Set to release in 2021 on all popular platforms, Lord of the Rings: Gollum is being developed and published by the German company Daedalic Entertainment. Daedalic Entertainment’s acquisition of the Lord of the Rings license is presumably a huge risk for the company, as it’s safe to say that it doesn’t have the financial strength of the gaming industry’s heavyweight publishers like EA and Activision.
Daedalic Entertainment is by no means an unknown company though, as it has made a name for itself in the graphic adventure and point & click genre with excellent titles like A New Beginning and Deponia. Like with any release using the Lord of the Rings license, there will a lot of eyes on the upcoming project, and expectations will be high for the game. There are already many features that fans and critics are interested to see implemented in the game, along with a few things that it should avoid.
10 Don’t Want – The Game To Be Rushed
If the buggy release of Cyberpunk 2077 has taught us anything, it’s that despite how excited people might be for a game, it’s not worth encouraging the publisher to release it early.
If Lord of the Rings: Gollum does need more time to be completed, then it should receive all of the extra attention that it requires. The game is a huge opportunity for Daedalic Entertainment to fire itself into the forefront of the gaming industry, so it would be a great shame if the final product was weakened due to a tight release schedule.
9 Want – Stealth Mechanics That Require Genuine Player Intelligence
Despite the plethora of games over the years that feature stealth mechanics, their implementation still seems to be quite hit or miss. One common theme in successful stealth games like Hitman: Blood Money and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory is that they require the player to use their intuition and utilize the in-game environment to their benefit.
Gollum proves throughout the books and films that he can be ingenious when he puts his mind to it. Therefore, it would be disappointing if the upcoming game has bland or run-of-the-mill mechanics, as they appear to be the game’s main feature.
8 Don’t Want – An Un-Charismatic Gollum
There’s a reason why Gollum, of all the many great Lord of the Rings characters, is the one receiving a tie-in game. Andy Serkis’ performance capture and voice acting for Gollum were highlights of the critically acclaimed Lord of the Rings trilogy, and it instantly made Gollum an iconic character.
Suffice to say, Andy Serkis’ performance set an incredibly high standard for the character, and Daedalic Entertainment will be feeling the pressure to ensure that its iteration of Gollum recaptures the same magic. As the role of voice actors in video games is continuously increasing in importance, a poor performance for Gollum could seriously harm the final product.
7 Want – An Open-World
Open-worlds area mainstay in most AAA adventure titles today, but they are by no means essential. In fact, an open-world that has been forced into a game can end up harming it, as weak sidequests can deter from what could have been an excellent linear game.
With that being said, the idea of an open-world set in Tolkien’s Middle-Earth is far too tantalizing to not hope for. Tolkien’s many Middle-Earth books have created an incredibly imaginative open-world that is begging to be explored in video game form; the chances of Lord of the Rings: Gollum fulfilling fans’ wishes of having a Skyrim-like world are slim, but even a small section of explorable Middle-Earth would be very welcome.
6 Don’t Want – Weak Moral Decisions
Open-worlds aren’t the only gameplay mechanic that perk gamers’ ears these days, as intelligently integrated decisions that genuinely affect the game’s story are also an exciting feature that players often hope for today.
Decision making in video games isn’t without its issue though, as many games simply offer the illusion of choice, as the players’ decisions have little impact in reality. Mass Effect 2 is an example of well-implemented decision making, as almost every important decision affects the final “Suicide Mission.” Fallout 4, on the other hand, has been proven through the use of mods to have many choices that disappointingly lead to the same path. Daedalic Entertainment has confirmed that Gollum’s split-personality will lead to the player making tough decisions in the game.
5 Want – More Characters
Lord of the Rings: Gollum is set sometime between when Gollum finds the one ring and the events of The Lord of the Rings. This large time period offers Daedalic Entertainment the chance to include more of Tolkien’s charismatic characters into the game’s story.
Throwing characters into the story for the sake of it would be a mistake, of course; however, if the developers can find ways to include a few pleasant surprises along the way, it would surely be among the game’s highlights. Currently, the Nazgul and Thranduil have been confirmed to be appearing in the game. Thranduil, for those who don’t know, is the father of Orlando Bloom’s fan-favorite character Legolas.
4 Don’t Want – Microtransactions
Although the idea of sneaking around with Gollum while he wears an $8 flashing Xmas tree outfit sounds hilarious, single-player games like Lord of the Rings: Gollum are best left without additional costs.
Microtransactions are continuing to be more and more prevalent in gaming, and the idea of Daedalic Entertainment implementing pay-to-win skill upgrades is a painful one, to say the least. The fact of the matter is though, Daedalic Entertainment is taking a financial risk by obtaining the game’s license and may need to use microtransactions to recoup the cost.
3 Want – An Open End To The Story
There’s reason to be hopeful that Daedalic Entertainment will be making more Lord of the Rings games after Gollum. The company’s founder, Carsten Fichtelmann, has frequently referred to Gollum as the company’s “first game” with the Lord of the Rings license, implying that there will be more adventures to come.
The sheer number of interesting characters from Tolkien’s classic trilogy like Aragon, Gandalf, Theoden, Arwen, Gimli, Elrond, and Legolas, means that Gollum could be one of many characters to get their own tie-in game. For this reason, it would be great to see Gollum end with some form of a hint towards another game; as not only would it be great to get a sign that one is in the works, but the idea of a connected series of games sounds very appealing.
2 Don’t Want – Unintelligent A.I.
A common issue in many action games, but predominantly stealth titles, is unintelligent A.I. that can completely ruin the otherwise immersive experience. As mentioned previously, it will be great if smart stealth mechanics are implemented, but it will be a pointless venture if the enemy A.I. isn’t up to scratch.
Many stealth games have been ruined in the past as enemies can seemingly only detect the player if they’re standing two feet away from them. Weak A.I. would be an issue in Gollum over most other stealth games, in particular, as it has been suggested that Smeagol will have almost no form of attack. This means that the A.I. will make or break the game, as players can’t simply run and gun through enemies if they get bored or frustrated with the stealth mechanics.
1 Want – A Canon Story
Although a canon story risks winding up or even angering the many die-hard Tolkien fans, it’s a risk worth taking. A canon backstory of Smeagol’s downfall to Gollum could be fascinating, and intriguingly horrifying if done well.
There are plenty of benefits of a non-canon story, as it allows the developers freedom to create their own story without limitations; whereas keeping to canon can not only be time-consuming research-wise but also very restricting. Despite this, the idea of a canon story will appeal far more to causal fans of Lord of the Rings and will almost certainly help sales, increasing the chance of more Lord of the Rings releases.
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