The One Ring to rule them all is also the One Ring that can corrupt them all if they become entranced by its influence. The epitome of that power-seeking influence corrupting a man’s mind and soul can be found in the story of Smeagol. On his birthday, he decided he would fish with his cousin Deagol to celebrate. When Deagol finds a ring that was washed ashore, Smeagol demands that his cousin give it to him as a birthday present, and when Deagol refuses, Smeagol kills his cousin for the ring. This traumatic event causes a split in his personality, one side is the morally conflicted Smeagol and the other is the dominant Gollum. Now players will get to explore this persona in the newLord of the Rings Gollumgame.
That’s the beginning of Gollum’s story, and only a chapter in his complicated saga. While not exactly a villain, Gollum has not proved himself to be the most reliable hero in theLord of the Ringsseries. That being said, this new game will see a more sympathetic creature that will be closely based on the book series as opposed to the movies, like previous games.InLord of the Rings Gollum,players will stealth around Orc encampments and have to make decisions as the conflicted Gollum’s warring personalities battle for control.
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On the Timeline
While not a lot of details have been released, it is known that theLord of the Rings Gollumgameplaywill see Gollum captured by the Orcs and his time spent under the care of the Elves. This actually gives a pretty solid idea of where the game will take place in theLord of the Ringscanon. Smeagol first found the ring around TA 2463, and had it for over 400 years while he hid in his cave in the Misty Mountains, thanks to the extended life of the Ring’s power. When the events ofThe Hobbittake place, Gollum loses the ring and is forced to flee his cave in the hopes of retrieving it back from the Baggins in the Shire.
While Gollum searches for Bilbo, he gets captured by Sauron’s Orc forces and is taken to Barad-dûr where he was held until Sauron had the time to torture him personally about the Ring’s whereabouts. After initially hiding what he knows, eventually the dark lord is available to get Gollum to shout out that the Bagginses in the Shire had the One Ring. Due to Sauron’s hope he would lead them to the Shire, Gollum was released back intoMiddle-earth.
He is found and captured by Aragorn and delivered to the Silvan Elves for care and interrogation by Gandalf. Here, Gollum will escape during an attack by Sauron’s army and begin his search for the Shire. In relation to the books and movies, this would placeLord of the Rings Gollumsome time afterThe Hobbit,and maybe even afterThe Fellowship of the Ring.
Untold History
While developerDaedelic Entertainmenthas made it clear that this game will be centered around the already established lore in the books, this is an unexplored period in Gollum’s life and gives this game a little more room to breathe than if it were a more detailed event. This will likely serve as new lore into Gollum’s past before he had chance to catch up with Frodo and find out he has the Ring. The events surrounding this period are set in stone by the series' lore, butLord of the Rings Gollumcan explain why he was released by the Orcs and how he came to escape the Wood Elf civilization during the Orc attack.
TheLord of the Ringsfanbase is one of the most lasting and powerful out there. The book series was released in the 1937 and the ’50s, respectively, and has seen multiple movie and game adaptations since that time. Each new iteration into the IP is met with skepticism and criticism from the fans who considerLord of the Ringssacred. While Gollum is admittedly a unique choice for a stand-alone game, this could bring a new light to a character many had written off as a creepy gremlin. WhileLord of the Rings Gollumwas delayeduntil 2022, it’ll be worth it to sneak around Middle-earth as everyone’s favorite Ring-hungry creature.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollumreleases on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2022.
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