The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, an action-adventure video game, failed to succeed as a video game due to, well, being arguably terrible in every regard. But its downfall had a silver lining as the game became the talk of the town: there was so much to dunk on that the so-called "Gollum Game" instantly transcended into the memedom. Here's how it happened.

What Is ‘The Lord of the Rings: Gollum?'

The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is a 2023 adventure video game developed and published by Daedalic Entertainment. The game follows the story of character Gollum from The Lord of the Rings epic fantasy novels as he climbs the mountains of Mordor and ventures through Mirkwood on his quest to retrieve his Precious.

The game features stealth and platforming mechanics, and the player is presented with choices where he can take action as Gollum or Smeagol, with the decision-making presented in the form of dialogue between the character's two personae.

In late May 2023, the game became a subject of memes and discussions due to its apparent poor quality: the players criticized its poor implementation of mechanics, bad interface and design choices and poor optimization.

How Is ‘The Lord of the Rings: Gollum’ Used In Memes?

Instantly following the release, users on Twitter shared screenshots from the game, ridiculing its design choices, UI and dialogue, and there's been a LOT of dunking going on within the first 24 hours.

Gollum's bulging eyes and psychotic, intense look reminded people of another 3D character from two years ago. Minecraft YouTuber Dream from his notorious music video Mask, that is.

Well, at least there are some very usable reaction images to use for when you're in Goblin Mode.

Could #GollumSweep become a thing?

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For the full history of The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.