Synopsis:
Fire up a wild ride across the cosmos with a fresh take on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. In this action-adventure game, you are Star-Lord leading the unpredictable Guardians from one explosion of chaos to the next. You got this. Probably.
Publisher: Square Enix
Reviewed on: PS5 (Performance Mode)
Also available for: PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC
Cast: Jon McLaren, Kimberly-Sue Murray, Alex Weiner, Jason Cavalier, Robert Montcalm, Emmanuelle Lussier-Martinez, Judith Baribeau, Brent Skagford, Romane Denis, Sarah Levesque, Alex Ivanovici
Developer: Eidos-Montreal
Senior Creative Director: Jean-Francois Dugas
Senior Producer: Olivier Proulx
Narrative Designer Directors: Mary C. De Marle (Senior Narrative Designer), Stephane Blais, Steven Gallagher
Game Writers: Kasper Hartman (Lead Writer), Ethan James Petty, Craig Towsley, Dave Stager, Stefanie Jolin, Jocelyn Baxter
Gameplay Director: Patrick Fortier
Very early into Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the player is confronted by thirteen-year-old Star-Lord’s glorious mullet. In a small introductory section, we see all we need to know about Peter Quill and the story we’re about to embark on in this game: very little business and a whole lot of fun. Eidos-Montreal’s third-person action-adventure shrugs off the reputation of comic book game adaptations and delivers on goofy fun, and even manages to slip in a little bit of heart. In a surprising move, you are placed firmly, and only, in Star-Lord’s shoes during the entirety of the campaign. The rest of the team fill in the companion slots, with unique abilities to help with puzzles and during combat.
While the combat isn’t exactly deep, Star-Lord can shoot, punch and fire off a few specials; the real intricacies come from the team itself. Without the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, you can be overwhelmed quite quickly. During the more challenging battles, teamwork becomes essential to victory, like using Groot to tie down a bunch of enemies and then calling on Rocket to frag them with a grenade. On-the-fly strategy is what keeps the encounters entertaining. This teamwork bleeds over into exploration and puzzle-solving too. Groot can form a bridge to cross large chasms, and Drax can lift heavy things. Each team member’s strengths are used to solidify the team as a whole. And when things get tough in battle, Peter can rally the team, giving them a speech that can either pep them up, regaining health, or leave them groaning in embarrassment. The teamwork elements don’t just exist in combat; your dialogue choices and interactions with your companions will also affect the story. Examples include choosing to allow Drax to throw Rocket across a chasm, which of course leads to Rocket being furious, or faking a heart attack to try and keep a villain monologuing as the team attempts to engineer an escape.
There are only a few areas of the game that leave a little to be desired. Sections where you pilot the Guardians’ ship, the Milano, by yourself seem a little rushed, and the Milano doesn’t really have any weight to it, nor does the aerial combat. As well as a general lack of polish, some gameplay sections such as quick-time events seem to be ripped from something like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and some of the platforming feeling a little last-gen with how stiff it plays in a post Uncharted world. More often than not, Star-Lord’s jump ends with a button-mashing quick time event. Though playing on the PS5 in performance mode, I encountered very few bugs, and my playthrough was relatively smooth. Only experiencing one or two problems that required a quick reload to resolve them.
Most of the main characters don’t differ too much from their most well-known depictions. Rocket and Quill argue and bicker; Drax takes everything in its literal form; Gamora is a little less prickly than her cinematic counterpart, and Groot is a giant walking tree. The rag-tag group stumbles into more trouble than they bargain for getting entangled with the Nova Corps, but the story’s true heart comes from two places, Star-Lord’s attempts to do right by an old flame and her daughter and the surprisingly touching arcs for the rest of the team. The game’s events lead the Guardians through a gambit of religious zealots, bounty hunters and a golden retriever Cosmonaut that refers to the Guardians as capitalist scum. It’s Peter’s perceived kindness, or at least the ability to play him that way, that drew me into the story’s beats. Quill is childish and bullheaded but also cares for his team and their allies by going to great lengths for them. The narrative beats are punched up by snappy dialogue and a meticulous wit that carries humour throughout the story.
Comparisons to the cinematic universe are unavoidable, but the main cast all do a great job capturing the characters in their unique way. Jon McLaren plays Star-Lord closer to a raspy Jesse Pinkman than anything like Chris Pratt’s aloof goofball. Alex Weiner also brings a slightly different take to Rocket Raccoon; he’s less sing-songy than Bradley Cooper, though just as easily irate.
Guardians of the Galaxy and music have become synonymous since James Gunn’s first cinematic outing, and there is no difference here. From a hairy escape in the Milano while Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran” blares over the soundtrack, or a successful team huddle meaning you get to finish the battle while listening to Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Or my particular favourite is after every bickering match on the Milano, going to the radio and flicking on Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” The original score is also quite well crafted, particularly when it’s used during some heartfelt moments late in the story.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a surprisingly strong turn for a game adapted from a Marvel property. It focuses on the team dynamic to fill out its gameplay and relies on strong writing to carry its linear campaign while boasting nuanced performances and a soundtrack that would make James Gunn blush. It doesn’t quite reach the dazzling heights of Insomniac’s Spider-Man games, but much like its team of down-and-out outsiders, the game comes together to deliver beyond expectations.
(Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy code provided for review)
