The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

Shadow PC

On May 25, 2023, the long-awaited action-adventure game from developer and publisher Daedalic Entertainment will be released, which I would like to introduce to you in my PC review.

 

Story and Plot:

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is based on the literary works of J. R. R. Tolkien and takes place parallel to the events described in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship™. You'll take on the role of Gollum and Smeagol, two personalities, in one body, and experience his story of how he was cheated out of his treasure, a magic ring, and what he does to get it back. During this journey you'll visit places such as Mordor or the Elven Kingdom, and you'll have to complete various tasks and escape from your dungeons. The beginning of the game is a bit sluggish and boring, but gradually picks up more speed and turns out to be a fun action-adventure game.

Feel the suffering and decide

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum captures the torment that Gollum and Smeagol have to endure very well, you always feel sorry for the little wretch who is basically just striving for true friendship and his treasure. You get to know him better and build a bond with him. The split personality is simulated incredibly well in the German version, every now and then we also get the opportunity to make decisions or answer as Gollum or as Smeagol and although I always choose the good side in games, in many cases Gollum just fit better. The only pity is that the decisions we make have no influence, because whether we act with Gollum against Smeagol or the other way around, the outcome always remains the same, because at the end of the "duel" wins the one who has to win storywise.

Climb and sneak

Gollum and Smeagol have a special game they like to play with orcs, but as a player you rarely get to snap the orcs' necks. Much more we have to sneak from place to place and overcome many climbing passages to escape from our dungeons to recover our beloved treasure that was stolen from us. The climbing passages are exciting and a lot of fun, and the sneaking has also been implemented well. It feels a bit like playing "Thief", only without robbing everything. However, exploring is very rarely rewarded with items that Gollum and Smeagol pocket. For this, however, he meets enough characters, but they often only want to exploit the good in Gollum and Smeagol.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum aren't bad, I had 30 FPS in cutscenes on Shadow PC with Ultrasettings and ray tracing and between 60 and 75 FPS during the game. However, there weren't many places where it was really worth it, Gollum and Smeagol look okay, you have to get used to it though, especially with the hair. The dubbing actors in German are very good, especially those of Gollum and Smeagol contribute extremely to the atmosphere. Elvish is also spoken, but there were only a few lines (without subtitles) of it, so I would advise anyone who wants to buy the DLC against it, because it is simply not worth it (exception in the sale). The soundtrack is very good and especially lifts the climbing passages, the sound effects are first class, especially in the spider realm.

Trailer:

 


Summary

"Lord has broken his promise. Lord has deceived us. Ugly. Treacherous. Wrong. We will wring his dirty little neck. Kill him! Kill them both! And then we'll take the treasure and we'll be the master! " - As Gollum and Smeagol, you must go through many hardships to get your beloved treasure, which was ruthlessly stolen from you. Since orcs, humans and elves have betrayed you and imprisoned you to get information, you are on the run from the evil realms over which you must wander to get your treasure. No torment can break your character, that gladly adapt well, so you'll sneak through caves, fields of flowers, climb and jump over platforms that no eye on the ground can notice and dive underwater past your enemies to achieve the freedom that will take you to your treasure. During your captivity you'll get to know Gollum and Smeagol better and better, which is captured very well thanks to excellent voice acting (in german). The story is a bit dull and boring at the beginning, but slowly picks up speed, and the climbing passages become a highlight, Players who suffer from arachnophobia should stay away from "The Lord of the Rings: Gollum", because there is a part in the game where you have to run away from spiders, the sound effects are so disgusting that I had goosebumps all the time, I hated this part and then died here most often. The crawling of the critters is so intense, yet I'm not actually afraid of spiders in games. Kankra's encounter, on the other hand, isn't quite as wild, though the size does demand respect. Personally, I really enjoyed the game, which is why I can recommend it to everyone. You just have to be patient at the beginning, as I said, but it's worth it. Since I played the game in advance, there were some bugs, which should be fixed with the Day1 patch. The bugs didn't get in the way of the gameplay and the performance was also very good, although extremely hardware hungry for the graphics. Since the price is very high, i would recommend to wait for a Sale.


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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum