Back in March, Daedalic Entertainment had announced that they were developing a new action-adventure game titled The Lord of the Rings—Gollum, which would centre around the story of the titular Gollum. Not much more was revealed about the title, but in the latest issue of Edge Magazine, the German developer has given fans a little more info, including the fact that Gollum will look very different than how he did in the film trilogy.
“We don’t want to displease the folks who have only see the movies. But in short, he doesn’t look like Andy Serkis,” states senior producer Kai Fiebig. “We started with the person he was and then evolved him. You can see that this was once something like a human being, before the Ring corrupted him.”
And true to the idea that the game will tell Gollum’s story from a perspective different from the films, the team hopes to “show a different set of emotions” when it comes to the character. “We need somebody you could almost love, and on the other hand somebody you can really be afraid of. And at some points, trust me, you will fear him.”
The magazine describes The Lord of the Rings—Gollum as a “fairly straightforward stealth game with an emphasis on climbing and platforming”. Taking place before the trilogy, the game will have Gollum start in Barad-dûr, a fortress in Mordor where he’s being held prisoner. Gollum himself won’t have much in the way of special abilities or skills, since it wouldn’t make much sense. Instead, the focus will be on the of the character’s duality between Gollum and Sméagol. Even then, the game won’t be a simple “good versus evil” playthrough.
“It’s not just choosing to be Sméagol or Gollum, because for Gollum as an entity it’s not that easy,” according to designer Martin Wilkes. “Each personality is being attacked by the other; each has to defend himself.”
The Lord of the Rings—Gollum is currently expected to be out in 2021 for PC and all consoles.