Gaming News The Lord of the Rings Gollum: This Action-Adventure Game is what worries us the most
The Lord of the Rings has not revealed all of its secrets yet. Between the Amazon series, new films and numerous video games, fans are being overwhelmed with adaptations. We were able to discover the latest game titled The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. With him the sky over Middle-earth darkens.
Summary
- Story
- graphic
- playing style
- script
- Contents
Story
The Lord of the Rings universe is probably one of the richest in heroic fantasy or even fiction of any genre. It must be said that JRR Tolkien and then his son Christopher enriched the lore for decades. A dozen books tell the story of Middle-earth, from its creation by the gods to the destruction of the One Ring., a well-known artifact for fans and moviegoers alike. To give you an idea, we’re talking over 12,000 years of history dreamed up by two inspired British authors with wild imaginations. The father even invented a language – Elvish – and laid the foundation for several others, including that of the dwarves. A little tip for shining at dinner parties… The Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, is set in the third age of the Years of the Sun. Produced by Amazon Studios, the series takes an interest in the Second Age.
Back to today’s topic. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum focuses on the eponymous character, made famous thanks to actor Andy Serkis’ “Capture” performance. First of all, it’s always good to remember that this action-adventure game developed by Daedalic Entertainment doesn’t fit either the Peter Jackson movies, nor the Tolkien novels, and even less the Amazon series The Rings of Power. For the sake of simplicity Inserted between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, it partially covers the 70 years separating the epics of Bilbo Baggins and his nephew Frodo, but only from the perspective of Gollum, a demi-human once named Sméagol. Daedalic’s game is particularly interested in his years imprisoned in the prisons of Barad-dûr, home of Sauron from which he will eventually escape. His wanderings in the dark lands of Mordor begin here and lead him to meet the new Ring-bearer…Frodo.
graphic
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is attempting to emancipate itself from an imaginary notion imposed by the cinematic works of Peter Jackson, and it’s thanks to him. Here the artists reconnect with the paper universe, which has been neglected for too long, and are openly inspired by the illustrations that sublimate the novels. We owe these early visuals of Middle-earth to John Howe and Alan Lee. These two artists are the origin of the very special cachet that emerges visually from the saga, and it is this famous cachet that Daedalic wants to bring to his game.
If the intentions are there, the implementation leaves a lot to be desired. The game from Daedalic Entertainment lags far behind the competition and somehow feels like history. And that’s not a compliment. The experience is too often marred by multiple bugs and technical quirks that make Lord of the Rings: Gollum a production from ancient times even before its release. Correcting the situation requires a lot of effort, time, and therefore money. Can the publisher really afford such a wealth of resources? As a reminder, development of Gollum began 6 long years ago, an eternity in the world of video games.
playing style
We could skip the tech if only the gameplay was up to date. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is inspired by a proven saga, that of the Styx starring Master of Shadows and Shards of Darkness by Cyanide Studios. The comparison may seem simple, but actually… A linear action-adventure game that emphasizes infiltration into a heroic fantasy universe…does that remind you of anything? And at the same time, this genre fits perfectly with the character of Gollum, who is far from being a force of nature. To survive, he can only rely on his cunning, discretion, and mobility that Daedalic offers, minus the finishes.
The “Gollum” experience is essentially about exploration and infiltration with all that means in terms of game mechanics. The developers do not invent anything in this area. They mostly try to use their formula with more or less success. And in the game of MORE and LESS, LESS wins for the time being. Gollum can reportedly climb, hang, and explore environments like a Nathan Drake who has lost his parkour skills. Because our hero is actually constrained by counterintuitive gameplay, but also by much too rigid animations. The platform phases become tedious and interrupt the desire to discover the universe of Tolkien.
Even the discrete infiltration and elimination sequences struggle to deceive. Everything still seems too “mechanical”, too “rigid”, too “guided” to allow players to thrive with controller in hand. However, the enemies’ artificial intelligence is based on sight AND extremely fine hearing, which still cannot compensate for the above shortcomings. But there is still hope. Gollum’s schizophrenia sets him apart from the other characters in the saga. The former hobbit lives, so to speak, in a shared flat with the puny and cowardly Sméagol. Two beings that everything opposes or that are almost in the same avatar, the promise of Daedalic is all the more attractive as it translates into the game through dedicated sequences, debates, murders and choices to be made. If you win these debates, you can impose your decisions on your alter ego and thus determine the end of the adventure. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is not very innovative and only implements his ideas with difficulty to a seductive gaming experience.
script
It’s still too early to judge the scenario, especially since the game session – which lasted 45 minutes – partially covered chapters 3 and 7 of Gollum, which doesn’t allow forming an opinion on the qualities or not of the story. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is clearly trying to please and surprise fans of the novels. It is precisely on this point that screenwriters have a real trump card. However, be careful! Daedalic wants to give us an original story that is never told and, above all, carried by new characters. This willingness to take risks can pay off or, on the contrary, fuel the wrath of purists.
unfortunately, The staging is not up to par. Narrative impulses and attempts to let the adventure epic collide with harsh reality. The production has neither the tools nor the means to translate the studios’ ambitions into the picture. Few cutscenes, including the introduction, are worthy of Tolkien’s universe. Incidentally, starting with the dialogue scenes butchered by reverse shots from another time, the copy is to be reviewed almost completely.
Contents
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a linear action-adventure game that features only a single-player campaign. This isn’t about multiplayer or alternate modes, but an adventure that’s supposed to last around twenty hours. These figures are yet to be confirmed once the final version is available. Daedalic still promises a feature that should inspire players. Gollum will eventually offer multiple endings per chapter, but also multiple endings when the adventure is over. The deaths of certain characters were created precisely for the occasion, but so were the choices made by the Gollum – Sméagol duo real consequences for the fate of this schizophrenic being corrupted by the precious. As a reminder, the game is not canon. These multiple endings will never affect the universe envisioned by Tolkien.
Gollum is still a long way from finding his treasure. This action-adventure The Lord of the Rings game doesn’t lack passion, but it does lack control. He still has everything to prove. The road to Mount Doom will be long!
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