Those that are familiar with Gollum from The Lord of the Rings know that the creature once known as Sméagol prefers to use his cunning rather than brute force, which makes sense given his diminished presence due to the long-term effects from the One Ring. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game will seek to make good use of ‘sneaking’ for the titular character, though it’s also been revealed that the title will feature parkour elements similar to what’s found in Prince of Persia games.

In a recent interview with the folks over at IGN, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum lead designer Martin Wilkes reveals that the title will feature various stealth elements and vertical parkour, not unlike what is utilized in Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia games. “The game mixes stealth with vertical climbing parkour,” Wilkes said.

If you want a reference you might think of it as similar to Prince of Persia. It is mostly a non-combat game, but Gollum will be able to stealthily take out enemies. However, this will not be easy and always come with big risks. We want players to carefully weigh these encounters. After all, Gollum’s strengths lie in cunning not combat.”

Further along in the interview, Martin Wilkes speaks about the game’s branching narrative, revealing that some of Gollum’s potential choices won’t necessarily be easy ones to make. “It’s not as simple as, ‘Choose Sméagol to be good, choose Gollum to be evil’,” Wilkes explained. “Our first rule is to stay true to the character (or our interpretation of him at least). Since you play two personalities in one character, choosing sides will give you some control. But it’s more like maneuvering a truck with two flat tires and trying not to drive it off a cliff.” If that isn’t perfect imagery for Sméagol, I don’t know what is.

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is slated to release next year for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and next-gen consoles.

Thoughts on the Prince of Persia-like parkour promised for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum? Let us know in the comments section below, and as always, stay tuned to Don’t Feed the Gamers for all the latest gaming and entertainment news! Don’t forget to follow DFTG on Twitter for our 24/7 news feed!