‘Gollum redeemed’: New $50 King Kong game called ‘a complete scam’

A new King Kong game has gone viral due to its unusually poor graphics, with one player labelling it “a complete scam”.

Skull Island: Rise of Kong was released for consoles and PC on Tuesday, and quickly social media filled with videos highlighting its shoddy presentation, which at certain points appears to be incomplete.

One clip, which has been liked over 30,000 times on Twitter, shows a cut-scene in which the developer appears to have inserted a static image in place of incomplete animation.

Another, shared by a King Kong fan account, shows a combat scene that the user calls “low effort shovelware”.

Skull Island: Rise of Kong retails for £44.99 / $49.99 on the PlayStation Store. However, PS Plus members can receive a 25% discount.

“Gollum redeemed,” wrote one Resetera user, referencing one of the worst-reviewed games of the year.

“Had multiple flashbacks to playing PS2 watching this,” added another. “I’m not mad at it for that reason.”

Skull Island: Rise of Kong is developed by Chile-based IguanaBee, which has previously worked on  several niche console games, and published by GameMill Entertainment.

GameMill, according to its website, has “a proven track record for leveraging the equity of some of the world’s most beloved brands” and working with developers top “to nimbly bring to life games that delight die-hard and casual gamers alike.”

“With a veteran lead team, we know how to navigate the landscape of licensors, developers and consumers, and have proven time and time again an ability to deliver hit games on time, in scope and on budget,” it says.

GameMill has previously worked on games based on Cobra Kai, GI Joe, Big Hero 6, Frozen and Hotel Transylvania.