game news “It’s a lot worse than you imagine” is this video game already the biggest failure of 2023?
We hadn’t sensed failure was coming, but maybe not to this point… “boring”, “cleansing”, “throw away”… Critics are harsh on this highly anticipated video game.
The Lord of the Rings Gollum, a present game…
There are licenses that have such an aura that every project that concerns them inspires a special enthusiasm. This is the caseHarry Potteras we recently saw with Hogwarts Legacy: Hogwarts Legacy, but also Lord of the rings. Suffice to say, when Daedalic announced the release of a game based around the adventures of Gollum in 2019, fans were particularly intrigued. But they quickly became disillusioned. First there were the shifts that developers wanted to enable “to offer the best possible experience” for players with The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. And then came the first previews… And then it got complicated.
Indeed, publishers of all stripes (including JV) have expressed concern about The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Whether in terms of graphics or gameplay, Daedalic’s title had proven to be too slow and that didn’t bode well for the release. A few days earlier, Nacon (the publisher) would have sent copies of the game to video game stores for pre-sale. A fairly well-known technique that betrays a lack of confidence on the part of publishers in the quality of their own title. Another clue in this direction: the lack of tests until the day of publication. And now that they’ve fallen, it confirms what we thought. According to youtube channel improve yourselfthe game is balanced “Much worse than you imagine.”
There is a very sordid story behind the development of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. One does not start from this concept in order to get to THIS in the publication.
And I’m not talking about the graphics, who cares?
The UI is a paragon and a cry for help. https://t.co/TfhsTPz7nS
— Official FdeSousse 🟨 (@Taleboules) May 25, 2023
…but anything but valuable
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is the biggest disappointment of the year so far. It’s simple, the reviews are almost all negative. For example, on Metacritic, out of 20 reviews, only 5 are greater than or equal to 60 (which is 12 out of 20 for us). The other 15 are between 55 and 20. Unsurprisingly, the game is therefore in the red, posting an overall score of 43 on PC (40 on PS5). This allows him to win the not necessarily very glorious title of for now the lowest rated game of the year. Remember that the lowest rated game in the history of Metacritic Family Party: 30 Great Games is Obstacle Arcade which was released on Wii U in 2012 and has a Metascore of 11.
But what is he then accused of? Well, according to Gamereactor, the list of shortcomings “is long”. This ranges from repetitive and lackluster gameplay, to ill-conceived stealth features (which are nevertheless intended to be the heart of the gaming experience), to numerous bugs and strawberry techniques. “Even the show moments can’t hide what is ultimately a very boring game.” we can read at Rockpapershotgun. The Guardian’s journalist is even more scathing, urging players to keep going: “But if you’re craving a little Lord of the Rings in your game plan, get Shadow of War instead for five bucks in the upcoming deal.” Suffice it to say that the disappointment is great and that the pill may face difficulties from both players and developers.
