The Lord of the Rings: Gollum didn’t release with much fanfare, largely an under the radar game, though it’s now subsequently become infamous for being the worst reviewed game of 2023 so far. Reviews across the board from a litany of entertainment sites and independent reviewers all collectively agree: The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a terrible game.
While it’s a shame that the devs at Daedelic Entertainment put their time into crafting a title centered on the background character of Gollum aka Sméagol from the globally beloved Lord of the Rings franchise, the release is still fair game for reviewers. The stealth focused platformer has resoundingly drawn disdain for its uninspiring and pointless gameplay.
As IGN notes in their review summary giving the game 4/10 score, “The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is filled with dull stealth, bad platforming, and a pointless story, and does little to justify why anyone should take the time to play it.” And while IGN’s review might seem straight to the point, other reviewers aren’t holding back, in fact lambasting the game, in Gameranx’s review, “I’ve played worse games but it doesn’t really matter. This one is not good. If you’re an absolute diehard Lord of the Rings fan, this sounds brutal, but maybe wait for the bargain bin.”
Polygon’s review:“A better question is: “Why did you make this video game about Gollum?…I wasn’t just imprisoned in a cell by orcs. I was also imprisoned by a game that wanted me to find eight dog tags from eight slave corpses hidden in the mines before I could move on to the not-slave part of the game”
And Tom’s Guide is merely titled, “The Lord of the Ring’s: Gollum— I Wasted 12 Hours Reviewing This.” With a 1/5 star rating.
Beyond poor gameplay and a dull story, the game suffers from a litany of game breaking bugs and crashes. Some have noted that the graphics remind them of a PS3 era title, and that the animations are janky. There’s also been notice on social media of the font used within the game, resembling a very basic Microsoft font. Set at a full price of $60, there’s optional DLC that is noticeably questionable and a meek cash grab. For example one of the DLC, Lore Compendium, is essentially just lore notes in a menu screen, the kind of basic collectible found in nearly every game. There’s also a Sindarin Voice Over DLC which replaces all the dialogue with… Sindarin.
It’s unfortunate for Daedelic Entertainment but reviews for games are a staple in the gaming industry. Whether a full priced game is worth hard earned money lets consumers know what they’re paying for before wasting their money or not. Moreover reviews help highlight games that might exceed technical achievement or bring something new to the formula. Unfortunately The Lord of the Rings: Gollum isn’t anything worthwhile according to reviewers.