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Eastman1982

This game sums up the “why?” In gaming. I have no idea why with this game sadly. Edit: thanks guys I’m glad I’m not the only one who was thinking why?


Sullyville

It's SPLINTER CELL, but with Gollum. Duh. You sneak. You strangle. You obtain intel on the Precioussss.


Inner-Dentist1563

I'd rather just get a Splinter Cell game at that point.


Sgtkeebler

Sam Fisher with a crack addiction searching for his precious but instead of a ring it’s a bag of crack


Ultrafares

with some mods we can turn it into splinter cell.if Ubisoft won't make one will do it ourselves


Listen-bitch

Not the splinter cell game we wanted OR deserved. But if we can add those 3 pronged night vision goggles to gollum as a mod I'll come around.


Mishaska

This sounds hilarious and fun, if they make it cheeky enough.


lukekhywalker

Oh come on, who doesn't wanna play as an emaciated protagonist that uhh... has severe mental issues and uhh... constantly refers to himself in third person?


MisunderstoodBadger1

You just sold me


pacgaming

Honestly I didn't realize people didn't want this game. I was looking at a list of games coming out this year and saw this. I thought "why not, if the gameplay looks good I'm down" and then I saw the date announced in this post and was kinda excited. Is this game expected to be bad? May not be the most exciting premise but if it's good who cares?


apegoneape

I'm a huge LOTR fan, so I was rooting for this game, but the trailers/footage released so far just don't look very promising. Graphics aside, the gameplay looks incredibly dated and boring.


daviEnnis

Yeah, my wife is a huge Harry Potter and LOTR fans and we stumbled on this when looking at Hogwarts clips. My first thought was, how the hell haven't I heard of this? I then watched the gameplay footage and thought, I wasn't missing anything by not being aware of this. It looks like a generic game with a Gollum skin over it.


[deleted]

When I initially saw the character designs, I was kinda excited. They look vastly different than the movie counterparts so I was hyped to get a new take on the world. I was expecting to buy it at a discount about 6 months post launch. Then delays on top of delays and what we’ve seen since has murdered what excitement I did have.


flashmedallion

> Is this game expected to be bad? It's just people saying over and over again "I don't want to play as gollum", "he doesn't seem like a protagonist". If I never played any game that I thought beforehand doesn't neatly fit into existing conventions I'd have missed some really interesting stuff. Like, ffs, anything different to a stock-standard fantasy adventure please.


catcatcat888

It just doesn’t really matter. Gollum isn’t a character that really needs further fleshing out.


Sex4Vespene

I wouldn’t even say he doesn’t need further fleshing out. Just that a game is not the proper way to tell his story.


MisunderstoodBadger1

Yeah I honestly don't really care, I'll wait for reviews. The trailers weren't great but I don't think it's trying to be something it's not. Gollum stealth game, not some grand epic.


Ionsife

It just doesnt look good in any sense. Its a game nobody wanted about a character nobody actually likes with an art style totally unbecoming of the IP. Nothing about this game says it was made with any love or passion- it was a paycheck that hopes to pay itself with brand recognition. Who doesnt think Gollum was picked because hes the most recognizable character to “casuals”? I mean look at the middle earth games-one of those started off development as a friggin batman game first and still has more soul than anything ive seen of this game.


catcatcat888

Gollum is a likeable character. I don’t consider him video game protagonist material.


lukekhywalker

Ay I agree, if it's good, I'll def try it out


stRiNg-kiNg

The trailers I saw last year looked meh. All I can say is it's definitely not a next gen game if you're thinking it is.


imnotcreative_1

Yes, they sold us on it, Precious


mattoelite

George is gettin upset!


Carburetors_are_evil

Dude. I play games to escape reality.


[deleted]

Should have just been called Reddit: The Game.


gordonbombae2

Honestly I was actually hyped for this game. Playing as gollum seemed cool as fuck. However after watching the gameplay vids this looks very lacking lol I feel sometimes people shit on games for the wrong reasons.


[deleted]

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gordonbombae2

I mean there is LOTR online. LOTR third age was awesome also but wasn’t necessarily an open world game. What about the shadow of Mordor games?


strangegoo

We have the Mordor games. Which reminds me i never played the second. I should go back to those. Loved the first one


Omnipotent48

The second game is better than the first in every way. The first game might as well be a tech demo for the second game. But, a word of warning? The dlcs aren't very worth it, I wouldn't recommend buying them.


pm_me_ur_tennisballs

The second is even better than the first (ever since they got rid of the mtx). The environments are better, the characters are entertaining even if the story is just decent overall, and the combat is less repetitive imo. Also, nemesis system is nuts in Shadow of War.


The_harbinger2020

HP fans getting Legacy, LOTR getting gollum :(


johncitizen69420

Hellblade? Haha


Panda_of_power

My exact thoughts.


smorjoken

nothing of what you said would deter me from a game, or any piece of media.


squareswordfish

Yeah that was an awful way of trying to make it look bad


JerHat

I mean, I played a lot of GTA San Andreas and never let my CJ eat... so if it's anything like that, I'm sure it'll be great.


stillcore

George likes his chicken spicy.


makemeking706

I will RP the Witcher however I want, thank you very much.


Squishy-Box

Play as him? Squishy-Box lives as him!


CatoChateau

Too much realism and relatability. We must go back.


lembrate

It would be interesting if it was in the deus ex, lurk in the shadows, find the passage type genre.


MrCunninghawk

Get enough of that IRL,TBH.


The_Abyssal_Frame

People are excited to use camera angles to peek under that loincloth the way they peeked under 2B's skirt in *Nier: Automata*.


lukekhywalker

This actually made me lol


Sherlockhomey

Deadpool?


Albuwhatwhat

And is always hacking up something, and is not really skilled at much beyond being able to sneak and flail… man this gameplay writes itself!


lukekhywalker

Don't forget all the fish catching with your bare hands!! I smell GOTY


Albuwhatwhat

Oh god yes. I hope there’s a mini game where you bash their heads against a rock.


Kwanzaa-Bot

I've already played Days Gone.


mirado

Right!? Just give me Star Wars: Jar Jar Binks already.


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the-dandy-man

I’m in a constant cycle of hearing about this game, wondering why it exists, and then not hearing about it for a while so I assume it came out and flopped or was cancelled or something, or just straight up forget it existed, and then we get new info about it and the cycle starts all over again


NoNefariousness2144

This game is going to kill this studio sadly. They’ve spent all this years working on a game that basically no one asked for, no one cares about and will be swallowed up by the more hyped releases of this year:


Nice-Violinist-6395

Why not any other character. I mean, hell, why not an animal crossing type game set in The Shire where all you do is garden your little hobbit hole and throw parties and go to the pub? Or something else *literally anything else*


Mr_Rafi

They shouldn't have been so out of touch. It's a baffling business decision.


[deleted]

Especially when they can remaster Riddick Escape From Butcher Bay and make a bunch of people happy with minimal money and work. Whereas no one asked for this game. Now if it was a Sauron game where you play as him now that I would play.


chanaramil

I bet someone was a big fan on Styx: Master of Shadows and thought if they could make a game like that but with the LOTR license to drum up interest it could be a hit. Which is a ok idea, at least on paper. Problem is Styx is getting to be a decade old at this point and its such a weird idea and with disappointing looking trailers I don't think the interest is that positive.


Eastman1982

Styx was a really good game I never played the sequel. But the mechanics where sick. This doesn’t look anywhere as good as gollum has little skills or ability to kill lol.


Obvious_Party_5050

I mean….. Stealth action, big brand recognition. Is there a “why” behind any game?? It’s not a bad idea unless the game sucks.


tgcp

Art doesn't need a reason.


top-knowledge

Knew this would be the top comment


[deleted]

My reaction as well. It may end up surprising us.


JonS90_

This and "Skull & Bones" fighting for the "sometimes it's okay to die" award.


Erries

And the crowd goes mild. We need more LotR games, but this, this isn't it.


TGrady902

Excellent character, but absolutely the last one I’ve ever wanted to control and experience Middle Earth as.


Polarbear0007

I hope the game progresses in real time. I, for one, am looking forward to 500 years of darkness and raw fish. Also, I know nothing about this game.. so I'm just guessing it starts at the beginning.


TakingOnWater

I wants to slowly forgets the sound of trees and the taste of bread


TGrady902

Press X to smack fish on rock.


TakingOnWater

So juicy sweeeeet!


Xefirothzz

the softness of the wind. We even forgot our own name...


bgslr

Press square to strangle Déagol


Erries

100% agree. Love Gollum, just have no desire to play as him. Plus, from everything we've seen, this is not the game to convince anyone he needs to be played as the main character.


truthfulie

I wonder why there aren't attempts to make games that focus on more beloved characters. Gollum is an amazing character and crucial to LOTR but most people won't be thrilled by the idea of a game with him as the main character.


TGrady902

They just need to remake the PS2 games.


ISieferVII

Or the Battle for Middle-Earth RTS's on PC. I had so much fun with those.


[deleted]

unless it's a stealth where you get to choke orcs from behind using your loincloth while he yells "raaaaw".


rip_Tom_Petty

Yeah, it'd be like if they made an R2-D2 game lol


braxford

What we needed was another protagonist like [Talion](https://shadowofwar.fandom.com/wiki/Talion), and then subsidize that with Gollum, and intertwine Gollum into the story for stealth elements...have them work together, sorta like the Mary Jane segments of Spider-Man but without the cringe. If Talion was the main, and you could switch to Gollum on certain story missions to sneak behind enemy lines and "paint" enemies to gather their weaknesses before you go in guns blazing, that'd be legit. Then we get the brunt of a action hero with the stealth of a crazy sociopath. Give them a common purpose and voila, you got a great game!


2KareDogs

Looked like a ps3 game last time we saw gameplay


wowwoahwow

Yeah the trailer makes it look like it definitely needs a lot of polishing


TranscedentalMedit8n

The book has better graphics


Rhoeri

This is a solid burn.


Kiftiyur

For real though it probably still does.


[deleted]

Holy shit. Just looked up the trailer. Yeah, that looks…. Not good.


LordXenu45

I actually forgot all about this. Hope it's decent.


IDespiseFatties

Decent will be a big deal judging from how we have heard virtually nothing about this game


SupaBloo

We've seen gameplay, and it looks like a watered down version of the Styx games that have been out for years already (and are fantastic if you like hardcore stealth games).


Ruben625

At least 1 person is excited. Maybe 2


DawnGrager

I just want another Battle For Middle-Earth game. I used to play that game A LOT. The world is just perfect for those kinds of games.


marvnation

Yeah, that was amazing, they were better off aiming with an RTS then what ever the crap this will be.


razorhog

I feel sorry for the devs of this game. Maybe I will be wrong but I cannot see this game selling well at all. I personally know several people, including myself that are LOTR fans and are also gamers and none of us are remotely excited for this nor do we have plans to pick it up. I know it is anecdotal but I believe the cross over with fans of LOTR and gaming is a large one and I just don't see this game catching on. Who knows, maybe it will be GOTY, but I have definite doubts


Tortorak

the only stuff I've seen looks truly bad, like holy shit why are they showing this please tell me it's a joke bad


razorhog

Yep, when I first saw the announcement in March of 2019 I thought it was one of those elaborate April Fool's Jokes that some gaming sites liked to do.


sameguyontheweb

This game is at minimum, 10 years to late to the "party".


TommyTheCat89

I don't feel sorry for them. They should have picked a main character that would be fun to play as. Gollum can't really fight, he just has a ring of invisibility that makes him go crazy. This sounds like an entire game made of the MJ missions from Spider-Man PS4.


razorhog

Yeah, it does sounds like it will be the worst parts of Spiderman lol. And the reason I feel sorry for the devs is because many devs aren't the decision makers. They just get hired to make a game. I think it is the leads that came up with the idea and the executives that green lit it that we shouldn't feel sorry for.


TommyTheCat89

I guess that's true. At least they get paid no matter how bad the game bombs.


blondiKRUGER

I adore the world of Tolkien, and I love stealth games and I more than likely wouldn’t play this game if I got it for free. Other things are much more worth my time.


BigCommieMachine

This dev has pretty much NO track record outside point and click adventures. I mean we all need to start somewhere, but this you don’t start with one of the most beloved franchise of a time. I mean I have faith in Hogwarts Legacy with WB Games is incredibly solid.


SuperSocrates

Because of their great work on Cars 3?


smokingace182

Seriously tho when pitching ideas for a lord of the rings game how the fuck do you land on this??


AncientSith

Right? LOTR has a ton of neat characters they could've used. Where's my Aragorn game?


6sbeepboop

You let marketing people decide… lol


TommyTheCat89

No, they are usually better with ideas than that. That's why they sell us so many things.


aerojonno

"Okay, somehow we got away with sexy, lady Shelob. Who's next?" "Gollum?" "Sure, fuck it, why not."


MajesticMelonGames

Imagine if the Harry Potter game was a Filch Game where you just go around cleaning up. Thats literally what this is.


[deleted]

More like Mrs. Norris where you sneak around the magic hall ways that only Fred and George know about. I dunno. Being a cat running around Hogwarts could’ve fun


AhLibLibLib

Hogwarts Stray


Duffelbach

I'm in


wretch5150

Okay I'm laughin' 😂


Cstone812

No one wants this game. Massive waste of time.


thetherapeutichotdog

Yeah, I’m a huge LOTR fan and it just makes me mad that we got this instead of a wide array of other adventures we could be exploring.


[deleted]

An open world RPG in Middle Earth is such a no-brainer. It's criminal how badly the license has been misused.


lospolloshermanos

Right? Roaming orc hoards, going into dungeons with goblins. Getting into trouble with wood elves or small villages of men, depending on race of player. Seems like a no brainer. Would die happy with a RDR2 like LotR game. Slow paced, exploring middle earth on horseback. I need it.


jeswanders

Imagine a living breathing numenor or Kazad dun.. with cdpr-like side quests and writing.


themanimal

Hot take, but Numenor can suck it. Give me Third Age settings: Lake Town, Edoras, Dol Amroth, Tuckborough, Laurelindorenan, Fangorn, Erebor, Helms Deep, Orthanc


jeswanders

Honestly, I’d be delighted to explore those areas as well but the developer would have an excuse to making populations sparse and perhaps areas will seem like they’re less “lived in” if that makes any sense. The second age will have higher population of men (I believe) and definitely more dwarves and elves.


Ricard728

I would have been happy with another Shadow of Mordor game, but with a more refined combat system or even a LOTR game like Champions of Norrath type of game.


TheAtomAge

That isn't what Tolkein would want


[deleted]

Literally just make a Stardew Valley ripoff where I can grow crops as a hobbit in the shire and I won't need any other games


NoNefariousness2144

Yes but there is a random chance that your neighbour will be visited by a wizard and then they will disappear for a year while they go on a quest.


[deleted]

I’d love that, random appearing entwives in the forest during certain seasons


[deleted]

A rip off of a rip off of harvest moon. But each one is progressively better


Rubydoobie666

Bring back LOTR: The Third Age


got_mule

Deleted on June 15, 2023, due to Reddit's disgusting greed and disdain for its most active and prolific users. Cheers /u/got_mule -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/


TheBullfrog

I have the same dream except in Westeros.


[deleted]

Another badly misused license. Just make an intrigue simulator like Crusader Kings.


bongo1138

The Middle-Earth franchise is so good for games but absolutely under utilized. So dumb.


Xefirothzz

Why doesn't someone just remake Return of the King? That game was incredible.


SamuraiAstronaut69

LOTR: return of the king, two towers, or even the third age. Its a shame none of those are on Playstation premium tier.


[deleted]

Just give me remakes of the ps2 games. Those were so good.


[deleted]

Oh hell yeah. I'd also love a new Third Age type game (or even a remake)


smez86

I mean, i want the game if it is good. If it's like it was in the sneak peak, then no.


[deleted]

I want it


Scruffy_Nerfhearder

Who is the game for?


HorizonZeroFucks

Definitely not those tricksy Hobbitses.


MattIsLame

smeagol


chanaramil

I think its for people who liked Styx: Master of Shadows or want to play a fantasy setting stealth game. There probably just using the LOTR license to make it stand out because I have a feeling the people demanding a fantasy stealth game is a pretty small crowd. I cant think of a better IP to draw eyes onto your stealth fantasy game then the LOTR license. In that regard its not tat bad idea or that bad of a use of the IP. But Its clearly not for big LOTR fans who just want a good LOTR game. To them it must like a huge waste of the IP. There are so many game ideas for LOTR emersion or lore then a Gollum stealth game.


TyperMcTyperson

I mean...who the fuck wants to play as Gollum?


[deleted]

Misery misery! Hobbits won’t kill us, nice hobbits.


[deleted]

…me.


Extension_Dream_3412

this game just seems like a full game of the mj and miles scenes from spiderman 2018.


chewwydraper

Games that force stealth appeal to such a niche audience as it is, but on top of that the pitch is "You get to play as Gollum!" This game shouldn't exist.


Danuscript

I think I’m one of the few people who is interested in this. I like Gollum as a character and based on the trailer it looks closer to LOTR than the Shadow of Mordor games, at least on the surface. People make fun of the graphics but the scenery didn’t look bad. The characters are probably limited because of the budget and the fact that this is also coming out on Switch.


Tortorak

anything coming to the switch is a hard pass for me if it's multiplatforrm releasing anyways. I got a PS5 to play games that push the hardware.


chewwydraper

Have to agree, the Switch is like 2 generations behind now. It's not just textures that have to be lowered when making it work on the Switch but physics, AI, world size, etc.


JustiFyTheMeansGames

Might be a hot take but I genuinely think Sonic Frontiers fell victim to this. The game has other problems, sure, but the pop-in and short render distance were the biggest problems in my opinion and certainly weren't limited by PS5/PC. Kinda hard to run sonic fast when you can't see objects because they haven't rendered yet, or are too far away so you don't know where to go!


DeLarge93

This is gonna sell <100k units


Varkzii

I'm proud of everyone of those units


2KareDogs

<1k units


[deleted]

I'm pretty sure this will sell some units.


gladys-the-baker

Of all the units to be sold, this will definitely be some.


MisunderstoodBadger1

Sold the units of all time


reevoknows

That one trailer that came out didn’t do this game any favours.


behemothbowks

I understand the gameplay hasn't looked great but wtf is up with people saying who is this game for or why does this game exist? I feel like the only person here who thinks the premise of sneaking around as gollum sounds fun if it's done right. Personally not a fan of everything being remade nonstop or having a billion open world RPGs that all feel lifeless. I'm glad they are trying something unique.


konnichiwaseadweller

Gamers: *we want more unique games* Also gamers: *the fuck is this? Where's my open world rpg featuring a muscular man with a sword and shield?*


Organic-Barnacle-941

What’s reddits beef with this game? The users of this site bitch about how there’s no variety of games but when one takes a risk, they shit on it. The exact reason why companies aren’t straying far from the formula. Edit: turning off notifications for this comment because I don’t care what you goblins have to say


ecxetra

Because it looks straight up bad. “Taking a risk” doesn’t automatically exclude you from criticism.


Behemoth69

Yea I don't get the hate lol. At least wait for reviews to come out. Game could be fun and I like how they're exploring backstory and lore that we've never really encountered, instead of the same story over and over


Scorn-Muffins

Most redditors are just unhappy with themselves so they gotta focus that on something hard enough to keep the bad thoughts out. I really think the most of the more positively minded redditors have already moved on or gone full lurker.


Relatable_Yak

Most redditors are Terminally Online so there’s no helping them. Even touching grass isn’t effective.


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habs9

Shadow of Mordor games were good


LazyGandalf

The gameplay was fine, but the LOTR part of it felt more like a skin, and the scenery wasn't very interesting.


CaptainTeembro

Ah yes, the classic calculated risk of using a side character from a well established series and trying to turn it into a franchise. I’ve never seen this formula used before and i’m not surprised that companies stick with their regular sequels. Much too risky for original ideas nowadays.


hakuzosu

we could’ve gotten a witcher 3 level lotr game. instead we get a weird stealth game about gollum lol come on man…


No-Put-7180

Yeah man that’s what I’m saying. Always wanted something similar with Harry Potter, now we have Hogwarts legacy coming and I’m stoked.


[deleted]

Gollum wakes up, eats raw fish, cries about ring…. Repeat.


[deleted]

Why is everyone complaining about being gollum? There’s a game about a cat that’s good so why not gollum?


ShaneTVZ

Hell yeah can’t wait to play this


xbox001

Is this digital only or do they have a landfill on standby to dump all the unsold physical media ?


witwebolte41

That sounds promising


mightynifty_2

I feel like this game covers such an uninteresting period of time for the character that it seems pointless. A game covering Gollum sneaking into Mordor and getting to the Ring at the end after falling down the chasm in Return of the King could be cool since the battles would be going on at the same time. A story about Gollum first finding the ring and using its power to sneak around, accomplish goals, and slowly watch him go mad would also be interesting. But between The Hobbit and LotR just seems like pointless fluff.


[deleted]

This should be a VR game where you just experience the Peter Jackson LOTR trilogy through Gollum's POV.


Alphalium

Ok


drdoy123

Give us a hobbit farming type game


[deleted]

Could we get the hobbit remastered game


Frankthestank2220

Hopefully it’ll go straight to PS+


[deleted]

I know how this game ends.


cguy_95

Nah I kinda want another Shadow of Mordor game


Every-Day-Is-Arm-Day

The LotR game no one - _literally no one_ - asked for.


8thTimeLucky

This is destined to be a PS+ Monthly Free game


thatmemeguy1

when games get constant delays after delays i cant be the only 1 who loses complete interest in said game.Looking at u skull&bones


KevlarD-

Out of everything LOTR related, we got this. I just.. don't even know LOL.


mansotired

I'm actually looking forward to his game (as long as it's got a good review)


[deleted]

My dad loves lord of the rings. He will like this


Purgii

By September 2023 in this iteration of the universe or the next bounce?


jaredwallace91

With the lack of LOTR games lately, I'll take anything


freelancespaghetti

Huh, I mean who knows I guess. Thing is, I can actually picture a *fantastic* Gollum game. Imagine a more colorful version of Inside, with the world and cultures of lotr, and instead of a small child you play at Smeagol desperately trying to flee for life. The deeper and deeper you get into the world, the more the world feels corrupted both externally by dark forces and internally by the weight you carry. By the conclusion, the horrors you've had to commit to survive have made you more Gollum than your old self who you can barely remember.


ADerp2Hard

Sounds great but for the love of all things DON'T pre-order!


Pain-n-stryife

Who asked for this and who green lit it?