The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game has finally arrived, and with it, a refreshingly true-to-the-lore story of Gollum’s treacherous journey after losing The One Ring to the tricksy Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.
With the titular character being such a pitiful, weak, but cunning creature, you can’t smash and grab your way out of sticky situations in the Gollum game. So, you’ll want to get to grips with the controls for sneaking and clambering.
Below, you’ll find all of the Gollum game controls that you need to know on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles, as well as some tips to help you escape the pits of Barad-dûr and survive Middle-earth.
All The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game PS5 and PS4 controls
- Move: Left Analogue
- Camera: Right Analogue
- Run: R2
- Aim, Throw: L2, R2
- Crouch/Sneak: R1
- Gollum’s Instincts: L1
- Jump/Wall Jump: X
- Long Jump: R2 (Hold), X
- Wall Run: R2 (Hold), Left Analogue (towards the wall)
- Drop to Ledge: O
- Pull Up from Ledge: Left Analogue (upwards)
- Guided Drop: O, Left Analogue
- Backwards Jump: Square
- Climb: Triangle
- Interact/Pick-up: Triangle
- Surface Run: R2 (Hold)
- Eat Food: Square (Hold)
- Ambush: Sneak Behind (Hold R1), Triangle to Attack
- Swing on Bar: Left Analogue (pull back, push forward)
- Bar Turn: Triangle
- Dive (in water): O
- Hide (in water): R1 (Hold)
- Surface (in water): X
- Pause Menu: Start
- Map: TouchPad
- Alternative Action: Up (D-Pad)
- Special Animation: Down (D-Pad)
- Show HUD: L3
- Reset Camera: R3
All The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game Xbox One and XSX controls
- Move: Left Analogue
- Camera: Right Analogue
- Run: RT
- Aim, Throw: LT, RT
- Crouch/Sneak: RB
- Gollum’s Instincts: LB
- Jump/Wall Jump: A
- Long Jump: RT (Hold), A
- Wall Run: RT (Hold), Left Analogue (towards the wall)
- Drop to Ledge: B
- Pull Up from Ledge: Left Analogue (upwards)
- Guided Drop: B, Left Analogue
- Backwards Jump: X
- Climb: Y
- Interact/Pick-up: Y
- Surface Run: RT (Hold)
- Eat Food: X (Hold)
- Ambush: Sneak Behind (Hold RB), Y to Attack
- Swing on Bar: Left Analogue (pull back, push forward)
- Bar Turn: Y
- Dive (in water): B
- Hide (in water): RB (Hold)
- Surface (in water): A
- Pause Menu: Menu
- Map: View
- Alternative Action: Up (D-Pad)
- Special Animation: Down (D-Pad)
- Show HUD: L3
- Reset Camera: R3
All The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game Nintendo Switch controls
- Move: Left Analogue
- Camera: Right Analogue
- Run: ZR
- Aim, Throw: ZL, ZR
- Crouch/Sneak: R
- Gollum’s Instincts: L
- Jump/Wall Jump: B
- Long Jump: ZR (Hold), B
- Wall Run: ZR (Hold), Left Analogue (towards the wall)
- Drop to Ledge: A
- Pull Up from Ledge: Left Analogue (upwards)
- Guided Drop: B, Left Analogue
- Backwards Jump: Y
- Climb: X
- Interact/Pick-up: X
- Surface Run: ZR (Hold)
- Eat Food: Y (Hold)
- Ambush: Sneak Behind (Hold R), X to Attack
- Swing on Bar: Left Analogue (pull back, push forward)
- Bar Turn: X
- Dive (in water): A
- Hide (in water): R (Hold)
- Surface (in water): B
- Pause Menu: +
- Map: –
- Alternative Action: Up (D-Pad)
- Special Animation: Down (D-Pad)
- Show HUD: L3
- Reset Camera: R3
How to remap the controls for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game
To remap the controls for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game, you need to open the game’s menu (press Start, Menu, or +) or go directly from the main menu to the Settings option.
From here, use the bumpers to move to the Wireless Controller page, and then select (press X, A, or B) on the white bar above the image of the controller – it’ll likely read “Right-handed (default).”
On the Edit Controls pop-up, select (press X, A, or B) on any control input that you want to change. The following screen will allow you to press any button that you want to remap the controls to in the Gollum game.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game tips for beginners
Use these tips along with the Gollum game controls above to sneak around nasty orcsies and continue the hunt to reclaim the precious!
1. How to convince Gollum
Gollum is the more conniving, hateful, and selfish half of the tortured former Stoor Hobbit. So, when you attempt to convince Gollum, you’ll need to appeal to that side of his personality.
For example, while a prisoner and trying to escape the mines of Barad-dûr, you can convince Gollum to side with the fairly friendly human captives, but to do so, you need to get all three options correct.
The first segment asks why you should blame the Orc over the Frail Man, with the options as Sméagol being to Argue that the Orc calls you names, be Hateful as the Orc steals bread, or be Reasonable by saying that the Orcs aren’t your friends.
Here, the Hateful response is the one that appeals the most to Gollum. You can later choose between Power (as the Frail Man is a king) and Connections (as he’ll owe you), with Gollum preferring the more conniving latter option.
2. How to convince Sméagol
Sméagol is a much more timid soul than Gollum, being more easily frightened and more difficult to convince into taking risks against enemies.
As such, the way to convince Sméagol is fairly straightforward: present the scarier option. For the first decision in the Gollum game, you can convince Sméagol by saying that the Nazgûl are watchful – they’re more menacing than the Spider.
3. Crawl whenever there are enemies near
It’s listed as the crawl function (R1, RB, R) in the Gollum game controls list, but crawl may as well be sneak. Low to the ground with sprawling limbs, you can sneak right up behind any patrolling enemy without making a sound.
Oftentimes in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game, you’ll have narrow windows to get around your foes, and while crawling is slower than the usual movement, it does grant the additional moments of not being noticed.
However, even if staying still in the crawl position while in an enemy’s eye line – on the same level or even a level below – they’ll still spot you: be sure to keep out of sight even when crawling.
Sometimes, you’ll also get to attack enemies to get past them. To do this, you’ll need to crawl up behind them and, when prompted, press the attack button (Triangle, Y, X) and then hold it to eliminate the foe.
4. Await the blue marker before throwing
As you enter a sneak puzzle area, always press the Gollum’s Instincts button (L1, LB, L) to find the blue items that’ll help to draw enemies out of position or oust the lights to create sneaky paths.
Once identified, get into a hidden position and then aim your Throwable item (L2, LT, ZL), moving the trajectory until the line turns blue. This blue line means that you’ll hit the distraction or enemy.
There’s always an angle to hit even the more obscure of these, so it’s worth resetting Gollum’s position if the blue line doesn’t show.
As well as distraction items in the environment, you can usually make an easier path past patrolling enemies by disrupting one of their routes via a tactical stone throw to the back of the head.
5. Sprint up and along tall or long scratched walls
Just as you’ve become accustomed to jumping up to ledges and long jumping across chasms, you get faced with a huge wall that seemingly can’t be scaled.
To get up any high walls in your path with three white scratch marks or wide jumps with a wall to the side with three scratch marks, hold sprint (R2, RT, ZR) and direct Gollum towards the marks.
If you press the Jump button, you won’t trigger the wall run.
FAQ about The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game
Here are some quick-fire answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Gollum game.
What do the icons on the Gollum game HUD mean?
When you press L3 to see the Gollum game HUD, on the left, you’ll see your count of Throwabales under the rock icon, and on the right, you’ll see your Food count under the fish icon.
How do you know where to go in the Gollum game?
To work out where to go, where the enemies are, and where to hide, press the Gollum Intuition button (L1, LB, L) to highlight enemies in red, hiding spots in purple, mission interactions in blue, and the route.
The route can be seen once the Intuition fades, revealing orange whisps to direct your next moves. As for your goal and points of interest, follow the golden dot and white dots, respectively.
How do you jump off of bars in the Gollum game?
From a still position, swing Gollum backwards by pulling down on the Left Analogue, and at the top of the backswing, push the Left Analogue forwards. At the top of the front swing, press Jump (X, A, B) and push the Left Analogue forward to leap as far as possible.
Once on a bar, you have limited stamina to swing off of it and onto the next ledge or climbing wall, so you need to get the swing going quickly and time the jump well.
What is the Gollum game about?
Without trying to give too much away, the Gollum game follows the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien on the creature’s interrogation by Gandalf in Mirkwood and beyond. In his cell, Gollum recounts his time in Mordor, which you play through.
Throughout The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game, you seek ways to get back to The One Ring while trying to survive the wilderness and avoid the Dark Lord’s gaze.
Being faithful to Tolkien’s lore while also mixing in some great level design to gamify Gollum’s journey, you can expect to meet Gandalf, Thranduil, and Shelob, battle between the personalities of Gollum and Sméagol, and venture through the realms of Mordor, Mirkwood, and Moria.
That’s all you need to know about The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game controls and to get started in this tale through the darkest corners of Middle-earth.