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.”
LOOK WHO’S TOLKIEN
This story is from the February 2021 edition of Official PlayStation Magazine - UK Edition.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2021 edition of Official PlayStation Magazine - UK Edition.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Visions Of Mana
Tree-t yourself to this mana-fold return
Tracking Monster Hunter's future
Ahead of Monster Hunter Wilds next year, two story-focused spinoffs come to PlayStation
As Dusk Falls
In this robbery, no-one gets away clean
Freedom Planet 2
Not so much beating Sonic at his own game’ as evolving it
Planet Zoo: Console Edition
Radio the keepers, its about to get wild
Asphalt: Legends Unite
Quietly purring the engine, Gameloft has been making rather good arcade racers since 2004.
Synduality: Echo Of Ada
Nonsensical name, enjoyable game
MultiVersus
Welcome to the slam
System Shock
Nightdive Studios' swanky, ground-up remake of 1994's genre-launching classic System Shock is finally heading to PlayStation which should make you very excited if you have any interest in crawling through vents or bonking cyborg mutants on the head with blunt objects.
Punch Nazis
Twin-superhero adventure Marvel 1943: Rise Of Hydra looks totally Unreal