As the first next-gen game to ever be revealed, Lord of the Rings: Gollum has had a long and treacherous development journey, but it’s not paid off. In fact, the new Middle Earth game is so bad that the internet is using it as its new favourite punching bag.
As the worst reviewed game of the year, Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been criticised for awful gameplay, graphics that look a decade out of date and a wholly unfinished UI that is substantially worse than years-old previews showed off.
The state of Gollum on launch has turned the game into a laughing stock for gamers worldwide. Across every social media platform, gamers are all taking turns to mock the fantasy-stealth game.
On Twitter, one user pointed out the awful design of the game’s titular character. A new take on Tolkien’s miserable ghoul, the user claimed that Gollum “has this vibe of like 'what if you tortured and malnourished Crazy Frog'.”
On Reddit, fans are making fun of one hilariously silly scenario in the game. On the r/gaming subreddit, an image can be seen of Gollum coming face-to-face with an Orc. The game then gives you three options: “Threaten”, “Beg”, or the incredibly silly “Give Head”, an obvious euphemism for mouth-based fun.
“Give it to us raw, and wriggling!” one user jokingly replied. “Well he doesn’t have to kneel,” said another.
In the comments, many pointed out that the game looks like a low-quality mobile game advert. Another claimed: “[This] looks like one of those sleazy popups you see on h*ntai sites. Bet you wouldn't last 5 seconds playing this game!”
Other gamers pointed out the difference between the game’s early 2019 previews and its final release. One user said: “That Gollum game was never going to be great but damn if this isn’t the funniest “alpha footage vs final release” since maybe the first Watch Dogs.”
Another user pointed out that Gollum is a licensed game of the past. After fantastic licensed games such as Marvel Midnight Suns, Hogwarts Legacy and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Lord of the Rings: Gollum has brought the licensed games quality bar all the way back down to the ground.
“I appreciate the Gollum game existing to remind the general populace exactly what licensed games were like,” they said. “We got complacent with our 8-9/10 made-by-fans-and-industry-vets of recent years which made people go "maybe licensed games were always good! They weren't! They were this.”
Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a horrendously atrocious entry in the Middle Earth franchise. With four years of development, it’s obvious that the team behind the title has been met with numerous issues. However, an awful game in 2023 is at least better than awful games 30 years ago.
Yes, Gollum may be the worst game of the year (so far), but it’s not the worst game ever. Always look on the bright side, right?
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