Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (2021)
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 "Guys, huddle up! Let's show Marvel's Avengers on making a proper Marvel game! Now who's with me?"
— Star Lord
— Groot | ||||||||||||||
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Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a 2021 action-adventure game developed by Eidos-Montréal and originally published by Square Enix. Set in an original universe based on the Marvel Comics superhero team Guardians of the Galaxy, the game's plot follows the Guardians who, while attempting to capture a beast for a wealthy collector, inadvertently trigger a catastrophe which threatens the peace of the galaxy.
Plot
In the game, you play as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, the leader of his titular Ragtag Bunch of Misfits, which consists of Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Gamora, and Drax the Destroyer. Set some time after the so-called Galactic War opposing Thanos and Chitauri to the rest of the Galaxy, the Guardians struggle to save the galaxy as they face a cult of religious wizards, the queen of a planet of monsters, and some hefty legal fees.
Why It's A Banger
- Amazing soundtrack. The game utilizes 80s songs incredibly well such as Holding Out for a Hero, The Final Countdown, Take On Me, and of course, Never Gonna Give You Up.
- Even the non-licensed soundtrack is great on its own as well.
- Incredible story, even for a Marvel game. There's so much humor and heart in this plot that Marvel's Avengers cannot compete with.
- It's also not a complete rehash of MCU-like themes, it forges its own story and identity.
- Impressive graphics.
- Like Marvel's Spider-Man, there are plenty of costumes. These range from the original designs by Eidos to the MCU outfits.
- Hilarious moments like Rocket not telling you to go to a certain direction in a fork on the road, and if you disobey him, you find Rocket was right.
- Marvelous combat. While it may seem clunky at first glance, the fact that you can combine attacks to make sick combos with the Guardians makes combat worthwhile. The game even goes into slow motion intentionally when you try to shoot while sliding.
- Along with combining Guardian Attacks together, you have elemental guns with an active reload mechanic. Time your reloads correct and you deal more damage with a blast and can instantly fire again.
- Likable characters such as the Guardians themselves, Kammy the space llama, Nikki Gold, and Cosmo the space dog and his puppies.
- The Huddle mechanic is by far the best combat super move in this game. Unlike other games which instantly activate the super move when you activate it, in this game you must select the correct response for your teammates. If you succeed, all Guardians will get a boost of attack power while only you will get it if you choose incorrectly. What follows is an instant revival of all your knocked out Guardians and a random 80s song playing.
- Hidden collectibles that add more context to each Guardian.
- Choices are introduced here, and they matter in the story.
- Execellent voice acting.
- Good length for a game that isn't overtly bloated with pointless side missions or too short that cuts out all the potentially good moments.
- Overall, it's a massive improvement over the Marvel's Avengers game.
Bad Qualities
- You can only play as Star-Lord in this game.
- The choice system can be cruel at times. If you don't earn enough credits to pay off your fine, your ship gets disabled and all your efforts are all for nothing as it's very hard to earn credits in this game.
- The Nintendo Switch version is a cloud port. Good luck playing if you don't have a good internet connection.
Reception
According to review aggregator Metacritic, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy received "generally favorable reviews", but the cloud streaming version for Nintendo Switch received "mixed or average" reviews. Critics generally called it a fun single-player adventure game elevated by a strong story. It was often remarked as a surprise hit of the year since expectations were low following the lukewarm reception of Marvel's Avengers.