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Lord of the Rings: Gollum Dev Apologizes for Its Abysmal Quality, Patches on the Way

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The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developer Daedalic Entertainment offers an apology for its poor game quality and promises patches with fixes.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum developer Daedalic Entertainment has issued an apology to social media for the “underwhelming experience” players have reported since its heavily criticized release yesterday. Daedalic stated, “We acknowledge and deeply regret that the game did not meet the expectations we set for ourselves or for our dedicated community. Please accept our sincere apologies for any disappointment this may have caused.” It also called the game “the biggest challenge we have faced so far.”

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum review section on Steam paints reception as “Mostly Negative” after 110 reviews, and our reviewer Will Cruz described the game as possibly the worst game he has played in 2023. While many releases have been criticized due to a poor PC port or technical difficulties, it seems Gollum is suffering from issues that will be difficult to fix with post-release patches. Some believe that even diehard fans of the source material won’t find much to love here, with others calling it downright boring, janky, and barebones. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum didn’t inspire much positivity in the lead-up to its launch, but fans are still let down.

“At Daedalic, we understand that a game’s success relies on the enjoyment and satisfaction of its players,” the company explained. “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.”

Coinciding with the apology was an assurance that The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will receive patches for its quality: “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.”

Daedalic signed off promising to maintain communication as it works to release fixes and improvements. However, with fans already so unenthusiastic about The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, the studio will need to pull off quite the miracle to get back in fans’ good graces. Either way, it sounds like the fantasy adventure game is just getting started, so stay tuned for updates as the rehaul progresses.

About the author

Michael Cripe
Michael joined The Escapist team back in 2019 as a news reporter but has been covering games, movies, TV, and music since 2015. Most of his time is spent on the news team, but you’ll definitely see his name pop up in the opinion and interview sections from time to time. From the most obscure indie games to the industry’s AAA juggernauts, there’s nothing Michael isn’t interested in digging into. The vast majority of Michael’s work can be found at The Escapist, but his bachelor’s degree in Multimedia Journalism has led him to other sites like OnlySP, Gameranx, and Kansas City’s The Pitch. When he’s not writing, Michael is probably playing Super Mario Sunshine, Dead Space, or The Binding of Isaac. If you’d like to connect and talk about the latest in pop-culture, you can follow Michael on Twitter (@MikeCripe), Instagram (mike_cripe), or LinkedIn if that’s your thing, I guess.