It’s becoming more common for video game developers to apologize for poorly-received games, but The Lord of the Rings: Gollum switched things up by making its apology just as bad as the game. The game was developed by Daedalic Entertainment and published in partnership with Nacon, and was released on May 25 for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth have been waiting for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum for a few years, as the game was first announced in 2019 and experienced some delays.
As the title suggests, the game follows the twisted Stoor Hobbit Gollum (Wayne Forester) on a solo adventure set before the events of The Lord of the Rings. Players must see Gollum stealthily through several Middle-earth locations on his quest for his precious ring while also deciding if he should listen to his Gollum instincts or his Sméagol instincts. Despite the anticipation, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has received very poor reviews from critics and players. In fact, the PS5 version is currently the worst-rated game of the year, according to Metacritic and OpenCritic.
One problem with the game is that it simply doesn’t work properly. Many reports of bugs and glitches have surfaced, with players being unable to progress to certain points in the game and dealing with crashes. Digital Trends was initially unable to review the PS5 version due to the game crashing within five minutes of playtime. Meanwhile, a GameSpot review reported the game crashing 120 times over 11 hours of playtime.
Surprisingly, some critics suggested that the glitches were the least of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s problems. The graphics have also been badly criticized for being outdated, amateurish, and even just plain ugly. Its dialogue, story, and controls have also been criticized, with most reviewers suggesting that despite the delays, the game was released before it was ready. So, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum tried to issue an apology, but it didn’t go very well.
Players roast The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s apology
Daedalic Entertainment took to The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’s official Twitter page to issue an apology. The statement apologized for the game’s “underwhelming experience” and promised to continue working on bugs and considering feedback and constructive criticism. However, readers quickly noticed that the statement misspelled the game’s title in the very first line, referring to it as The Lord of Ring: Gollum. As a result, it didn’t take long for “The Lord of Ring” to start trending on Twitter as users continued roasting the game and its apology.
Now, as a writer, I understand that typos happen, so I’m usually not one to be too hard on them. I also usually find it amusing when readers go out of their way to remind writers that they’re human by pointing out every tiny mistake they make. However, in an apology for a game that was already facing accusations of sloppiness, the internet was never just going to let a mistake like this go.
If there is anything this blunder shows us, it’s that maybe the financial entities behind these games should give the developers the time they need to release something playable and fine-tuned, rather than forcing them to rush and release prematurely, and trying to make up for ripping off consumers with bizarre social media apologies. I can’t speak for all gamers, but I know I’d much rather wait a bit longer and play The Lord of the Rings: Gollum than get it sooner and be stuck playing The Lord of Ring: Gollum.
(featured image: Daedalic Entertainment / Nacon)
