Hey, guys, so I’m a bit late in getting this video out, but I had a chance to play about 30
minutes of the upcoming Gollum Game at a recent digital event put on by Daedelic. And today,
I just wanted to share with you some initial thoughts and insights from not only playing a
bit of the game, but also having a chance to chat with some of the folks behind the game itself.
Real quick I want to clarify this is not a review of the game, as it was not a finished product I
was playing, and I don’t think there was enough time to come to final conclusions - it was really
just a taste of a bit of the gameplay and story. I got a chance to chat with Damiri Knapheide,
the loremaster of the game, which resulted in some wonderfully nerdy
conversation about the ins and outs of Gollum as a character and his history.
Through our conversation, I found out a good deal about the gameplay, the story, and why
they feel Gollum was the right choice of main character. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum takes
place between the time of Bilbo’s escape from the Misty Mountains (along with Gollum’s precious) and
when the Fellowship enters Moria - a period which, going by the books, is over 77 years.
And it’s this time period in Gollum’s life that partially answers the big question on
a lot of people’s minds - including my own - since the game was announced - Why focus
an entire game on Gollum? As Damiri explains, by the time we meet Gollum in The Lord of the Rings,
he’s seen a lot of stuff. Now, I don’t know how much of this will be adapted in the game,
but just looking at the books, we know Gollum meets Bilbo in the Misty Mountains,
leaves to pursue the One Ring, finds his way to Dale where he learns the name ‘Shire’,
is drawn to Mordor in his pursuit, meets Shelob, is captured and tortured by Sauron, is set loose,
is captured by Aragorn, interrogated by Gandalf, and escapes the elves of Mirkwood, which results
in Legolas attending the Council of Elrond, and Gollum following the fellowship in Moria.
Gollum is definitely one of the busiest and most traveled characters during this gap between books.
And while I can’t say how much of this will be depicted in the game, I was a fan of the
storytelling mechanism the game utilizes right from the start. I picked up the controls as Gollum
in Mordor, but as I played the level, I heard Gandalf’s voiceover interrogating of Gollum. It
seems Gandalf is digging for information and the events we are playing out in this early
going is the story Gollum is divulging to the wizard. The events that came to my mind when
this game was announced were Sauron’s torture, Aragorn’s traveling 900 miles with Gollum,
and Gandalf’s interrogation, so getting one of these incorporated early on was nice to see.
As for the gameplay itself, I have to say I’m personally not as well versed in stealth
platformer games and tend to gravitate toward open-world adventure, first-person shooter,
or good ‘ol lego silliness. So when the time comes I’ll leave the comparing to
similar games to others. That being said, I enjoyed my short time in the game. I was able
to pick up the controls really quickly and the gameplay seemed pretty straightforward.
The big mechanic that features in this game, that I got a taste of in this demo,
is getting to choose to respond and act as either Gollum or Smeagol. We were told that these choices
will affect the course of the story - and that sometimes Smeagol will give you the better outcome
and sometimes Gollum will. So if you’re thinking of attempting an all-Gollum or all-Smeagol route,
know that you’ll likely set yourself up for some big challenges. Your choices as Gollum
or Smeagol will also affect your interactions with other characters as the story progresses.
Knowing this going into the demo was certainly effective in giving weight
to my decisions. Right off the bat, I was faced with the decision to either kill or
admire a butterfly and froze for a moment, wondering how this would affect the rest of
my game. One feature I was glad to hear about is the ability to go back and replay chapters
of the story. So if you want to go back to a pivotal decision and try an alternate route,
you don’t have to completely restart the game, which is a nice feature.
Unsurprisingly I found myself more interested in the story and the
lore than in the gameplay itself. I have no doubt that, of the people to demo the game,
I was one of those who progressed the least because I was exploring everywhere I could,
getting glimpses of things like drawings from Gollum’s past or looking at a tapestry
depicting Earnur, the last king of Gondor, as he is defeated in single combat by the Witch-king.
While this is, as I say, unsurprising, it seems also to be by design. The gamemakers themselves
are huge fans of the books and promised that there are far more references and surprises
they’ve hidden within the game for fellow book fans. Throughout my conversation with Damiri,
he really emphasized the lore and attempting to work within the bounds Tolkien set. He noted
there are certain points we know - like Gollum leaving the Misty Mountains to pursue the ring,
meeting Shelob, captured by Sauron, and interrogated by Gandalf - those things are set.
I think for lore fans, part of the judgment on the game will come from how these moments
are portrayed, but also how they fill the gaps in the canon story. We know
there will be some original characters like the Candleman - a servant of Sauron,
whose lair houses a good number of references to the greater Middle-earth history, and Mel,
an blind elf confined in the cellars of Thranduil’s halls who may become an
ally to our Gollum. I’m curious to see how these original characters fit in,
while also really looking forward to seeing canon characters like Gandalf and the Mouth of Sauron.
I’m definitely excited to play the full finished game. The two sides of Gollum and the tension of
sneaking around and knowing you’re not a mighty warrior capable of taking on hordes of orcs
makes for an interesting gaming experience. We’re returning to Mordor for a good part of this game,
but we are definitely getting a different experience than when we went there for
the Shadow series. Where stealth was one approach you could take in those games,
it is the main focus here. As was the case with those games, the biggest thing for me
will be whether the game is fun to play. I’m curious to experience this gameplay over an
entire game and see if Daedellic succeeds in making it not feel repetitive. That being said,
I’m especially looking forward to diving as deep as possible into the lore and easter eggs - oh,
and only seeing Shelob as a spider - that’ll be nice too.
Now, I’ll be doing some Gollum gaming streams here on the channel, and maybe even some giveaways,
so be sure to hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss them!
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum releases May 25th on PC and consoles. Check the
links in the description if you want to preorder.
In the meantime, let me know what you think of the Gollum game in the comments. Will you
be picking it up? And what parts of the lore are you hoping to see in the game?
Thanks so much for watching, and we’ll see you next time on Nerd of the Rings.