Care for a riddle? Love The Lord of the Rings? The folks at Daedalic Entertainment sure hope so, as they’re putting out a new adventure based on Tolkien’s epic fantasy, and you play as Gollum. Fittingly titled The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, this stealth-based action-adventure will take more inspirations from the books than the famous films. This month’s EDGE cover story revealed more details surrounding the game, including its plan to launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox (Series X included) alongside PC, and a rough release window of 2021.
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When you’re dealing with Gollum, you get two personalities for the price of one, and that will be vital to how you progress through Daedalic’s tale. Game designer Martin Wilkes talks about how this vital aspect of the character will affect gameplay:
It’s not just choosing to be Sméagol or Gollum, because for Gollum as an entity it’s not that easy. Each personality is being attacked by the other; each has to defend himself. You will have maybe two, three or four conflicts per chapter that lead to a final decision point. And at this final decision point, it will be harder to pick Sméagol, for example, if you’ve always fought for the Gollum side before.
One benefit of the character’s design is that the habit of talking to oneself is a natural fit for this protagonist. “In many games, it’s unintentionally funny when characters say, ‘Hmmm, I won’t be able to get through there, it’s full of guards’. We’re able to give the player direct guidance about navigation because Gollum talks to himself all the time anyway.”
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As seen on the magazine’s cover, the Nazgûl will also have a part to play, but they will also have more in common with their book descriptions than their Peter Jackson designs. Senior Producer Kai Fiebig explains how that is a good thing when it comes to Gollum‘s starring role. “We have more storytelling possibilities than the movies ever had, and for us, it was very important to show a different set of emotions. We need somebody you could almost love, and on the other hand somebody you can really be afraid of. And at some points, trust me, you will fear him.”
