The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Reviews
An ill-conceived parkour game with aged graphics and gameplay, but with an undeniable thread of lost potential underneath that makes me wish the development team had spent more time in the planning stage. PC version reviewed.
The story of Gollum actually has some interesting lore but bad encounter design, terribly executed stealth and platforming, and a host of bugs make the experience an exercise in frustration.
I’m a positive person when it comes to games, happy to overlook minor issues when the overall result is worthy of both my and your time. Unfortunately, Gollum is not a game I could recommend to anyone, even if you were the world’s biggest Lord of the Rings fan.
I wanted The Lord of the Rings: Gollum to be a slam dunk given how fantastic the source material is. Unfortunately though, the game suffers from a wide range of issues from the janky platforming and stealth mechanics to the underwhelming visuals. Thankfully, Gollum himself is nicely animated and voice-acted, but it's not enough to overcome the game's faults.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is the worst game I’ve ever played, it barely functions and when it does it’s just mundanely boring.
Well-known brand, interesting main character, mix of different genres. What could possibly go wrong? Everything. You really don't have to waste your money on this today.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
It is an action-adventure game that has failed to take advantage of the lore of The Lord of the Rings. It has multiple glitches that make it seem like it's not a game of this generation
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Lord of the Rings: Gollum disappointingly incorporates outdated mechanics and falls short of its potential. The game's linear approach guides players through levels, with decisions that don't significantly impact the storyline. Furthermore, the platforming mechanics prove to be a significant letdown, and the low-quality graphics and inconsistent music further detract from the overall experience.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is nothing more than a failed project that should have been cancelled, but since it is a lucrative IP, it was released to the market to deceive the unwary and that, gentlemen, is a scam that should not be be tolerated in this industry.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
LOTR: Gollum is a prime example of the results of a game that relies only on IP's power without solid structure. In the devastated gameplay, only a few people would be intrigued about the story of the unlikable protagonist.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Daedalic had an opportunity to prove the cynics wrong when so many people wondered what the hell the point of a Gollum game would even be. Instead, they handled this with such utter clumsiness they likely ensured a game like it will never happen again.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum had nearly endless potential to be great but it instead became the prime example of why beta testing a game before release is important. With issues like stuttering or momentary lag spikes all pointing to a severe lack of optimization, this game was doomed to be a flop from the start. The only hope for this game now is not just a quick patch but a massive overhaul to fix its biggest issues.
Utterly shambolic in almost every way, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is an abject failure as a stealth and traversal game, continuously tripping over itself with technical incompetence to such an extent it’s virtually impossible to recommend. Featuring monotonous climbing and sneaking mechanics, cheap deaths from heights akin to a paddling pool, a boring structure, plain and uninteresting characters, a host of technical blemishes, mostly-poor visuals, a woodpecker-quality soundtrack, and an overall dismal and trying experience, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is absolutely atrocious. Much like its protagonist, it’s a cursed product that should be cast into the smoldering fires of Mount Doom.
It is good to know that we already know the worst game of the year in May. Do yourself a favor and forget about The Lord of the Rings: Gollum – it is anything but precious.
I was looking forward to, at least, a delivery that met the minimum quality of this generation, even knowing that Gollum was not going to offer us the adrenaline that we can get from other characters mentioned above, for example. But it has not been so, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum needs a lot of work if it wants to position itself as a decent delivery.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is unfortunately a product that is not only poorly developed, but also poorly optimized, a terrible combination for any video game. Playing it is like being trapped in a title from the early 2000s, a fertile time for a series of licensed games whose production ambition is proportional to their questionable technical capacity.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Much like the namesake character himself, The Lord of The Rings: Gollum couldn't be saved from what it became. Frustrating platforming coupled with boring gameplay and cheap ways to die make any experience hard to play. Unfortunately, the intriguing setting and lore exploration can't come close to overshadowing the game's fundamental issues.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum tries to be a respectful homage to Tolkien’s masterpiece. Unfortunately, it’s expressed through buggy, unpolished, and not very interesting or enjoyable gameplay. Gollum is a fascinating and complex character, but makes a poor protagonist for an action game. Only ravenous fans of Tolkien will want to come near this game, and then only if they have a very high tolerance for crashes, bugs, and disappointment.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum had a rough start prior to launch but despite its followup patches, it’s still not a good game. It plays with some interesting concepts but they are so often overshadowed by its poor controls, loose movement, and overly slow story where everyone feels like a bit part except the titular lead. There is a certain charm that ever so often seeps through, to make it a partly enjoyable platforming and even stealth experience, but just as it builds any kind of momentum the game swiftly reminds you of its drawbacks and frustrations.
Even though we are big Lord of the Rings fans, and we were afraid to start the game based on the preliminary negative feedback, it was a pleasant surprise. We enjoyed the story so much that I hope to play Gollum's Adventures again. If only to explore the different decisions and endings.
Review in Czech | Read full review