The upcoming stealth action-adventure The Lord of the Rings: Gollum can be seen in a new video. The teaser trailer does not reveal anything about the gameplay. However, the developers revealed a few details about the mechanics in an interview.
A first teaser trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum from Daedalic Entertainment was published during Gamescom week. It doesn’t give too many insights. Nor does it show any details from the gameplay. But the title makes it clear: In Lord of the Rings: Gollum you meet … Gollum.
The title was announced back in 2019 and has been in development for quite some time. At least a few pictures were published at the beginning of this year. Going a little deeper is a recent preview of IGN, a few details have been revealed about the stealth mechanics and narrative elements of decision-making.
“The game mixes stealth with vertical climbing parkour,” said lead designer Martin Wilkes in an interview with the editorial team. “If you want a reference you might think of it as similar to Prince of Persia. It is mostly a non-combat game, but Gollum will be able to stealthily take out enemies. However, this will not be easy and always come with big risks. We want players to carefully weigh these encounters. After all, Gollum’s strengths lie in cunning not combat.”
While Gollum won’t use classic weapons, he will be able to punish enemies by throwing objects. At the same time, he benefits from the skills of “special allies” and is able to use the environment to his advantage, according to lead narcotic designer Tilman Schanen. The “special allies” are familiar characters who will “largely” play minor roles in the story, “but in some cases very significant.”
As for decision making, players will have to choose from the options suggested by his Sméagol and Gollum personality. According to Schanen, the decisions you make affect how the game feels. The “dominant” personality can influence “animations, soundscapes, certain gameplay situations, and in-game dialogue.”
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will release in 2021 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Here is the teaser trailer: