Daedalic Entertainment, the folks behind The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which released last week to a critical panning, have issued a statement on social media boldly apologising for the state of the game and for its underwhelming reception.
The statement expresses the team’s passion for the IP and regret that the project didn’t live up to expectations, as well as addressing the parts that it can fix in working to eliminate the many bugs and technical issues that players have faced since launch.
Our own review scored the game a 3/10, calling the game “uninspired and dated” for its share of the game’s current Metacritic rating of 36/100.
In spite of all that, it seems that the team has not soured on the franchise just yet as German outlet Games Wirtschaft has reported that Gollum is “only the first of several games based on the Lord of the Rings license” and that Daedalic has been the recipient of a grant worth more than $3.2 million AUD from the German government for the next project – codenamed “It’s Magic” and supposedly planned for the second half of 2024.
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
The statement from Daedalic reads:
“Dear players,
We would like to sincerely apologise for the underwhelming experience many of you have had with The Lord of Ring [sic]: 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. Please accept our sincere apologies for any disappointment this may have caused.
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. Crafting a story with Middle-earth as our playground has been the greatest honour – 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 analysing 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 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.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely, Daedalic Entertainment”
