Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy soars beyond the stars. A Review

It has been a while since you have heard long form reviews from us, but there is a good reason for that. Besides an overwhelming amount of project and private issues occupying our time, there have been a number of games released that needed some time to go through, percolate and be savored. One of those was a game that I had been following with a healthy dose of skepticism since I saw it announced. Could a game using a Marvel IP that a lot of people only knew from its amazing performances on the big screen somehow find its way to express the same energy in a videogame. And more important without the likeness or voices of the Movie actors? After the release of the very decisive Marvel's Avengers Multiplayer "live" game debacle there were doubts. But I am glad to say that all doubt has been erased because this game delivered. (no clickbait here, let's just get to the point)

What is it?

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (MGotG) is a third=person action-adventure game in which you take control of Star-Lord, aka Peter Quill, a space pirate, conman, and womanizer with a heart of gold covered in sarcasm, who was kidnapped from Earth as a young kid. He traveled for years with the Ravagers (space pirated) learning to survive in the cold vast world of space where he roamed among many other species. At this point he already established the Guardians with Rocket, Drax, Gamora and Groot but they are still early in their adventures and Peter still has to grow into his role as a front man and leader.  Quickly you run into trouble with the law but before you can wrestle your way out of the paper work, legalities and perhaps some hard time in a cold cell you get thrown head-on into a full out threat to all of the universe.

Gameplay

As you move through the game you will explore a variety of different worlds with some platforming and light puzzling in between a large number of combat encounters. As mentioned before, you are in control of Star-Lord/Peter Quill carrying around two blaster pistols and jetpack. But you won't be able to face all danger alone and even though you only control one character, the entire team will fight by your side autonomously. However when you need them you can call them in at certain moments for powerful combo's by sending them a quick command after which they will activate their different abilities. At certain moments you can also call a huddle, a good time to catch up with the team mid-fight and see how they feel. Listen carefully to their comments and if you respond appropriate you will get a very beneficial bonus and a killer song as a reward. Pick the wrong response and it will not all go to waste, but the reward will not be as good.

 Each Character, including Star-lord will eventually build up to four abilities that you unlock over time. From Drax's brute strength to Gamora's ninja like speed and damage or Rocket's heavy explosives, you decide the creative ways to make it through combat. There are also some weapon upgrades for Star-Lord throughout the game changing the way that you approach certain challenges. Each upgrade is carefully spaced out allowing for the right amount of breathing room as you progress through the story

 Sometimes these also come in use during puzzle solving, for instance Gamora can climb high place, Groot makes bridges, Rocket can go into tiny spaces and Drax can push over rocks or crash though walls with brute strength. 

The levels are mostly linear but allow for some room to explore in various directions. There are some hidden items and collectibles hidden throughout but the entire game is not a UBI style collectahon. Which for me is perfectly fine. Been there, done that. In between the missions you end up on the spaceship where you get into dialog with your team and learn more about the mission, their motivations and needs, opinions and just straight up jokes.  At certain moments you are asked to make key decisions, but even though it makes you feel there are multiple branches of the game, the developer expressed clearly that no matter your choices you will end up at the same destination. However it can be fun to replay and go a different direction towards your destination next time. Throughout the various moments in the game , be it fighting or exploring there is continuous banter between the crew that makes the world feel alive and many discussions are genuinely amusing or outright funny.

Presentation

This 20+ hour campaign is streamlined, with beautiful graphics and a killer soundtrack. The development team did their very best to make the world feel alive. I am probably not a neutral party but having lived through the 80's this soundtrack hits all the right buttons. I even went through and made it my playlist. The studio has gone even as far as to create an entire album for the imaginary metal band Star-Lord, the inspiration behind peter's alias. 

Graphically the game is a heavy hitter though in performance mode you will sacrifice some of its fidelity but not to a degree that the game is ugly all of a sudden. Paired with an excellent voice cast and you will feel right at home with these guys, even though they are distinct from the movie. I might actually have grown a bit fonder of this version of the Guardians during this game. 

The level designs have a lot of variation in them, though near the end I found some of the corridors a bit too long and a bit too repetitive, but the witty dialog and story progression helped me through those.  Overall, the sheer amount of content makes this game very repeatable.

Parent Recommendation

This game is rated T for teen, there is of course violence in the game and some crude humor as well as some romantic moments. Overall, the game stays away from gore or overuse of real strong language. If that stuff bothers you or you feel it is inappropriate then certainly keep the game away from the kids or make sure you play with them (the more fun option) But if you took the family to see the Guardians on the big screen, or really any Marvel movie then they should be ok with this game.

Final thoughts

The release of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has been a killer surprise and a perfect start of the winter season. In a time where many games go the way of a live service often to a various degree of success or releasing content over time making the main game feeling incomplete, Guardians comes and delivers a full single player campaign with over 20 hours of content, a fun story, plenty reason to keep playing till the end and quality gameplay. It is a welcome change and a reminder to any gamer how games used to be. Hopefully the game is successful enough warrant a sequel and if you have been waiting to jump into this title, stop worrying and give it a go. At time of writing this article there already have been amazing sales too, however it is definitely worth its original asking price of $59.99. Boot up the game, crank up the volume and practice your one liners and dad jokes. It is time to save the galaxy.

Game Information

Title: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

Website: www.gotggame.com

Developer: Eidos-Montréal

Publisher: Square-Enix

Release Date: September 15, 2021

Platforms: GeForce Now, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, XSX

Review platform:PS5

Price at launch: $59.99

ESRB: T for Teen. Language, Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence

About the writer: DadGeek (Rob) is the co-founder of GeeksVsGeeks. He is a product of the eighties and never let go of his geek interest and hobbies no matter how often someone told him to stop. His love for gaming and all things geeks has been part of his parenting style and permeates throughout the whole family. A family of Geeks vs Geeks