from the Lord of the Rings He says, thinking of epic battles, sorcery, orcs and hobbits. gollum, Around the notorious, split personality, It Takes a Slightly More Intimate Path. Sad for Tolkien fanatics: hopefully costly The video game has not become, on the contrary.
“We want it. We need it. It must be precious!” This is perhaps the most famous statement of the tormented Gollum, who shares his body with the hobbit Sméagol. Or at least in the brilliant Peter Jackson film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s nearly seventy-year-old fantasy trilogy, and its prequel The hobbit (1937).
When Buzz comes into contact with The One Ring, a powerful and corrupting artifact forged by the Dark Lord Sauron, he is driven to mania and madness. Although the “blessed” ring Sméagol had a longer lifespan, he gradually transformed into a miserable, emaciated creature with a split personality who spent centuries in remote dark caves, relentlessly searching for his king. costly.
Says Lorenz Proust, Sales Director of Belgium’s largest geek festival factswhich shows his love for everything in and around Middle-earth with an enduring Tolkien quote ‘Not everyone who wandered lost’ The Quenya (or elven writing) on his arm. And so the video game of the same name, announced about four years ago by the Germans from Daedalic Entertainment, immediately ended up on the guy’s wish list. And he wasn’t the only one called “Ranger”.
blind spot
Daedalic, especially proficient in Point and click adventure games which focuses on exploration, storytelling, and puzzle-solving, and has been a huge hit Gollum. The game developer wanted the blind spot, which is the events between The hobbit And the first book fellowship of the ring, get rid of. What happened to the wretch when he left the Misty Mountains in hopes of obtaining the One Ring?
Nothing noteworthy, as it turns out The Lord of the Rings: Gollum on the shelves. Postponing the game three times wasn’t an encouraging sign, but even Tolkien’s greatest expert would throw the disc into the depths of Mount Doom without flinching. However, the premise is promising, as is the smaller approach, away from chaotic battles, but with an emphasis on jumping, dashing, and stealthily overpowering orcs.
On the one hand, there’s a sloppy-looking, sloppy game experience in which nothing meaningful gets done with Sméagol’s constant internal struggle. The voice work, though tapping from the same gargle pipe, doesn’t come close to Andy Serkis’ legendary performance in the movies.
“It feels like a PS2 game to a PS5, and of course it shouldn’t,” Proost said. It is very sad that many professional journalists are already talking about the worst game of the year. So far Daedalic has publicly apologized for many technical shortcomings and promised improvement. “Fortunately, I always keep my expectations low,” Proost sets the record straight.
What now?
Do fans still have a lot to cheer about? The Amazon series was released last year rings of power It was a mixed success despite the massive budget of $465 million for the first season alone. Season 2 is currently being filmed, and despite the writers’ strike in Hollywood, it’s happening without the showrunners.
Michelle Van Bell, Specialty Platform Editor jexter And the self-proclaimed “Ranger,” she certainly isn’t hungry. But if you look beyond the games and series, fortunately, books for fine reading continue to be released with compilation stories or alternate versions of what we already know, such as the latest compilation. The fall of Númenor.
There have been many successes in the past Lord of the rings –Video games are made, with on Doctrine killer tributary Shadow of Mordor –The series, as the latest adaptation, completes the disappointment Gollum Only bigger. Could such a game affect the developers’ willingness to explore lesser-known characters or stories in Middle-earth?
“Your franchise may be known and loved, but if you don’t put any effort into it, there will be justified feedback,” Van Belle explains. “If you look at players too much as financial cows, success won’t come.”
aspirations
The Swedish holding company Embracer, which bought Middle-Earth Enterprises at the end of 2022 and thus has the rights to make films and games about the franchise, has big ambitions anyway. Although it recently saw its stake drop by 40 percent after an undisclosed deal fell through. Several titles are on the way, the most notable of which is a project being developed by Amazon Online multiplayer game (MMO), in which several players simultaneously reside in a constantly living virtual world, such as World of Warcraft. Funnily enough, there’s been one since 2007 Lord of the rings –MMO, which still burps relatively well today.
“We hope they learn from within Gollum says Proost. “They just missed the ball and maybe Dedalic wasn’t the right studio.”
Let it be clear that the franchise is far from over. Likewise, film producer Warner Bros. confirmed earlier this year that there will be more to come Lord of the rings –Movies show. But perhaps it’s safer, like Lauren Cheers, to keep expectations low.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum Released for PlayStation 4 and 5 and Xbox Series S | X and PC.
