It’s clear The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was one of the most eagerly awaited games of 2023. A game set in the Lord of the Rings universe, and one which would let you play as none other than Gollum: a creature obsessed with getting hold of the One Ring in Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle Earth.
And surely video game fans expected great things from these upcoming game, especially taking into account how previous games set in The Lord of the Rings universe had been jolly good, such as Warner Bros.’ Middle-earth: Shadow of War and Shadow of Mordor (which by the way also had Gollum in it).
Something went wrong, though, and this latest Lord of the Rings game did not turn out to be the great action and adventure game fans were hoping for. Testament to this is the game’s Metacritic score, which stands at a paltry 35 % for the PS5 version of the game. The Metacritic user score is even worse (a truly abysmal 1.1 out of 10).
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developer has even issued an apology on Twitter (via VG247) for the game’s disappointing launch, with a promise to fix the game’s issues via patches in the future.
“We acknowledge and deeply regret that the game did not meet the expectations we set for ourselves or for our dedicated community. Please accept our sincere apologies for any disappointment this may have caused”, said developer Daelic Entertainment on Twitter.
“Our goal as a studio, and as passionate The Lord of the Rings fans, has always been to tell a compelling and immersive story-driven adventure. Crafting a story with Middle-earth as our playground has been the greatest honor – and the biggest challenge we have faced so far”, added Daelic.
But while it is conceivable that Daelic will be able to fix the game’s technical issues, it remains to be seen whether the dev can improve The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s gameplay, which also left quite a bit to be desired according to most critics. This taking into account that the game suffered multiple delays, as it was slated to launch back in 2021.
A few words from the ” The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ ” team pic.twitter.com/adPamy5EjO
— The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (@GollumGame) May 26, 2023
Nonetheless, and despite the game’s poor launch, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum made a strong showing in the UK sales charts, coming in at number 6 for the week that ended on May 27 as was recently reported on Game Rant. Gollum was unable to leap above heavyweights such as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom or FIFA 23, but it did come ahead the likes of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and popular zombie game Dead Island 2.
And apparently the people behind The Lord of the Rings: Gollum are now at work on a another Lord of the Rings game, having received millions of Euros in funds from the German government… Hopefully, though, they will be able to patch their current game into shape as promised, so that those buying the game in the future will have a better experience playing as Gollum in Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle-earth.