Daedalic Entertainment has officially confirmed that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be a next-generation offering on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
Speaking recently with EDGE magazine for the February issue, the German developer noted that the upcoming game is not based on the movies, at least not entirely. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will mostly be based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien and hence, several aspects in the game are going to be different from how they were portrayed in the movies.
Gollum, who players will be controlling, will look nothing like the character in the award-winning movies directed by Peter Jackson. According to senior producer Kai Fiebig, taking design inspirations from the novels helped open up plenty of storytelling possibilities, more so than the movies ever had.
Gollum was originally human before being corrupted by the Ring. The character also gained an inherent double personality, something that the game explores deeply. Daedalic Entertainment decided to use his split personality as an interesting gameplay mechanic. Gollum will continuously talk to himself throughout the game, and almost certainly argue with himself (Sméagol) at important junctions in the storyline of The Lord of the Rings. Hence, players will be forced to choose between each of those two personalities without any guarantees of consequences.
Giving an example, game designer Martin Wilkes stated that coming across an area full of patrolling guards may cause Gollum to argue with himself as to flee or charge. The developer also noted that in addition to giving player-choices, these arguments will also provide players with important guidance about other gameplay-related aspects.
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.
Daedalic Entertainment is known for narrative-focused adventure games like Deponia and Dark Eye. Hence, it comes without surprise that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will share the same emphasis on player-choice.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is currently slated for a release somewhere in 2021 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Daedalic Entertainment will possibly see to a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release as well.
