The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

16Full Release

What this is

A Tolkien adventure about Gollum's divided identity and search for the One Ring.

What you actually do

You sneak past enemies, climb through platforming sections, solve environmental puzzles, and make Gollum or Sméagol choices. Progress depends on timing jumps and avoiding hazards, but unreliable movement and frequent bugs can interrupt the loop.

Verdict

Stealth Under Unreliable Controls

Gollum offers a focused Tolkien setting built around sneaking, climbing, puzzles, and the tension between Gollum and Sméagol. Its clumsy movement, repetitive sections, and technical problems make it difficult to recommend beyond dedicated fans.

User reviews first

Steam recent first

Is it for you?

What shines

Gollum and Sméagol choice system
Strong voice performance
Interesting Tolkien lore
Atmospheric music and environments

What to know

Unreliable platforming controls
Frequent crashes and progression bugs
Poor performance and stuttering
Repetitive stealth sections
Clumsy camera and collision
Unclear navigation and objectives

Quick facts

Genre

FantasyPuzzle

View

Third person

Solo

Co-op

PvP

Length

13h

Entry

Can start here

Pricing

Paid

MTX

Account required

Active Support

Crossplay

+Best if

You enjoy character-driven lore, stealth, environmental puzzles, and deliberately awkward protagonists.

!Skip it if

Skip it if unreliable platforming, bugs, and repetitive stealth would quickly sour the experience.

Developer

Daedalic Entertainment

Publisher

Daedalic Entertainment

Release

May 25, 2023

Game DNA

Rhythm

Slow pace

Depth

Easy to learn

Mood

AtmosphericStory-richChallenging

Structure

Story-drivenBranchingOpen world

Also tagged

Lore-RichCinematicRPG

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Your role and how it develops

Your role

You guide Gollum through hostile environments, balancing stealth, climbing, puzzle solving, and inner conflict.

Learning and mastery

The basic systems are simple to understand, but awkward movement and stealth can make early encounters frustrating.

Replay and variation

Limited, with a linear single-player structure and choices that do not appear to transform the broader experience.

Systems you interact with

What you actually engage with

Stealth

Avoid enemies and use the environment to move unseen.

Platforming

Time jumps, climbs, and movement across hazardous spaces.

Environmental puzzles

Solve light traversal and navigation challenges.

Dialogue choices

Choose between Gollum and Sméagol during internal disputes.

Exploration

Move through linear Middle-earth environments and inspect lore-rich spaces.

Checkpointing

Retry traversal and stealth sequences after mistakes.

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Time investment

How long it takes

HowLongToBeat

Main story

focused run

13h

Main + extras

story and side content

17h

Completionist

full clear

33h

Session fit

What the time commitment feels like

When it clicks

A story-led stealth platforming session with a clear linear path and modest system complexity.

Session constraints

Repeated retries, unclear movement, and technical interruptions can break momentum.

Best session rhythm

Works best in focused sessions that alternate between traversal, stealth, puzzles, and dialogue.

DLC timing

Additional content is not central to the core recommendation.

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Review interpretation

Current mood

Recent player sentiment is mostly negative, centered on bugs, poor optimization, and unreliable platforming, though some players still appreciate Gollum's portrayal and Middle-earth details.

Why it works

The game offers a focused Gollum and Smeagol story, Middle-earth lore, stealth, platforming, and atmospheric environments that can appeal to fans who accept its rough edges.

Critic gap

Some players find the lore, character portrayal, and environments worthwhile, while critics acknowledge the premise and story potential but largely find the controls, platforming, stealth, and technical execution too weak.

What players value

Gollum's character, Smeagol personality conflict, and Tolkien lore

medium

Players enjoy Gollum's portrayal, the Gollum and Smeagol personality system, and small details that feel faithful to the books.

Environments and atmosphere

medium

Some players praise the world design, soundtrack, and later environments, especially the sense of detail in Middle-earth locations.

Stealth and platforming gameplay

medium

Players who enjoy its slower pace appreciate the stealth-focused platforming and light environmental challenges.

Evidence-backed risks

Crashes, glitches, and save or progression problems

highreviews and critics

Players report crashes, corrupted saves, and game-breaking failure states; critics likewise describe crashes and progression-blocking bugs.

Unreliable controls and platforming

highreviews and critics

Players describe awkward controls and bland or unreliable platforming, while critics repeatedly flag poor controls and finicky platforming.

Repetitive or unengaging gameplay and narrative

highreviews and critics

Players describe the linear gameplay as boring and lacking momentum, while critics call the stealth shallow, repetitive, or dull and the story underwhelming.

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Minimum PC

Playable baseline

OSWindows 10/11

CPUIntel Core i5-4690 / AMD Ryzen 3 1300X

RAM8 GB RAM

GPUNvidia GTX 1060, 6GB / AMD Radeon R9 290X, 4GB

Recommended PC

Better target

OSWindows 10/11

CPUIntel Core i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

RAM16 GB RAM

GPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, 8GB (with DLSS Quality Setting) / AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, 12GB

Storage and usability

Disk, language and input

Install44 GB

Download40 GB

Free space45 GB

Languages13 listed

ControllerFull

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Support status

Developer activity

Legacy

Last game updateJul 27, 2023 · 3 years ago

Last official postJul 27, 2023 · 3 years ago

Updates (12 mo)0

Posts (12 mo)0

CadenceDormant

SourceSteam

Official Steam news

Latest from the developer

Jul 27, 2023Patchopen
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum: Patch Notes 2.2
Hi everyone, We have implemented a major patch for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum that addresses issues across all platforms. Please find below the list of changes made for the PC version. Adjusted DLSS default mode from “off” to “auto” to prevent stuttering and performance issues when playing with RTX without DLSS....

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Questions people search

answered from verified data

Yes, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is available on PlayStation 5.

The full platform list: PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.