The bottom line here, folks, is that Gollum is not good.
Hes got it rough, but Gollum perseveres.
He wants his shiny preciousness back, after all, and will do anything it takes to get it.
Hes got drive, and as a fellow fan of sparkly jewellery, I can respect that.
But drive isn’t enough to redeem the turgid adventure that follows.
Part of the problem lies with having Gollum himself as the protagonist.
It seems Daedalic have struggled with this question, too.
Throughout Gollums 20-odd hour run time, it quickly becomes clear they didnt know what to do with him.
Holy shit, that’s a big deal, right?
Will he escape with Gollum’s help?
What does his disappearance mean for Middle-earth?
Doesn’t this leave Gondor incredibly vulnerable?
This happens consistently throughout Gollum as storylines are picked up and dropped almost immediately.
It’s very jarring, but take a look at LOTR canon and it becomes more obvious why.
Why is this important?'
Its just busy work, and its a constant issue throughout.
Gollum is an entirely linear game, made up mostly of a combination of climbing and stealthing bits.
Or they would if not for the awful controls.
If at any point you oughta be careful or agile, you might forget it.
I often resorted to crawling during these moments, as it made Gollum slower and easier to control.
But even that was no guarantee.
It completely takes the thrill out of it.
Others have no impact at all.
Doesn’t matter, because there’s no enduring sense of consequence here.
All that said, the world design does have a lot going for it.
Mirkwood too, with the trees and the autumnal colour palette, looks lovely.
But even these moments of spectacle can’t hide what is ultimately a very dull game.
