Expect frequent framerate drops and a smattering of screen tearing as well. Gollum will frequently clip through environments or get stuck on invisible terrain, and his limbs are prone to contorting and gyrating in unintentionally horrifying ways. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum review: StoryĪn original tale set in the world of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings novels, Gollum aims to fill in what Smeagol got up to during the period between those well-told stories. However, I imagine many players will have moved on long before making it to the Elvish forest, and more unsatisfying action is all that will greet players who do manage to stick with it. This is in large part because the setting switches to the more visually-interesting Mirkwood - a bit of greenery and a twinkling sky offer a reprieve from the blandness of Mordor (Sauron’s land could have been more interesting if all of Gollum’s action didn’t take place in indistinguishable caves.) And also because the opening acts are so painfully uninspired that they’re not particularly hard to improve upon. The latter half of the game is mercifully more engaging. I suspect some players may wisely opt for an early exit at this stage. Chapter 2 is a lowlight that asks you to walk around a bland and uninteresting environment performing mundane tasks, such as collecting trinkets from multiple corpses. The first few are set within a Mordor prison camp and are easily the worst. The game is split into 10 chapters, each roughly 60-90 minutes in length. Lord of the Rings: Gollum is heavily frontloaded with its worst levels. These add a splash of variety but are basic in their construction and over too soon to make any real impression. There are also a couple of setpiece moments, such as an instance where Gollum has to run away from a giant spider, or perch on top of a moving carriage as it barrels down a treacherous road. At best, there’s one late-game head-scratcher that’s a little more engaging, but the rest fall flat. Forget the creativity provided by the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom, as there’s none of that here. For example, one has Gollum raising water levels to get to a switch in order to progress. Gollum’s journey is mixed up further with puzzles that are functional but mostly unexciting. You constantly railroaded down a predetermined route, robbing you of the freedom to explore. But traversal lacks any challenge, apart from when you’re forced to grapple with the atrocious camera. Gollum has all the basic moves you’d expect, you can jump, climb, swing and even wall-run. When you’re not sneaking past enemies, you’ll be making use of Gollum’s climbing skills in platforming sections that are similarly tedious. Forget the dynamic gameplay found in the likes of Dishonored, in Lord of the Rings: Gollum there is only one way to progress and you will be punished with a game over screen if you don’t follow the clearly guided route to the letter. Making matters worse are the highly restrictive linear levels. Gollum doesn’t unlock any new moves or abilities as you progress through the 12-hour main story. There is little scope for creativity, if the game wants you to sneak past a guard you must do so, if it wants you to commit murder then murder you must. There’s no traditional combat - Gollum can’t wield a sword or any other weapons - but in forced situations, Gollum can use a very simple stealth takedown on a small and specific group of enemies those that aren’t lucky enough to have a helmet. It never evolves beyond these basic stealth fundamentals, and within the first hour, I’d seen everything the game has to offer. The problem is that this, and moving from one dark corner to another, is all there is to the core loop of Gollum. In order to avoid enemies, Gollum must stick to the shadows, only being able to distract foes by throwing a rock in the opposite direction to lure a guard away from the desired path or a doorway. (Image credit: Daedalic Entertainment/Nacon)
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