Gollum developer pledges to fix the game after a disastrous launch

To say Gollum got off to a rocky start would be an understatement

The developer behind the much-maligned The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has promised fixes are on the way for the game, after it became the worst-reviewed game of the year.

In a statement made on Twitter, Daedalic Entertainment apologized for the disastrous launch, with the developer saying the game “did not meet the expectations” it set for itself. It also accidentally called the franchise “The Lord of Ring”, which probably isn’t the best sign — but hey, typos happen.

Further in the statement, the developer – which has primarily been known for its point-and-click adventure games in the past – said it was working hard on fixing bugs and technical issues, pledging to keep communication transparent and clear.

“We deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused, and we appreciate your understanding during this time,” Daedalic said on Twitter, “We will continue to keep you updated on our progress and provide transparent communication regarding the upcoming patches and improvements. Your passion and dedication as players have been the driving force behind our determination to make things right.”

A few words from the " The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ " team pic.twitter.com/adPamy5EjO

— The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (@GollumGame) May 26, 2023

At the time of writing, Gollum has a score of 36 on review score aggregator Metacritic for the PS5 version of the game, and a 41 for the PC version of the game. Across 58 scored reviews listed on the site, not a single one is marked as ‘positive’, instead all either being ‘mixed’ or ‘negative’.

Critics lambasted the game in their reviews, criticizing it for a slew of bugs, poor visuals, the use of default fonts, and more. Some critics claimed to have experienced dozens of crashes over their time with the game, on both PS5 and PC, and many say they were unable to progress after large chunks of some levels didn’t load in.

If you wondered if I was exaggerating about the technical issues, here's a few highlights: pic.twitter.com/UiNNdVIp9u

— Jam Walker (@Jamwa) May 25, 2023

It’s certainly not a good look for a game like this, especially since promotional material showed the game in a much better state, both visually and technically. It doesn’t help that it’s a full-priced game either, at $60 on the PlayStation Store, or $70 for the “Precious Edition.” And next to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, a spectacularly polished game, it never stood a chance.

Whether the patches will fix all the problems with the game is anyone’s guess. According to reviews, even if the game was working perfectly, it’s still a pretty straightforward and simple stealth action game that doesn’t do much to innovate. Only time will tell if the future looks upon the game with kinder eyes.