It’s a shame Andy Serkis never won an award for his work as Gollum in the Peter Jackson-directed film. He Lord of the Rings trilogy. The way he managed to evoke two distinct personalities, Gollum and his mild-mannered Hobbit alter ego Sméagol, with his voice and body movements is a performance that should have earned him one of those ridiculous-looking gold statues. In a practical demonstration of The Lord of the Rings: GollumI remembered Serkis’ fickle performance as Gollum and was pleased to see that these split personalities were a core part of the game.
In my short time with Gollum, I was able to scamper around Mordor chasing troublesome crows and avoiding orcs, which, if caught, will automatically give you a “game over”. Cunning is the name of the game, Precious. Gollum can hide in the brush or in the water or throw rocks to distract enemies so he can pass unseen. Gollum also features platforming mechanics that remind me of the old PSX era. tomb raiders. You can balance on canyon walls while depleting a stamina bar, run and jump to reach distant ledges, and balance like Simone Biles on the uneven bars. Basic things. But where I thought the game really captivated me was when I was interacting with the various peoples of Middle-earth.
Throughout the demo, Gollum is given the opportunity to make decisions based on either his Sméagol persona or his Gollum persona. Gollum is the tough and strong survivor, while Sméagol is gentler, more meek, and more interested in making friends. As with any choice system, the more you choose of one type, the more the personality dominates, making it harder to make the opposite choice later on. The choices you make affect the people (rather, elves and orcs) around you and can influence their fate.
I’m interested to see how the different choices you make as Sméagol or Gollum play out in the larger context of the game. It’s not a nemesis system, but I’m a big jerk when a game’s narrative is reinforced in its gameplay and vice versa. The split between Gollum and Sméagol played a huge part in Frodo’s journey, and I’m glad He The Lord of the Rings: Gollum I found a way to cleverly incorporate that into a story that is completely unique.
