Year: 2023
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Jun Broome
Number of tracks: 17

★★★★★

Not all those who wander are lost

Here at MaybeMusic, we always try to see the good in video games. Whether it's a flawed AAA title, an indie game with questionable design decisions, or simply a bad game. We believe that even in every trash heap, there's still something that can sustain a family of flies through a harsh winter. And for that, our team (me) isn't afraid to dig where even seasoned reviewers wave their flags!

So let's move on to The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, a game that promised little in its initial trailers and then spectacularly underdelivered on even those promises upon release: buggy, outdated, and unremarkable. This assessment isn't from me but emerges from various reviews in reputable gaming magazines, which was decisive in my decision to steer clear from it.

The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (2011)

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (2023)

'But dear MaybeMattis team (Mattis), if you haven't played it, how can you find anything positive to say about it?' To that, I'd like to express my admiration, dear questioner, that you've made it to this review and haven't answered this mystery for yourself yet. Of course, through the score, you numbskull! Because as we all know, a wreck is a place where treasures rest ("Willst du" – Alligatoah).

The soundtrack comprises a solid 17 tracks, which is the standard length for today's OSTs, and was composed by Jun Broome, who's IMDB entry I'll briefly quote from:

Jun Broome is known for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (2023).

Entry about Jun Broome on IMDB

That's enlightening. After the disastrous game release, unsurprisingly, the score garnered little interest. It's currently only available on Steam, where, thanks to the insightful review by muttvay ('🖤'), it displays an impressive average rating of 100% – impressive! As we can see, much like the actual game, the music for Gollum will eventually fade into obscurity.

Though honestly, it's not much of a loss, despite it not exhibiting the flaws of the game as such. For a debut work, Broome shows reasonable competence in setting the mood for the stealth simulation. Similar to the cinematic original, the score relies on typical fantasy orchestration, with strings like violins and the cello taking the lead. Accompanying these instruments are flutes, which support the thriller-like atmosphere in pieces like "Mirkwood Theme" or "Below the Fortress."

Overall, the score feels like an imitation of Olivier Derivière's work on Vampyr or the A Plague Tale-series ("Gollum Theme" and "Running with the Beats"), mainly due to the integration of minor tones throughout. However, these associations may arise for me solely due to the choice of instruments – who knows? The idea itself is spot-on for acoustically portraying the tragic protagonist Gollum. The dissonances in tracks like "Shelob" work well but never reach the level of comparable composers like Garry Schyman in BioShock.

Most aptly, the creation for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum can be compared to OSTs of indie titles like Alice: Madness Returns or Valley ("Escape from Barad-dur"), where one occasionally sees a trace of 'more,' of 'better' shining through. That slight emotional touch in "Slave Pits of Barad-dur" or the melancholic, Telltale-esque "Decision at the Ruins"... it doesn't take much for those to actually become catchy. Unfortunately, Broome never quite reaches 100%. With a final rating of three stars, the score may not warrant a recommendation but is still significantly above its gaming roots and shouldn't be scoffed at.

Nr.	Title	Interpret(en)	Ratings
01	Gollum Theme	Jun Broome	4
02	Thranduil’s Halls	Jun Broome	3
03	Mines of Mordor	Jun Broome	3
04	The Ring of Haze	Jun Broome	2
05	Barad-dur	Jun Broome	3
06	Mirkwood Theme	Jun Broome	3
07	Escape from Barad-dur	Jun Broome	4
08	Cirith Ungol	Jun Broome	3
09	The King’s Grove	Jun Broome	3
10	Slave Pits of Barad-dur	Jun Broome	3
11	Running with the Beats	Jun Broome	3
12	Inner Conflict	Jun Broome	3
13	Below the Fortress	Jun Broome	3
14	Along the River	Jun Broome	3
15	A Garden Stroll	Jun Broome	2
16	Shelob	Jun Broome	4
17	Decision at the Ruins	Jun Broome	4