Oh, to be a big time game industry news source and get updates on major games that tie right into your favorite niches.
Anyway, a number of industry writers got to witness Gollum gameplay. Some, like RPS, were not impressed (and, if we’re being honest here, came into it with a lot of negativity to begin with). I usually trust RPS’ coverage, but the lack of detail compared to Gamespot was pretty sus.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve learned after reading and watching everything I could find.
Gollum is more Tomb Raider meets Thief
Gollum was never going to be the next one to wield the hidden blade against the Templars in Assassin’s Creed, but we have confirmation here that combat is going to be very, very limited.
Instead, Gollum will be more focused on stealth and puzzles (including the “boss fights”). You can stun enemies, but by attempting to do so you’ll end up making noise, meaning in most cases it won’t be worth the attempt. Additionally, you have limited stamina making combat an even more frightening prospect.
In fact, stamina plays a big role in getting around the world. While hanging from your arms your stamina will drain (reminiscent of Dying Light), so you’ve got to be prepared to move quickly if you’re hanging off a ledge.
Gollum embraces his own duality (and gives you choices)
If you haven’t read any of the LoTR books or seen the films you’re probably wondering what I’m talking about. Gollum has multiple personality disorder, basically. The Gollum game itself plays into this, and makes world-changing decisions tied to deciding which personality to listen to at various decision points.
Of course, Dying Light 2 tried to profess world-shaping decisions too, but it ended up being pretty bland. Most games, in fact, fail pretty hard in this regard (although Elden Ring was pretty good as far as world-changing events are concerned, despite being fairly limited in impact).
Gollum has “Game Over” stealth fails
This one sucks, but I get it, despite having griped about missions failing when stealth fails in games.
There are situations where, if you’re discovered, it will be an instant game over, requiring a reload. Not ideal, but given the limited scope of the game it’ll probably be pretty weird for Gollum to toss out some pocket sand and run.
Additional bits and pieces about Gollum
The world itself is pretty vast; there’s a variety of locations, including bright and beautiful daylight outdoor environments.
The game itself is canon in regards to storyline, but you won’t interact much with the regular story characters. You WILL encounter new people, however, both good and bad.
The release date is looking to be around September 1st, so that’s something at least.