THE LORD OF THE RINGS: GOLLUM

Is this adventure PS5’s precious? We speak to Daedalic Entertainment to discover Gollum’s secrets – and perhaps some of Sméagol’s

Wait until you look into his cute big eyes,” exclaims Tilman Schanen, lead narrative designer on The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum. We’ve dared to ask whether a vicious, spiteful character like Gollum can ever be likable.

“Gollum can be vicious, and as players we will not agree with everything he does,” continues Schanen. “But there is also good in him, and now it is up to the player to push him more towards his old, innocent Hobbit-origin or be all-out nasty Gollum, if they want to.”

The setting and story of Daedalic’s game, with its early levels playing out in the oppressive caves and castle keeps of Mordor, has been chosen for a reason: we see Gollum surviving alongside characters vastly more evil and deranged than our ring-obsessed ex-Hobbit.

Schanen explains: “We all love to root for outsiders and underdogs, and Gollum is both an outsider and an underdog wherever he goes. We will constantly find ourselves in trouble seemingly too big to handle for the little guy, and our game designers do an excellent job of making you feel just that.”

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