You'll have to pay extra if you want The Lord of the Rings: Gollum in Elvish
UPDATE: Daedalic responds, says it trained voice actors in Sindarin.
UPDATE 18/4/22: Gollum game developer Daedalic has responded to news of the game's DLC which adds Elvish spoken language to the game.
In a statement shared with Eurogamer, Daedalic says you will still hear some Elvish (Sindarin) language without the DLC "from time to time" - though this paid DLC does fills out the game's world with more, recorded by "professional voice actors... trained in Sindarin by our lore experts".
The full statement lies below:
"The Elves in the base game will speak in their tongue (Sindarin) from time to time," Daedalic said. "On top of that the Sindarin VO expansion adds additional Sindarin lines to some of the characters in the background. While traversing through Mirkwood and other parts of middleearth Gollum will be able to listen to various dialogues between Elves. These dialogues add to the atmosphere and worldbuilding. With the Sindarin VO these dialogues will be held in Sindarin.
"Daedalic went the extra mile here and hired professional voice actors, who were trained in Sindarin by our lore experts. It is a DLC for the real Tolkien Devotees who want to immerse themselves even more into the world of Middle-Earth."
ORIGINAL STORY 14/4/22: It's probably fair to say Daedelic Entertainment's The Lord of the Rings: Gollum has been a little divisive since its unveiling in 2019, and it likely won't help that the developer has now announced it's charging extra for anyone that wants to hear its elves speak in authentic Elvish.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, for the uninitiated, forges something of a unusual path through Middle-earth, taking its wide-eyed lead - already an unusual choice for a protagonist - on a pre-Lord of the Rings adventure combining "subtle tactical stealth" and "fast-paced parkour action".
Perhaps a little oddly, given you'd think Daedelic would want to keep The Lord of the Rings fans firmly on its side, the developer has now announced those wanting to experience the adventure with more authentic elf voice acting "in the Elvish tongue of Sindarin" - an addition the developer is aiming at "die-hard fans who want to immerse themselves even more while exploring the world of Tolkien" - will need to cough up extra for Gollum's Precious Edition.
The Precious Edition features four bits of DLC alongside the base game - a 100-piece concept art "exhibition", a "lore compendium", an original soundtrack, plus the aforementioned Sindarin voice acting pack - all of which will cost around £10/$10 more than the £42.99/$49.99 standard edition. Those that don't want to invest in the Precious Edition will also have the option to buy the included bits of DLC separately, according to the game's official Twitter account, but it's unclear how much they'll cost individually.
On the plus side, Elvish or no, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum could be a bit of a treat for Lord of the Rings aficianados when it releases for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S on 25th May. Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale was impressed by its dedication to authenticity when he went hands-on earlier this year, saying its story is likely one "lore enthusiasts will pore over."