New patch for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum due tomorrow

UPDATE 5pm UK: Daedalic Entertainment has apologised for the poor state of release of its Lord of the Rings: Gollum game.

In a public statement, it acknowledged the game “did not meet the expectations we set for ourselves”.

“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,” reads the statement.

“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.”

The statement continues, with Daedalic stating the game has been its biggest challenge to date.

“We are committed to providing you with patches that will allow you to enjoy the game to its fullest potential.”

The full statement is in the tweet below.

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ORIGINAL STORY 3pm UK: Daedalic Entertainment, publishers of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, has stated a patch for the game will be released tomorrow.

Ahead of the game’s release yesterday, a day one patch was added to address crashing issues with the PS5 version (a fix for which previously involved turning off hair animations). However, multiple reviewers – including our own Christian Donlan – have cited a number of issues that have made the game unplayable across all platforms.

“As you maybe already can imagine, we are aware of the feedback brought up by preview-testers,” reads a statement to Eurogamer from Daedalic. “Most of the issues mentioned, especially crashes, were concerning the console version of the game and we already patched the game accordingly.”

It continues: “Be assured that we are closely monitoring the launch period and are listening to your feedback. More details will be shared tomorrow once we have compiled all the information.” Eurogamer understands an update patch is being worked on.

Digital Foundry is already busy analysing the game’s performance across all console platforms, but early indications – even with the day one patch – are far from positive.

On PlayStation 5, the day one patch has removed a number of visual effects in order to stabilise the frame rate. You can see the differences in the below shots.

Some further screenshots below on PS5 show frame rate dips no matter which visual mode is utilised. Performance mode is often under 60FPS, while Quality RT mode is under 40 FPS.

Over on Xbox, it’s a poor situation on both Series X and S consoles. On Series X in Quality RT mode it wavers above 30 FPS, while on Series S in Performance mode it’s sub 30 FPS.

Expect a more in-depth look from Digital Foundry in the coming days. PC performance won’t be tested, but will likely be similar to the console versions.

Until then, our Lord of the Rings: Gollum review is available to read now: “A strong sense of character is let down by poor controls, fiddly implementation, and bugs,” wrote Donlan.

“With the best will in the world, if you’re coming to this for the story, you’re settling down for fifteen hours of manoeuvring Gollum through the jagged, abstract landscape of Tolkien’s wastepaper basket.”

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