This review does not contain spoilers.
Square Enix continues its journey into the Marvel Universe with its latest release Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. A narrative-driven action-adventure game developed by Eidos-Montréal who is known for the Deus Ex and Thief series. In this version you will experience a reimagined version of the IP, Eidos-Montréal had full reigns to create their own original story that takes place 12 years after the galactic war. Peter is no longer with the Ravagers and the motley crew has already been united under the Guardians of the Galaxy flag. Eidos-Montréal did a great job of filling the game with surprises. You are going to meet some new and old friends along the way offering a bit of nostalgia with a side of plot twist. Step aboard the Milano starship which acts as your base of operation and get set on your mission to save the universe!
Games like these live and die by the quality of their production. Mad respect to the voice acting crew! Of course, we didn’t have the likes of Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, and crew voicing this project. Talk about shoes to fill? John McClaren (Star-lord), Kimberly-Sue Murray(Gamora), Jason Cavalier Leboeuf (Drax), Adam Harrington (Groot), Alex Weiner (Rocket), and the rest of the team did a baller job though. This story has mad depth whether you want to explore the lore, hear a good joke or just engage in some random banter. Anytime you are idle or between missions make sure you conversate with whoever is available to speak, or you will miss something. I felt all the characters were in tune with the IP aside from Gamora who I thought was arguably better than the movie version. Real talk I didn’t get any cringe even in the cheesy parts!
We reviewed this game on PC which did get a patch a few days after release. Its hardware consisted of an old 1080ti and an i7 on an ultrawide monitor. Play this game on an ultrawide, do it, trust. We did on occasion encounter some small graphical issues like Jitter, discoloration and minor frame rate drops. This game is one massive cut scene, overall Eidos-Montréal did a great job putting together a polished product at release. Aside from these small issues, the platforming, puzzles, combat, and transitions felt smooth like “Butta”! I am not sure if there is another way to do this, but the loading screen loops you get if you fail a cliffhanger type situation had me “buggin”. Fall of a cliff… load, fall of a cliff… load, just an endless loop until you figure out how the button sequence works. There were definitely way too many of these.
The game plays very linearly there isn’t much room for exploration aside from when on the ship where you can free roam. I was able to collect 48/58 of the achievements while plowing straight through the storyline. Combat plays very similar to Final Fantasy XV. You can order any of the Guardians to execute abilities as long as they are not in crowd control or a downed state. Each Guardian has 3 basic abilities and 1 ultimate which are on a cooldown. You can earn these abilities through the points awarded by completing the stages. There are also passive abilities earned by crafting at the workbench with components looted throughout the stages. Don’t forget to huddle! If you don’t know, you just don’t. Peter’s gun also will evolve along the way giving you 4 different elemental abilities. Get pumped boomer squad there are tunes on this soundtrack even before my time (Flark that’s old). This soundtrack absolutely slaps! I think the combat system is fun and engaging I am eager to play more games like these. When not engaged in an epic battle you will be solving puzzles and scaling platforms.
This title is the absolute definition of a DVD game, it’s like buying a ticket to a 20-hour movie you can participate in. Anyone who has watched the movies or read the comics will surely enjoy this game. The story had me glued to the seat I could not set it down until I finished it. We beat the entire game on its normal setting which is the second out of four difficulties. Aside from these 4 difficulties, you won’t be getting much replayability out of this title. Taking that into consideration it is well worth the price! Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Standard Edition is now available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One & X/S, and PC for $69.99.
