History will have a strange place for Square Enix take on Marvel’s ultimate misfit group. While Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy has a surface level that takes much of its cues from the MCU, the soul of the game is more in line with the spirit of recent runs on the comics by writers like Al Ewing. Once the credits roll on James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 film we could see two of the best takes on these characters.
Marvel Guardians Of The Galaxy
Developed By: Eidos Montreal
Published By: Square Enix
Available For: PS 4/5, Xbox One & Series X/S, PC GeForce Now, Nintendo Switch (Key provided by publisher)
In the spirit of games like Republic Commando, GOTG is very much a single-player adventure where you step into the swag of Star-Lord. As the leader of the galaxy’s most odd-couple outlaws, you’ll battle alongside Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax through the entire game. While you can’t directly take control of the characters, Star-Lord gets to utilize their abilities by bringing up the quick menu and unleashing sometimes unfairly more powerful attacks than your own character will be able to execute on enemies.
Eidos was given the same green light Bill Rosemann and the Marvel Games team have allowed in its recent studio partnerships to create unique versions of its iconic stable. The result isn’t a radically different version of GOTG, but a story that twists and turns with originality. Years after a galactic war, Peter Quill and the Guardians are the gray area heroes we know either stealing or helping those who can afford them. When the Universal Church of Truth led by Grand Unifier Raker attempts to brainwash the galaxy, they’ll unleash a familiar force to comic book fans. Through the game’s near 15-hour story, you’ll be treated to a ton of Marvel universe elements and characters we really don’t get exposed to outside of the comics. Including a third act that has some of my favorite marvel memories from the early ’90s.
When the credits finally roll on GOTG the result is satisfying but getting there has a few speed bumps. Most of it happens at the beginning of the game via lengthy cinematics that feel unbalanced against the amount of gameplay you get to enjoy in early levels. The game’s most glaring issue is the amount of gameplay action you get very early on. Using Star-Lord’s element guns and getting the hang of quickly calling on your allies to attack is fun especially in moments where you get to hit the button prompts to unleash full team finishing moves. Where the design falters is how much you get to use it. Enemies early on are mostly generic blobs and smaller space monsters. It isn’t until later on that you’ll get to take on familiar comics fan characters like Wendigo. The generic enemies get to feel like cannon fodder very quickly. While that’s the nature of video games, the best ones can at least mask the feeling for much of the game. Let’s face it, in a Marvel game you want to fight Marvel characters, GOTG takes its sweet time getting to this.
In a nod to the MCU, the game packs its own licensed song soundtrack consisting of some bangers like “Where Eagles Dare”, “Call Me”, and “Kickstart My Heart”. Best of all the soundtrack doesn’t feel like a cheap imitation of the MCU Peter Quill. While we see the Chris Pratt style obsession with music, it’s more than just an emotional touchstone. You’ll use Quill’s walkman as a rallying point for the team when pressing the L1+R1 where you can motivate the GOTG for extended special attacks. It also plays a vital part of the attack in the story but no spoilers here. If you like variety in music then it’s definitely a soundtrack you’ll want to hear, going from New Kids On The Block to Motley Crue never seemed soo smooth. For the streamer crowd, the game also features a Twitch friendly mode that replaces the licensed music with original tracks created just for the game.
Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy is a solid game that stops short of great because of how safe it lays out its design. Likely an attempt at not overwhelming the audience with over action at the beginning, its start becomes so slow that it’s almost unforgivable. Once you first fly the Milano out of danger to the game’s awesome mix, you feel on the roll it intended. GOTG is also one of the few early release games I can remember in the modern era of gaming where my PlayStation didn’t error message to a frustrating degree. In fact, my system never crashed. While the game was missing a few assets that will be addressed on day-one patch, the overall experience was new silk to me.
Being the second game to come out of the Marvel/Square Enix partnership comes with some lofty expectations. How different does this game need to be from Avengers? Does it need to be completely stand-alone? Eidos Montreal shares the best bits of Crystal Dynamics Avengers game while focusing on telling their best Marvel story. While you definitely don’t need to have played Marvel’s Avengers to fully enjoy Guardians Of The Galaxy, just like the Marvel universe the more you’ve absorbed the likelier you are to get the more nuanced moments, especially during a particular part of this game.
Also worth noting, I really fu**ing loved getting new costumes for these characters just by playing through the game and not having to rely on the luck of a random treasure chest, please do more of this thing you did 20 years ago video game industry.
