J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is an extraordinary work of fiction that has spanned multiple generations, selling more than 150 million books worldwide. While various adaptations of the books have been attempted since their release, none are more famous and celebrated than Peter Jackson’s trilogy. For many current fans, thinking about characters like Gandalf, Frodo and Smeagol/Gollum conjures visions of Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis’ interpretation of those characters. Perhaps that’s what makes Daedalic Entertainment and NACON’s latest game so intriguing: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum isn’t based on the movies. It’s based on the books and the studio is pulling out all the stops to highlight that fact with the game’s Precious Edition.
Part of this is due to how the rights to The Lord of the Rings work. Middle-earth Enterprises is the sole holder of the book rights and can license them out to anyone. For example, other in-development projects based on the books include EA and Capital Games’Heroes of Middle-earthand Free Range Games and North Beach Games’ Return to Moria. The film rights, however, are held exclusively by Warner Bros., which was why theirMiddle-earth gamescould feature likenesses and locations from the films. While Andy Serkis’ interpretation of Gollum and Smeagol will no doubt be seared into fan’s minds forever, a new interpretation based on the novels opens new opportunities that Daedalic appears happy to take.
While the films needed to squarely focus on the main narrative, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum focuses on elements from the books that the films couldn’t focus on. Mainly, Gollum’s search for The One Ring after Bilbo took it. A search that would bring him face-to-face with Aragorn, Gandalf, Thranduil and the Dark Lord Sauron himself. It also allows for a deep exploration of locations either mentioned or briefly seen in the films. For example, the Elvish Kingdom of Mirkwood and Thranduil only popped up in The Hobbit films, and even then neither got much screentime or character building.
A lot of love for the source material is shown in the recently-announced Precious Edition. Coming in at $69.99 (the base edition on all platforms is $59.99), this edition contains goodies that feel ripped straight from the books. An art exhibition of 100 pieces showcases how the artists at Daedalic pulled from book descriptions to create their interpretation of these locales and characters. Want to dive deeper into the lore and mythos of Tolkien’s characters, locations, cultures, events and items? A lore compendium diving into all these elements is provided. There’s also the seventeen-track original soundtrack included as a bonus.
The true highlight of this edition, however, is the Sindarin Voiceover Expansion. For those out of the loop, Sindarin is the official Elvish language invented by Tolkien for his world. The expansion includes additional voice-acting in Sindarin to give Middle-earth fans a more immersive experience when exploring Tolkien’s Elvish worlds. While we wish that all players had access to this pack regardless of whether they own the Precious Edition, we’re still glad that something like this exists for the fans.
Of course, nailing the lore aspect is only one piece of the equation. Daedalic Entertainment has hopefully crafted a compelling gameplay experience to accompany their storytelling. While the studio hasn’t showcased as much gameplay as we’d like to see from a game releasing so soon, they do sound like they’re on the right track. For a shifty character like Gollum/Smeagol, focusing on platforming and stealth is the right direction. We won’t have to wait too much longer to see how The Lord of the Rings: Gollum turns out both narratively and gameplay-wise.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum launches May 25 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PS4 and Xbox One with both standard and Precious editions. A Switch version launches sometime in the future.
