Few characters in Tolkien’s Middle-earth are as iconic as the wretched and pitiful Gollum. The tragic story of Sméagol/Gollum is the cornerstone of The Lord of the Rings saga, and an apt example of the perils of greed. Now, everyone’s favorite creepy cave-dweller is getting a starring role in his own video game, in Daedalic Entertainment’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.

The company released the first teaser trailer for the game this weekend, which takes us into the pits of Barad-dûr in Sauron’s tower, as Gollum, the player has to escape the orc-filled fortress by sneaking around in the shadows, solving puzzles, and plenty of climbing. While the game is centered on stealth and platforming, it also focuses on Gollum/Sméagol’s dueling personalities. Players can choose to take Gollum’s more self-serving path or Sméagol’s kinder approach at various points throughout the gameplay.

Daedalic’s CEO Carsten Fichtelmann discussed the dual personalities of Gollum, saying “You already have that big conflict in the character, two voices talking to you continuously, which means there is a good reason there are decisions to make in the game: the Smeagol decisions or the Gollum decision, … We have the story that we all know from the book, but everything that happens to him before he appears in the book are the main things we will see in our game. We will tell the story before he first appears in the books.”

The story-driven action adventure game, which functions as a prequel to the events of LOTR, follows Gollum’s escape and quest to find his precious. The game’s description reads, “While being vital to the story by J.R.R. Tolkien, many parts of Gollum’s quest have not been told in detail yet. In The Lord of the Rings: Gollum you get to experience this story. From his time as a slave below the Dark Tower to his stay with the Elves of Mirkwood.” Sounds like a good time!

A Gollum video game is neat but how bout a Stardew Valley-esque game about hobbits in the Shire

— Christian Dobbins (on a social media vacation 😎✨) (@C_Dobbins) March 26, 2021

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is set to be released for Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC in 2022.

(via IGN, featured image: screencap/Daedalic Entertainment)

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