The first trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is here, and it’s looking good. Following a brief one-minute teaser that was released a few months ago, Daedlic Entertainment dropped a three-minute gameplay reveal last week. It shows off the game’s visual style, as well as when it takes place within the Lord of the Rings’ timeline.
The first detail of note is how graphically gorgeous the game is. The trailer makes a point to note that it’s currently in a pre-alpha state. Nonetheless, classic Lord of the Rings environments like Mirkwood and Mordor look incredible, with lashings of color and detail. Harald Riegler, the game’s producer, describes Gollum as “a cinematic stealth-action adventure.” From the footage, it seems like climbing, crawling, and parkour are the main ways to get around. There’s no glimpse at combat yet, so that’s something to look forward to.
While the trailer doesn’t give away much in terms of plot, Gollum’s aim is clear – to get back his precious Ring. To achieve this, he’ll traverse pretty much all of Middle-Earth, from grassy fields to orc-ridden caves. It hints at cameos from classic Lord of the Rings characters along the way but doesn’t give away too much. If we had to guess, you can almost guarantee Sauron and Saruman, the trilogy’s main villains, will appear, as we see screenshots of Gollum at their lair in Mordor. There’s also a glimpse at the famous wizard Gandalf. Previously played in the films by Ian McKellen, he looks very different here. It might suggest that Gollum doesn’t take place in the same continuity as Peter Jackson’s iconic films.
However, that’s no reason to not be excited for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. It’s still a long way off, as Daedlic is aiming for a late 2022 release on next-gen consoles. That said, previous Lord of the Rings games like Shadow of Mordor have been huge hits. If Gollum combines the legendary Tolkein lore with gripping gameplay and a unique story, we could have something pretty special on our hands.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum releases in late 2022. It’ll launch on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
