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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is finally launching quite soon

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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum finally has a release date. Daedalic Entertainment and Nacon confirmed during a hands-off preview event attended by Digital Trends that this unique Lord of the Rings game finally launches on September 1. 

Daedalic Entertainment first announced The Lord of the Rings: Gollum in 2019, but the game was pushed back to 2022 when Nacon came on board as publisher. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait much longer for this adventure as it’s only a few months away. Since its announcement, the rights for Lord of the Rings games have gone up for sale, and EA has announced a mobile game based on the franchise. Thankfully, none of those developments seemed to have negatively impacted The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.

Gollum hides from soldiers in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum
Gollum will die in a direct confrontation, so he must stealthily dodge and take down enemies. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Digital Trends got an early look at The Lord of the Rings: Gollum via a hands-off demo. While this may seem like an odd comparison, imagine Uncharted’s platforming in a stealth-focused game set in the Lord of the Rings universe. I saw Gollum hopping around ledges in both Mordor and Mirkwood as the developer carefully managed Gollum’s stamina so he wouldn’t fall off any ledges he was climbing. 

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Combat is minimal as Gollum has limited stamina he can use in attacks. As such, platforming and puzzle-solving will be the best ways to get through many situations. Throughout the game, players will also have to choose between the Gollum and Sméagol personalities during key story moments, and these decisions will impact the narrative. 

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Characters like Thranduil and Gandalf also made appearances in the demo. They sported looks more similar to their description in the books than how they were portrayed in the movies. While Gollum obviously isn’t the prettiest protagonist, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has a distinct look and feel compared to any The Lord of the Rings game that has come before it. 

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on September 1. A Nintendo Switch version is also in the works, but does not have a release window outside of 2022. 

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Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
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