The gaming community was fairly confused when Daedalic Entertainment announced that they would be bringing fans of Middle Earth something interesting in the form of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
The game is exactly what it sounds like - an action-adventure video game which allows the player to control the main character - Gollum (or Smeagol, depending on your preference) and Daedalic Entertainment has now confirmed via Edge Magazine that Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be available on both PS5 and the XBOX Series X sometime in 2021.
What's interesting is that the company hasn't released what Gollum looks like yet but they have assured fans that it will not be similar to the Andy Serkis version people are familiar with from the Peter Jackson films. Art Director Mathias Fischer gave a perfect reason as to why they chose to go the direction in which they did, being quoted as to have said the following.
“Tolkien didn’t give a size reference for Gollum to begin with, so in the first illustrations, he’s gigantic! He’s like a monster emerging from the swamp.”
Thinking about it that way, it could change a player - or reader's entire perspective on the character of Gollum, and it will be interesting to see how he is portrayed in the upcoming video game next year.
Game Designer Martin Wilkes goes on to discuss the duality of the character and what it will be like playing as both Smeagol and Gollum at once.
“It’s not just choosing to be Sméagol or Gollum, because for Gollum as an entity it’s not that easy. Each personality is being attacked by the other; each has to defend himself. You will have maybe two, three or four conflicts per chapter that lead to a final decision point. And at this final decision point, it will be harder to pick Sméagol, for example, if you’ve always fought for the Gollum side before.”
The CEO of Daedalic also spoke out regarding the upcoming game - confirming that the studio has a contract to make two or three games set in Middle Earth. What will they be? Here's what CEO Carsten Fichtelmann had to say.
“Maybe the next game is - obviously not Gollum 2. That doesn’t make sense. It could be some other character. But it will be comparable to what we’re now trying with Gollum.”
Hmm... what other characters whould you guys like to see Daedalic Entertainment tackle and what do you think of these comments? Let us know below!
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be available on PS5 and XBOX Series X in 2021.