Daedalic (which I can’t not pronounce as dadelik) Entertainment has partnered with Middle-earth Enterprises to develop an action/adventure game centered on the character of Gollum.
We’re not super sure what it’s all about yet, there’s only a title image to go by so far, but, according to a PC Gamer interview with Daedalic’s CEO, Carsten Fichtelmann, it will revolve around Sméagol/Gollum’s descent into madness with particular focus on his split personality and how it will affect gameplay decisions.
We’re concentrating on the character of Gollum, and we’re telling his story before we learn about what happens to him in the books. So it’s definitely new content that we’ll see.
Don’t expect the Andy Serkis version, though, that one belongs to Warner Bros. so Daedalic has to come up with its own aesthetic for the familiar character and the world he inhabits.
Gollum isn’t a particularly deft fighter, judging by what we’ve seen of his tussles with tricksy hobbitses, so I assume the combat will be stealth and riddle-based. It’ll be interesting, whatever it is, although I’m not sure how much weight your choices will have when you know your inevitable, sociopathic fate.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is set for release, on consoles and PC, in 2021.