Developer Daedalic Entertainment has released a statement on the state of its stealth action-adventure game, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. Since release, the Gollum game has been met with much ridicule from the internet thanks to its appearance, among other things. So now, the developer is apologizing for the fact that it “did not meet the expectations” of the team or the community.
Gollum, which is set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, has been overshadowed by its shortcomings. It’s already one of the worst-reviewed games of 2023, and gaming communities are currently being overrun with memes making fun of its bad UI. Gollum was also released while riddled with bugs and other woes, from unsolvable puzzles to insipid enemy AI to button presses that fail to register. In short, it’s rough for the corrupted Stoor hobbit. So rough that it’s been getting cooked online.
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In a statement tweeted on May 26, Daedalic Entertainment said it genuinely values the feedback it’s received about Gollum’s copious performance problems. The team has read the comments and concerns, vowing to continue “working diligently to address the bugs and technical issues many of you experienced.”
“Our goal as a studio, and as passionate The Lord of the Rings fans, has always been to tell a compelling and immersive story-driven adventure,” the team said. The statement continues:
Crafting a story with Middle-earth as our playground has been the greatest honor—and the biggest challenge we have faced so far. At Daedalic, we understand that a game’s success relies on the enjoyment and satisfaction of its players. We genuinely value your feedback and have been actively listening to your voices, reading your comments, and analyzing the constructive criticism and suggestions you have provided. Our development team has been working diligently to address the bugs and technical issues many of you experienced. We are committed to providing you with patches that will allow you to enjoy the game to its fullest potential. Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience caused, and we appreciate your understanding during this time.
The developers said they will keep folks updated on the progress of upcoming improvements and patches meant to straighten out Gollum’s plethora of issues, clarifying that the community’s “passion and dedication” is what’s keeping Daedalic Entertainment motivated to set things right with the game. In the end, the studio hopes that players will accept their sincerest apologies.
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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum hit PC, PS4/5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X on May 25 with a loud thud on account of its flat UI and tedious gameplay. It’s been dragged so hard that it now holds a 36 score on Metacritic and a 42 on OpenCritic, making it one of the year’s worst games. Hopefully, the patches Daedalic has planned with bring Gollum closer to everyone’s expectations.