Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Verdict

After stumbling out the gate with last yr's Avengers, Foursquare Enix has managed to steady the ship with Curiosity's Guardians of the Galaxy. For the story solitary, the game is well-worth playing, simply it's the affluence of lore, well-written dialogue and gorgeous locales that elevate information technology every bit 1 of the best Marvel games to date.

Pros

• Best story of any Curiosity game
• Splendid dialogue captures the essence of the characters
• Wonderfully detailed planets to explore

Cons

• Glitches make the game feel crude effectually the edges
• Combat is a bit too chaotic at times

Availability

• U.k. RRP: £59.99

Key Features

• Single-thespian adventure Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a single-actor outing, so a good alternative to Marvel'due south Avengers if y'all prefer to play alone
• Platforms Bachelor on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC and Switch
• Release engagement Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy will exist available to purchase on 26 October 2021

Introduction

Everyone's favourite bunch of space-jump misfits finally get the video game treatment they deserve in Curiosity's Guardians of the Galaxy which, I tin can assure you, is marked improvement over 2020'southward Avengers in almost every style.

Despite the monumental success that the Marvel brand has had in the world of movie house and TV, it has rarely seen that success replicated in video game format. The 2000s were awash with sub-bar motion picture necktie-in games, and after a long catamenia of hibernation, Square Enix finally announced the game that we'd all been waiting for in Marvel's Avengers. As we know at present however, the game failed to live up to its hype subsequently being bogged down by bugs, repetitive gameplay and a design that favoured the 'live-activity service' model where long-term turn a profit is rex.

Information technology is precisely because of Avengers' failure that when a video game adaptation of Guardians of the Milky way was announced, the industry (myself included) responded with a healthy dose of scepticism. Having at present finished the game over a fourteen-hour playthrough, I am very pleased to report that Square Enix and programmer Eidos Montreal have done correct by the Guardians, hither's why.

Story

• Ane of the best Marvel stories yet
• Dialogue options create unique story paths
• Dialogue itself is entertaining and well-written

Unlike Avengers, which had a alloy of single-player and multiplayer modes, Guardians of the Galaxy is an offline experience simply – and information technology's all the improve for it. By forgoing the need for a multiplayer component, Eidos Montreal has managed to focus more of its time on developing an endearing story that yous simply won't want to put down.

When the game begins, our titular group is still in its relative infancy. Having started out as a trio consisting of Star-Lord (Peter Quill), Rocket and Groot, the gang has recently allowed ii new recruits to join their forces, Drax the Destroyer and Gamora (frequently referred to every bit the Deadliest Adult female in the Galaxy).

In the game's earlier chapters, the Guardians are a frayed bunch at best – largely sticking effectually because they have nowhere else to become, but when they're lumped with a trespassing fine from the Nova Corps (the infinite police to y'all and me), it isn't long earlier the Guardians stumble across a sinister ability that could completely decimate the milky way as they know it.

I won't spoil exactly where the narrative leads, as I do believe that Guardians of the Galaxy has the best story of whatever Curiosity game to date, but there's a good hazard that your playthrough might differ to how mine turned out. Much like the Telltale games of old, there'southward a not bad deal of option and player agency weaved into the narrative, with some of the decisions you brand having the ability of opening up (or even withholding) certain story beats. I won't say who it was, but the game'south credits informed me that I'd failed to cross paths with a certain character based on how I chose to play.

Don't expect annihilation quite as detailed as something Quantic Dream might put out, but I will say that in that location's more than plenty branching paths here to warrant at least a second playthrough of Guardians of the Galaxy, not the least considering you might want to get dorsum and discover hidden items.

Right from the start, yous're encouraged to explore off the beaten path in Guardians of the Milky way, because in doing so you'll find character logs to fill in backstory, new outfits to mix up the team's wardrobe and my personal favourite, artefacts that open upwards new conversations with the other characters when kicking back on the Milano (the group's hub, abode and spaceship).

These conversations allowed for a level of earth-building that felt then much more engaging than the typical video game trope of finding notes scattered throughout the world. There was one chat with Rocket in particular that delved into his backstory and in doing and then, not just explained and then much of his electric current persona but also felt like a much-needed moment of bonding between him and Star-Lord.

While Avengers had y'all constantly irresolute betwixt different characters, Eidos Montreal made the conclusion to have the player motion solely in the footsteps of Peter Quill. While fans of the other Guardians might be disappointed initially, let me clinch you that their presence is notwithstanding felt but as every bit throughout the game.

But similar their MCU counterparts, these Guardians are constantly riffing with each other, commenting on the world around them and detailing by exploits. There's rarely a moment of silence in this game but it simply helps to brand you feel like you're role of a living, animate team that is getting to know i some other on the job. Past the end of the game, yous'll feel every bit if you know them merely every bit a well as you know Peter Quill.

It isn't just the Guardians themselves that are given time to shine either, as the game features a whole host of secondary characters pulled from the comics. Faces like Cosmo the Space Dog and Mantis are given such singled-out personalities that I plant myself hanging on their every word, and but happy to have them hanging out with the Guardians.

Gameplay

• A alloy of shooter and existent-time strategy mechanics
• You direct the other Guardians during gainsay
• Can be a chip chaotic at times

While I could easily go on about how much I admire the game's characters and storyline, no title can get by on narrative solitary and lucky for Guardians of the Galaxy, Eidos Montreal has managed to make the gameplay almost as enjoyable as the cutscenes. I say almost because, at times, the game'southward combat is a little too chaotic and lacking the finesse establish in the game'due south other components, only at that place's still enough to enjoy.

Guardians' combat takes the course of an over-the-shoulder brawler with shooter and real-fourth dimension strategy mechanics thrown in. When enemies are upwards close, Star-Lord can beat them back with a couple of punches and kicks or dodge out of the way and pick them off from afar. From a distance, Star-Lord tin rely on his trusty blasters to accept the enemy downward, with a timed reload mechanic (similar to Gears of War) that allows the player to bounce back quickly with some rapid burn down shots.

Dodging in combat works in a similar manner to Avengers, and bated from a few quick-time events that pop-upwardly during paw-to-hand combat, there really isn't whatever form of counter attack system to mirror the Batman Arkham games. Of course, controlling Star-Lord is just one part of the gainsay however, as yous too have to continue an middle on what your teammates are doing.

If left to their own devices, the remaining Guardians volition but attack enemies at their ain footstep, but as their leader, you take the power to direct their attention to specific combatants by picking from a handful of special moves. At whatever time, these commands tin can exist used to get yourself out of a pinch but equally the game progresses, it becomes clear that there is a level of strategy in how you lot phone call on your teammates and the best combinations to use for taking command of the battlefield.

For case, Groot can trap several enemies at once with restrictive vines, leaving them perfectly placed to exist on the receiving end of one of Rocket'south grenades. Discovering new combos every bit more special moves open up is part of what kept Guardians' combat feeling fun, right upwards until the terminate. In fact, the gameplay feels intrinsically linked with the progression of the story as you lot'll notice the Guardians fighting meliorate as a team every bit time goes on. In the game'south concluding deed, Star-Lord was able to execute some fantastic melee combos with whichever teammate was nearest, showing just how far they'd come in existence able to trust one another.

In the moments when the battle gets a little too hot even so, the player can phone call a huddle, wherein the Guardians surround Star-Lord and let him know how they're feeling almost their electric current situation. It's upwards to the player to listen closely to what they're saying and respond with an advisable spoken language accordingly. If you pick the right response, then the whole team gets a vitrify (botched speeches will merely vitrify Star-Lord) and an fourscore's hitting will be randomly selected from Star-Lord'south cassette player to boot things up a notch.

For the about function, these songs really added to the atmosphere of the battle – the opening lyrics of Twisted Sis's Nosotros're Not Going to Take It providing ample headbanging fabric as an instance. In some instances yet, the selected song felt completely out of identify and in 1 climatic battle I was left bobbing my head to Bobby McFerrin's Don't Worry Be Happy. A great vocal in its own correct, but hardly the soundtrack for a heated battle.

In that location's likewise a few sections of the game that have you lot flying around in the Milano spaceship. Being able to count these moments on one hand, the Milano segments don't overtake the typical gameplay cycle but they do offer a bit of differentiation and they're fun plenty while they concluding.

While the combat on the whole is enjoyable, I don't believe it e'er reaches the finesse of any of the Batman Arkham games, or even Marvel's Spider-Homo, and some may argue that it's probably just a tad also easy – a playthrough on the 'normal' difficulty only resulted in two deaths. I also would've liked to meet different types of weaponry in Star-Lord'due south arsenal.

Equally the game goes on, you practise gain admission to various elemental blasters, but they don't necessarily change how you play, whereas a shotgun-way blaster for instance would've really helped in some of the game's tighter corridor fights.

Graphics and operation

• The game's artistic style is stunning
• Characters are afforded tremendous detail
• Visual glitches concord the game back

As you can probably tell from the screenshots – Guardians of the Milky way is a beautiful game. From the character designs to the colourful planets visited throughout the story, information technology'due south clear that the title has been a labour of love for the developers.

On several occasions, I found myself stopping to admire the stunning vistas that some of the galaxy's planets had to offer. Even the grungy planet of Knowhere is filled with eye-catching neon lights and a whole host of market stalls to explore. In that location isn't a wearisome moment where your eyes aren't treated to an absolute visual feast.

Playing the game on PS5, I was likewise impressed by how detailed the character designs were. Peter Quill and Gamora in detail react with such realism that it becomes all too like shooting fish in a barrel to just sit back in awe of it all. Unfortunately, the aforementioned tin't be said for the entirety of the game's design.

Even with early access to the game's Day 1 patch, Guardians of the Galaxy is crude around the edges. Some textures pop in and out equally they delight, characters occasionally get stuck on a bit of scenery and in a few rare instances, lip syncing didn't quite match upwardly with the dialogue.

To the game's credit, I never saw whatever framerate dips during my playthrough and none of these technical issues were enough to impede my enjoyment of the game, but the brilliance of the story feels at odds with the glitches, and there's a hazard that I might've rated Guardians of the Milky way higher if information technology had had a flake more time in the oven.

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Should you buy it?

If yous honey GOTG: Marvel'southward rag-tag band of misfits finally has the video game adaptation they deserve here, making it a must-play for any fan of the characters.

Unmarried-player games aren't your matter: GOTG is single-player just, so if you adopt the thrill of playing with friends online then you might desire to look elsewhere.

Terminal Thoughts

Afterwards stumbling out the gate with concluding year'due south Marvel's Avengers, Square Enix has managed to steady the ship with Curiosity's Guardians of the Galaxy. For the story lone, the game is well-worth playing, but information technology'southward the abundance of lore, well-written dialogue and gorgeous locales that elevate it as ane of the best Curiosity games to appointment.

If the game's gainsay bore a tad more finesse, and if some of the glitches had been ironed out earlier launch then Guardians would be more in line with the quality we've seen from Marvel's Spider-Man, but the game has shown that Square Enix tin can brand the most of the license when steered in the right direction. I'm at present very excited to run into what the company tin do next.

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How we test

Nosotros play every game we review through to the stop, outside of certain exceptions where getting 100% completion, similar Skyrim, is close to impossible to do. When nosotros don't fully finish a game before reviewing it nosotros volition always alert the reader.

Played through the entirety of the single-player entrada

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FAQs

Is there multiplayer in Guardians of the Galaxy?

No, the game is single-player but

Tin can you play every bit all the Guardians?

The actor is merely given direct control over Star-Lord

Is Guardians of the Milky way on Nintendo Switch?

Aye, the game is available in deject form

Source: https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/marvels-guardians-of-the-galaxy

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