They're making Gollum cuter so you'll actually want to play as him

So freshly teased it's not even on its publisher's official website yet, we finally get a cinematic look at The Lord of the Rings: Gollum. There's dead fish on a cave floor, cave drawings scratched into the rock (hey, that's a new concept for Gollum, actually), and that slinky four-on-the-floor walk he has. The ring-like reflection in his eyes shows Mount Doom right outside his cave entrance, and he's got enormous, almost cutesy, eyes looking out over a dark land covered in volcanic ash and patrolled by carrion birds. 

According to an interview over at IGN, Gollum will have Prince of Persia-like stealth-action, will have a branching narrative, and will do it with a brand new story that runs parallel to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit books. The developers also went to some lengths to make Gollum a character you'd actually want to play. Because empathy for a fallen character is one thing, but asking players to inhabit that anti-hero—especially one that relies so heavily on self-loathing and self-pity to survive—is going to be Gollum's biggest challenge. 

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is coming sometime in 2021.