Daedalic Entertainment, known for its work on point-and-click adventure games, recently revealed a new trailer for the upcoming game The Lord of the Rings: Gollum at the 2023 NACON Connect.
The trailer explores Gollum’s quest to find the One Ring, where he will travel from Rivendell to the Misty Mountains and ultimately to Mordor. Along the way, he will meet various allies and adversaries, from a younger-looking Gandalf the Grey to the villainous Nazgûl.
On their journey through Middle-earth, players will use various abilities, and since the story is about Gollum, he will rely on covert methods. He can also fight certain types of enemies who try to stop him.
The new trailer showcases Gollum’s wide range of movements, including running, jumping, and even crawling along walls or balancing on narrow ledges.
The two-minute video demonstrates the game’s rich Middle-earth settings, featuring cameos of several well-known characters. It also shows the developers’ interpretation of iconic locations from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novels.
Carsten Fichtelmann, CEO and co-founder of Daedalic, said that Daedalic wanted to avoid delving “too deep into the uncanny valley” for its Lord of the Rings games. As far as the forms and hues go, he explained that the studio aimed to create something that makes a statement.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s previous trailer
This is not the company’s first release of a trailer for Gollum. In a trailer released in July 2022, the game promises not only the grim and dingy caves that Gollum must sneak through but also a collection of forests and dark dungeons.
The footage also provides viewers with a clear look at well-known characters from The Lord of the Rings, such as Gandalf, the Ring Wraiths and several different types of Orcs.
The player can alter the course of certain exchanges by switching between Gollum and Sméagol personas. This choice will affect specific interactions’ outcomes.
Fichtelmann said that the character already has a major conflict to appeal to the audience, with two voices talking to players constantly. Hence, there would be a good reason for players to choose between Sméagol and Gollum because every choice influences the result of every encounter in the game.
The CEO said Gollum was vitally important to Tolkien’s narrative. However, many details of Gollum’s origin and history had yet to be revealed. “We will tell the story before he first appears in the books,” he said.
This means players can take control of Gollum from his days as an enslaved individual under the Dark Tower to his adventures with the Elves of Mirkwood in this game.
Community’s responses to the trailer
Daedalic has been working to create and distribute this game for a long time. When the first news came out in March 2019, it set a launch date for 2021. Then it was moved to May 2022.
However, Nacon, the publisher, announced in July that the game would be delayed “by a few months.” The company’s official Twitter account explained the game needed more time to meet “community expectations.”
However, such repeated delays only bolstered skepticism about Daedalic’s capacity to deliver a game, especially after fans saw the latest trailer, which debuted on March 9.
Share an extraordinary adventure with Gollum in his quest for the Precious, in this untold story. 🌋#GollumGame is coming to PC and consoles in 2023.
Watch in 4k: https://t.co/4JrJ87g7XK pic.twitter.com/vYvPtke1Jm
— The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (@GollumGame) March 9, 2023
Gollum’s lack of heroism is one of many reasons some fans believe a new journey for him is unnecessary. Some LOTR hardliners argue that Tolkien has given him a wholly formed arc that the new storyline would dilute.
Several other Lord of the Rings games are being made along with this one by different developers. Electronic Arts said earlier this year that it would release a free-to-play mobile collectible RPG titled Heroes of Middle-earth.
Last year, North Beach Games announced the launch of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria. The survival crafting game is scheduled to be released in spring 2023 on PC via the Epic Games Store.
