Another entry from Nacon, the producer behind the upcoming Terminator Survival Project and RoboCop: Rogue City coming next year or otherwise, comes The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Return to Middle-Earth through the eyes and tricksy hands of everyone’s favorite crawling creep, navigating anywhere from the spider-infested caverns of Shelob’s lair to the orc-run ramparts of Mordor to the lofty treetops of the Mirkwood Elves. In a trailer released yesterday, we finally received a first non-cinematic look at the Gollum gameplay, giving fans a preview of what sneaky secrets await in the lands of Middle-Earth. 

Only those who have nothing left know that good and evil are two sides of the same coin: survival. Now is the time to make it count.

Take a first look at exclusive #GollumGame footage, coming to @Xbox consoles on September 1, 2022.

Watch the trailer: https://t.co/Uym4jw2UIC pic.twitter.com/z5IcU1QXt5

— The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (@GollumGame) July 8, 2022

The source material aside, Gollum’s gameplay looks not to break any molds with originality, as the stealth and parkour sections showcased in the trailer look pretty standard to most stealth games. As such, the game provides players with conveniently tall patches of grass to hide in, clearly telegraphed ledges and overhangs, and, of course, some assumedly deaf AI with no peripheral vision. Along the way, players will run into occasional fan-favorite characters, meeting icons like Gandalf and the other figures Gollum encountered during his long journey around Middle-Earth. This game seems to appeal specifically to fans of the source material, filling in a majority of Gollum’s tale as of yet unseen. 

While some are worried for the game’s state, particularly since the gameplay isn’t anything to write home about, the added component of balancing the Gollum and Sméagol personalities is intriguing and hopefully well-implemented. Yet, especially for an unassuming character that relies on cunning and advantage, the use of stealth and decision will most likely be the extent of the gameplay, as there’s not really a future for Gollum where he wields a sword and slays orcs. The game’s quality remains to be seen but audiences can receive their first fishy taste of Lord of the Rings: Gollum when it releases for PC and consoles on September 1st of this year.