Developer: Eidos Montreal
Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: October 26, 2021
Platforms: Playstation 4/ Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch (Cloud Streaming only)
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) taking over Hollywood and introducing superheroes and superheroines that have made unknown Marvel franchises into household names, Marvel has been planning to give out their franchises to make big-budget games across different publishers. We have had successes such as the Spider-Man games developed by Insomniac Games and some disasters such as the Avengers game developed by Crystal Dynamics. I am glad to say that the Guardians of the Galaxy game is one of the best games I’ve played for 2021 because of its entertaining story and character development. It is a flawed game but the good outweighs the bad by a lot that it became an enjoyable experience all the way through.
The Guardians of the Galaxy game follows a motley crew of Star-Lord, Gamora, Groot, Drax, and Rocket Raccoon same as the MCU movies. For the story, this is at a point when the crew was is still somewhat new and has done a couple of missions already together but has yet to adjust to the “team” dynamic. The story is about how they are able to get together as a team and was able to save the galaxy from a gigantic threat. For the game, you just play as Star-Lord, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy and it is up to you to decide certain scenarios play out and be able to command your teammates during combat. Dialogue in the game is great and it feels natural. The reactions and comments of your teammates feel realistic, and it becomes relatable in a way that you can feel attached to the team the longer you play. The jokes in the game are more subtle than in the movie with sight gags and how they build up to that joke is always a treat. The game also has a great cast of side characters that mix well with the Guardians.
Music in the game is a treat for fans in the 70s and 80s that they were able to get over 20 licensed songs in the game. Songs such as Iron Maiden’s Where Eagles Dare and Billy Idol’s White Wedding make some parts of the game very memorable. They even created a fictional band called Star Lord to accompany the licensed tracks. The graphics for the game are amazing in this game. Having some of the best facial tracking I have ever seen in a game, and it sort of gives an uncanny valley feeling due to how great the faces look. The environments are colorful and vibrant for a space adventure which is usually associated with being devoid of color in games.
For the gameplay of the game, I can see it has potential. Combat revolves around you controlling Star Lord and setting up combos and attacks using your teammates. Star Lord is used to maintain elemental damage using his twin blasters, Rocket Raccoon is great for crowd control damages, Groot is great for combo set-ups, Drax is great for stunning enemies and Gamora is great for dealing massive damage. Each one of them learn new moves the longer you play and some of them can even do unique actions based on certain scenarios in the combat. An example is if an enemy with a jetpack lands, you can get Gamora to throw her sword on the jetpack and cause it to malfunction. The problem with the combat is that it can get way too repetitive and can take way too long due to how pitiful the damage Star Lord can deal while waiting for your teammates’ actions to recharge. One cool aspect of the combat is Huddle mechanic. With that mechanic, you can stop combat for a bit and talk to your teammates regarding what is happening on the field, you are then given two choices regarding what your teammates have been saying. If you choose correctly, you get to buff the entire team with infinite health and faster charge times but if you choose incorrectly, only Star Lord gets the buff. Now what makes this mechanic amazing is that when you activate the Huddle mechanic, you will be treated to a random 80s song to accompany your battle. Something about hearing the “Final Countdown” or “Rick Astley’s Never Going to Give You Up” while shooting aliens gives the combat really fun moments and can curb the repetitiveness. I did wish that there was a way to make the Huddle mechanic happen more often though.
Besides the combat, there are puzzles and collectibles to find in the game. These collectibles can range from archives, possessions that belong to an individual Guardian or costumes. Now these collectibles can be hard to find and can require you to thoroughly explore the area to find them but they are worth the search. Especially the costumes as they represent their looks from the comics and other media they were in as well. Puzzles are fun as they make use of your teammates. Having Gamora cut down wires as she is the only one agile enough to reach them, having Rocket fit into small vents or hack devices to proceed, having Groot lift you up with his roots or even have Drax carry extremely heavy objects to one place to another.
Again, the Guardians of the Galaxy game is one of the best games to come out of 2021 and I really do hope that it gets a sequel down the line. Initially, the game had bad press due to the poor marketing and the distaste of the Avengers game was still lingering around but Guardians of the Galaxy proved itself and is one of the best gems of 2021. I highly recommend the game if you are a Marvel fan, an Action-Adventure fan or genuinely like video games and want to play something simpler and fun.
Final Score: 8/10
