So let’s see what other outlets are saying about the game, shall we?
Starting from our good friends to Push Squarethey gave the game a score of 2/10 and called it a “massive missed opportunity”:
“There’s some serious potential in a linear single-player lord of the rings experience like this, but with outrageously dated level design, clunky controls, a severe lack of polish, muddy and unimpressive graphics, and a dull story, Gollum completely missed the mark. As a huge fan of the books, movies, and games, it’s sad to see nothing important to this experience.”
The watchman was equally negative in its assessment, calling the game a “derivative, uninteresting and basically broken stealth action adventure” in its 1/5 star review:
“If you’ve played a third-person action-adventure game in the last decade, you’ve played Gollum. Minus Gollum himself, of course, but this is an unconvincing rendition unlikely to scratch that particular itch. Kudos to the work of animation; Sméagol himself is as creepily fluid and nimble as you’d expect. But if you’re hungry for some Lord of the Rings in your gaming diet, pick up Shadow of War for a fiver in the next sale instead, and spend the save for the second breakfast.”
GameSpot Echoed Push Square’s assessment with its own score of 2/10, highlighting the “confounding incompetence” of the enemy AI:
“Like Gollum’s quest for the One Ring, my quest to complete The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was filled with endless setbacks, impossible possibilities, and ever-increasing levels of madness. And, as of Gollum, my journey is doomed from the start . So if the main goal of the developers is really to put you in the position of a pitiful, unlikable character who faces constant pain and suffering at every turn, at least they were successful that way.”
Twinfinite awarded the game 1.5/5 stars, bemoaning the often game-breaking bugs:
“The Lord of the Rings: Gollum doesn’t do anything as fun or interesting as similar (better) games like A Plague Tale: Innocence and Requiem. It’s hard to say whether even the most honest Lord of the Rings fans will definitely find something worthwhile here. Considering the good Lord of the Rings games, this one feels out of place.”
Finally, to end on a (slightly) more positive note, God is a Geek gave Gollum an average score of 5/10 and hope that patches will provide a better experience in the future:
“I absolutely love The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. While the story is its strongest feature, technical issues plague almost every aspect of it. From visual glitches to a lack of polish with its gameplay, it’s hard to recommend it to those hoping to venture into Middle-Earth again. While I’m sure future patches will fix some of the issues, I don’t think it’s going to be a title that can compete with some of the other greats Lord of the Rings games we’ve seen over time, and as a lifelong Tolkien fan, I’m sad that this isn’t the game I wanted.”
So that’s it! Is there some part of us that is secretly hoping that the Switch version will blow us away and be finished good? Of course. But we’re not holding our collective breath on this one. Judging from the reviews so far, it looks like it could be a stinker. Given Gollum’s personality, that might actually be appropriate.
Do you have any hope left for Gollum on Switch? Have you ever had one? Share your thoughts in a comment below.
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