickly, fall damage can only be taken so many times, and his strangling doesn’t always work), while stealth remains dull and predictable.
Story
Review of Gollum Game
Translating a film franchise’s narrative into video game form can be a challenging endeavor, and Gollum was no different; taking place between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films, an unknown period to many fans, it proved incredibly challenging to bring this story alive through creative writing and gameplay. But Gollum managed to do just that through some inspired storytelling techniques.
Gollum primarily features stealth gameplay, wherein players must remain undetected to avoid enemy detection. At times, this may prove challenging, mainly as enemies often make noise when in your presence; fortunately, there are tools at your disposal, such as rocks or items, which can be thrown to create distractions or knock out foes; however, attacking can be risky due to Gollum not featuring an expansive arsenal and taking down multiple attackers can take longer.
Gollum features stealth gameplay as well as some impressive parkour sequences, providing additional depth and challenge; however, these sequences don’t feel quite right for Gollum as his movements seem much slower and clumsier than expected for someone trying to avoid detection, nor does he match up well against agile characters such as those found in games such as Assassin’s Creed.
Gollum offers an intriguing glimpse at some Middle-earth left largely uncovered in Tolkien’s iconic books: Sauron’s cults or another viewpoint of Middle Earth – this film should perfectly meet your needs.
Platforming
Gollum is a stealth-action game, meaning stealth plays a central role in its gameplay. Players must skulk around Middle-earth’s dangerous areas – from Orc-infested caverns and dark fortresses to orc warrior-controlled caverns, mountain passes, and dark fortresses – using Gollum’s arsenal of climbing abilities; he can scale cliff faces, run across walls, or leap over gaps on the ground without detection from guards or Orc warriors – infiltrate weapons that allow players to kill enemies without being noticed by guards or Orc warriors.
Gollum features excellent platforming with some beautiful level design. Each area provides something new to discover, and players can spend a joyful ten minutes moving Gollum from ledge to ledge, wall running, or swinging off bars. His lively character adds extra enjoyment as his antics rarely force Gollum into tight situations that require precise timing between actions taken simultaneously.
Daedalic attempts to add variety to its levels through various means, including missions focusing on specific aspects of Gollum’s prison life and allies that can help in certain circumstances. Unfortunately, even these moments are marred by the consistently frustrating nature of its primary controls: Gollum often feels awkward to control, making misjudgments easy; misjudging jumps and landing on rocks often end in instant death!
This game boasts some genuinely captivating dialogue and several outstanding side characters; however, its narrative can be dull and repetitive. Far too much time is spent inside an Orc prison where repetitive menial tasks diminish the enjoyment of the experience.
Puzzles
Gollum features numerous environmental puzzles for players to solve. Many are simple, such as stepping on specific spots on walls to open doors, yet these puzzles remain enjoyable and don’t bombard players with one after the next as so many modern titles do. Furthermore, these puzzles allow for your pace compared to many current titles; Gollum includes various other puzzles that help progress the storyline further.
Many of these interactions include manipulating characters within the game world to get them to do what they want. For example, early in the game, you must help an orc-capped man escape by stealing tower plans to steal away. This feature mirrors how Gollum influenced those around him to achieve his goals in The Lord of the Rings.
Other puzzles require more interaction with the environment, for instance, distracting enemies with rocks or using rockfalls to block an enemy’s line of sight. Gollum Sense is also handy for sneaking up on enemies or finding items.
Gollum also features some additional abilities that can help him sneak up on enemies more effectively, like using his stealth throttle attack to kill an orc without helmet protection – but using it might expose Gollum to other enemies, and it is best if used sparingly as using this ability can expose Gollum more than necessary.
Gollum is an intriguing character due to his portrayal of a conflicted hobbit. While Daedalic may not always offer compelling descriptions, theirs provides greater depth than many previous adaptations have managed.
Graphics
Gollum is a third-person stealth game from the developers of Deponia and The Whispered World, featuring a familiar platforming formula with players controlling a cowed little hobbit through desolate landscapes with his iconic scrambling Gollum-walk. While technically sound, its lackluster narrative and outdated visuals hinder it from living up to its reputation.
Visual design in 2023 releases is often simplistic. Some environmental art design can be appealing from a distance; up close, it is disappointingly basic with vine-covered rock faces, crayon-drawn pools of lava, and dull fonts all adding up to create something more appropriate on PlayStation 2 than PC.
At its heart, the game does a fair job of depicting Gollum himself. It draws heavily from Peter Jackson and Andy Serkis’ live-action portrayals, but its visuals and voice work make you care about his story. Additionally, its handling of Gollum/Smeagol’s dissociative identities shines through as dialogue situations bring each side of Gollum/Smeagol out from hiding.
Graphics in this game are passable, with several options for optimizing visual quality available to tweak its quality. For instance, anti-aliasing, shadows, textures, and view distance can be adjusted to personal taste. NVIDIA GPU users will appreciate NVIDIA DLSS 3 and Reflex, as well as AMD cards that support RTX technology; additionally, it comes with more high-end features like an interactive reflection system and dynamic resolution, which adjusts the screen based on framer.
Audio
Gollum is an imprisoning character whose fate is inextricably bound with that of the Ring and devotes himself so ardently that it takes him from Mordor to Mirkwood and back again. While his character might be compelling within Tolkien’s universe — particularly with Andy Serkis’ scene-stealing mo-cap performance in Peter Jackson’s trilogy — Gollum the game feels more like an awkward misfire glued together with duct tape than anything else and should have been launched much earlier.
Visuals in Gollum’s Azog are dated and flat, featuring low-resolution textures and stiff character models. Gameplay itself is dull; when there are moments of enjoyment, they often are marred by frustrating flaws. For instance, awkward camera controls make Gollum’s platforming skills even worse; it is far too easy for Gollum to fall off cliffs or miss jumps entirely, leading you back to an inconveniently placed checkpoint.
Some features in the game are disappointing or entirely missing; specifically, menus don’t allow players to adjust difficulty settings despite how unrewarding its primary campaign can be. Similarly, Parkour or Stealth Difficulty settings cannot be modified, which would have significantly improved player experience.
Unfortunately, their absence isn’t as noticeable as it could have been. While there are still a few chase sequences that can be fun, even these moments of joy are marred by Gollum’s inability to see obstacles until it’s too late – particularly during an Orc camp chase when players must run Crash Bandicoot-style to dodge orcs and archers with no escape routes available to them.
