The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developers apologise after major backlash
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has become the latest big-name game to launch in a poor state, and developers Daedalic Entertainment are the latest team to apologise for it.
The game puts players in the shoes loincloth of the corrupted Hobbit as he stealths around Middle-earth. However, the game released to critics and fans alike calling for it to be cast into the fires of Mount Doom.
At the time of writing, the PC version on Metacritic sits at a critic score of 41 and a user score of 3.4/10. The PS5 version rates even worse with scores of 36 and 1.4, respectively.
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Commonly-cited issues include broken AI, inputs not registering, framerate issues and crashing. Beyond that, the graphics have been compared to something from the early PS3 life-cycle, with similarly dated gameplay, and even the bizarre use of a generic font in a fantasy game. That's before you get to the fact there is paid DLC for performing emotes in a single-player game.
The developers' statement began: "We would like to sincerely apologise for the underwhelming experience many of you have had with The Lord of the Rings: Gollum upon its release. We acknowledge and deeply regret that the game did not meet the expectations we set for ourselves or for our dedicated community."
They also said that they consider creating a game set in Middle-earth as "the greatest honor" and the "biggest challenge we have faced so far".
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"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," the statement continued.
"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 full potential.
"Once again, we deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused, and we appreciate your understanding during this time.
"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
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This year alone has seen the developers of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Forspoken post apologies on Twitter for their poor launch performances, while Xbox boss Phil Spencer apologised for the state of Redfall on a podcast.
In another stealth game news, a remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has finally been confirmed, while Assassin's Creed Mirage has been given its first gameplay trailer and release date.
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