History YMMV / TheLordOfTheRingsGollum

* {{Narm}}: The fact that the game frequently uses slow-motion to accentuate any big, risky jump that Gollum makes. Not necessarily a bad editing flourish in other contexts, but the fact that the game is giving ''Gollum'' of all characters the big 'slow motion leap away from explosions' treatment that turns it into unintentional hilarity.

* BileFascination: This game quickly became one of the worst-reviewed games of 2023 and arguably of all time, which may have helped in it getting more notoriety than it deserved, even among players who are normally not familiar or fond of ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium''.

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The game was released to scathing reception from critics and audiences due to being a virtually unplayable ObviousBeta, boring gameplay, having poor visuals, and locking basic features behind paid [=DLC=].

* BileFascination: This game quickly became one of the worst-reviewed games of 2023 and arguably of all time, which may have helped in it getting more notoriety than it deserved, even among players who are normally not that into ''Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium''.

* BileFascination: This game quickly became one of the worst-reviewed games of 2023 and arguably of all time, which may have helped in it getting more notoriety than it deserved, even among players who are normally not that into ''Franchise/TheLordOfTheRings''.

* BileFascination: This game quickly became one of the worst-reviewed games of 2023 and arguably of all time, which may have helped in it getting more notoriety than it deserved, even among those who are normally not that into ''Franchise/TheLordOfTheRings''.

* BileFascination: This game quickly became one of the worst-reviewed games from 2023 and arguably of all time, which may have helped in it getting more notoriety than it deserved, even among those from outside ''Franchise/TheLordOfTheRings'' fandom.

* BileFascination: This game quickly became one of the worst-reviewed games from 2023 and arguably of all time, which may have helped in it getting more notoriety than it deserved.

** The Lord of Ring: Gollum[[TradeSnark ™]][[labelnote:Explanation]]The day after the game came out, the developers released an apology on Twitter, stating that they would release patches to fix various bugs and make other improvements. People quickly noticed that the apology contained a glaring typo in the first sentence, calling the game ''The Lord of Ring: Gollum''. The error almost immediately became a widespread subject for parody thanks to people perceiving it as a case of DiggingYourselfDeeper.[[/labelnote]]

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Though the ObviousBeta launch did things no favors, even when the game was first announced, many fans were actively wondering why it was being made. Gollum is certainly a beloved character, but he is anything but a character most people would want to play as, being a TorturedMonster who lacks seemingly any traditionally cool or admirable qualities and whom the narrative treats as pathetic, broken, and miserable. Gollum's abilities as depicted in the books and films also constrain him to pure stealth with no other alternatives--something that tends to be relatively niche in the industry, with most mainstream stealth game protagonists being capable-if-limited fighters (see [[Franchise/{{Hitman}} Agent 47]], [[Franchise/MetalGear Solid Snake]], or [[VideoGame/{{Thief}} Garret]]), and at odds with most prior Tolkien games and adaptations in general being action-focused. This put the game in a niche of a niche, which might have been workable had the game been priced low (''Videogame/StyxMasterOfShadows'', probably the closest game that can be compared to ''Gollum'' in gameplay and concept, was sold for $30 at launch), but it instead launched at sixty dollars before accounting for DLC[[note]]Which included standard features that are typically included with most fantasy games, such as a ''Lore Compendium'', behind a paywall.[[/note]], a price point normally associated with mass-appealing triple-A games. Consequently, it ''badly'' underperformed in sales.

** The Lord of Ring: Gollum[[TradeSnark ™]][[labelnote:Explanation]]The day after the game came out, the developers released on apology on Twitter, stating that they would release patches to fix various bugs and make other improvements. People quickly noticed that the apology contained a glaring typo in the first sentence, calling the game ''The Lord of Ring: Gollum''. The error almost immediately became a widespread subject for parody thanks to people perceiving it as a case of DiggingYourselfDeeper.[[/labelnote]]

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Though the ObviousBeta launch did things no favors, even when the game was first announced, many fans were actively wondering why it was being made. Gollum is certainly a beloved character, but he is anything but a character most people would want to play as, being a TragicMonster who lacks seemingly any traditionally cool or admirable qualities and whom the narrative treats as pathetic, broken, and miserable. Gollum's abilities as depicted in the books and films also constrain him to pure stealth with no other alternatives--something that tends to be relatively niche in the industry, with most mainstream stealth game protagonists being capable-if-limited fighters (see [[Franchise/{{Hitman}} Agent 47]], [[Franchise/MetalGear Solid Snake]], or [[VideoGame/{{Thief}} Garret]]), and at odds with most prior Tolkien games and adaptations in general being action-focused. This put the game in a niche of a niche, which might have been workable had the game been priced low (''Videogame/StyxMasterOfShadows'', probably the closest game that can be compared to ''Gollum'' in gameplay and concept, was sold for $30 at launch), but it instead launched at sixty dollars before accounting for DLC[[note]]Which included standard features that are typically included with most fantasy games, such as a ''Lore Compendium'', behind a paywall.[[/note]], a price point normally associated with mass-appealing triple-A games. Consequently, it ''badly'' underperformed in sales.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Though the ObviousBeta launch did things no favors, even when the game was first announced, many fans were actively wondering why it was being made. Gollum is certainly a beloved character, but he is anything but a character most people would want to play as, being a TragicMonster who lacks seemingly any admirable qualities and whom the narrative treats as pathetic, broken, and miserable. Gollum's abilities as depicted in the books and films also constrain him to pure stealth with no other alternatives--something that tends to be relatively niche in the industry, with most mainstream stealth game protagonists being capable-if-limited fighters (see [[Franchise/{{Hitman}} Agent 47]], [[Franchise/MetalGear Solid Snake]], or [[VideoGame/{{Thief}} Garret]]), and at odds with most prior Tolkien games and adaptations in general being action-focused. This put the game in a niche of a niche, which might have been workable had the game been priced low (''Videogame/StyxMasterOfShadows'', probably the closest game that can be compared to ''Gollum'' in gameplay and concept, was sold for $30 at launch), but it instead launched at sixty dollars before accounting for DLC[[note]]Which included standard features that are typically included with most fantasy games, such as a ''Lore Compendium'', behind a paywall.[[/note]], a price point normally associated with mass-appealing triple-A games. Consequently, it ''badly'' underperformed in sales.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Though the ObviousBeta launch did things no favors, even when the game was first announced, many fans were actively wondering why it was being made. Gollum is certainly a beloved character, but he is anything but a character most people would want to play as, being a TragicMonster who lacks seemingly any admirable qualities and whom the narrative treats as pathetic, broken, and miserable. Gollum's abilities as depicted in the books and films also constrain him to pure stealth with no other alternatives--something that tends to be relatively niche in the industry, with most mainstream stealth game protagonists being capable-if-limited fighters (see [[Franchise/{{Hitman}} Agent 47]], [[Franchise/MetalGear Solid Snake]], or [[VideoGame/{{Thief}} Garret]]), and at odds with most prior Tolkien games and adaptations in general being action-focused. This put the game in a niche of a niche, which might have been workable had the game been priced low, but it instead launched at sixty dollars before accounting for DLC[[note]]Which included standard features that are typically included with most fantasy games, such as a ''Lore Compendium'', behind a paywall.[[/note]], a price point normally associated with mass-appealing triple-A games. Consequently, it ''badly'' underperformed in sales.

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: Though the ObviousBeta launch did things no favors, even when the game was first announced, many fans were actively wondering why it was being made. Gollum is certainly a beloved character, but he is anything but a character most people would want to play as, being a TragicMonster who lacks seemingly any admirable qualities and whom the narrative treats as pathetic, broken, and miserable. Gollum's abilities as depicted in the books and films also constrain him to pure stealth with no other alternatives--something that tends to be relatively niche in the industry, with most mainstream stealth game protagonists being capable-if-limited fighters (see [[Franchise/{{Hitman}} Agent 47]], [[Franchise/MetalGear Solid Snake]], or [[VideoGame/{{Thief}} Garret]]), and at odds with most prior Tolkien games and adaptations in general being action-focused. This put the game in a niche of a niche, which might have been workable had the game been priced low, but it instead launched at sixty dollars before accounting for DLC, a price point normally associated with mass-appealing triple-A games. Consequently, it ''badly'' underperformed in sales.

** Calibri interface[[labelnote:Explanation]]The game uses Calibri, famous for being the default font in both Microsoft Word (since 2007) and Xsplit, in its interface. This, in addition to being perceived as a lazy and poor design choice, made it incredibly easy to create authentic-looking fake screenshots of the game to use in memes, which often make fun of the game's lack of quality.[[/labelnote]]

* AdaptationDisplacement: One of many criticisms of the game is that the visuals aren't based on the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Peter Jackson movies]], but rather use a very stylized, cartoony original art style and character design based more on the books. The last ''Lord of the Rings'' video game to do so was probably ''[[VideoGame/TheHobbit2003 The Hobbit]]'' way back in 2003 (that game wasn't particularly highly rated by reviewers either).

* MemeticMutation:
** Calibri[[labelnote:Explanation]]The game uses Calibri, famous for being the default font in Microsoft Word since 2007, in its interface. This, in addition to being perceived as a lazy and poor design choice, made it incredibly easy to create authentic-looking fake screenshots of the game to use in memes, which often make fun of the game's lack of quality.[[/labelnote]]

** Comparing Gollum's design to the infamous [[LetsPlay/{{Dream}} "Mask"]] music video.
** The Lord of Ring: Gollum[[TradeSnark ™]][[labelnote:Explanation]]The developers releasing an apology after the less-than-stellar launch and getting the name of their own game wrong has not gone un-memed by its many detractors.[[/labelnote]]

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The game was released to scathing reception from critics and audiences due to being a virtually unplayable ObviousBeta, boring gameplay, having poor visuals, and locking basic features behind paid [=DLC=].

** The Lord of Ring: Gollum[[labelnote:Explanation]]The developers releasing an apology after the less-than-stellar launch and getting the name of their own game wrong has not gone un-memed by its many detractors.[[/labelnote]]

* MemeticMutation: Calibri[[labelnote:Explanation]]The game uses Calibri, famous for being the default font in Microsoft Word since 2007, in its interface. This, in addition to being perceived as a lazy and poor design choice, made it incredibly easy to create authentic-looking fake screenshots of the game to use in memes, which often make fun of the game's lack of quality.[[/labelnote]]

* TheProblemWithLicensedGames: The game was released to scathing reception from critics and audiences due to being a virtually unplayable ObviousBeta, boring gameplay, and having poor visuals.

* ObviousBeta: The game's launch was buggy [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable to the point of some reviewers being unable to even finish it]], with clipping issues, frame drops, failed triggers, crashes, and falling out of the map. The optimization is also poor at best, with ''Gollum'''s requirements on PC being far higher than a game with its graphics should warrant.

* ObviousBeta: The game's launch was buggy [[UnwinnableByMistake to the point of some reviewers being unable to even finish it]], with clipping issues, frame drops, failed triggers, crashes, and falling out of the map. The optimization is also poor at best, with ''Gollum'''s requirements on PC being far higher than a game with its graphics should warrant.

* ObviousBeta: The game's launch was buggy [[UnwinnableByMistake to the point of some reviewers being unable to even finish it]], with clipping issues, frame drops, failed triggers, and falling out of the map. The optimization is also poor at best, with ''Gollum'''s requirements on PC being far higher than a game with its graphics should warrant.