When Guardians of the Galaxy was announced at E3 2021 I felt completely ambivalent. Square Enix’s latest attempt at a superhero game with Marvel’s Avengers left a bitter taste in my mouth. What was shown in the reveal trailer seemed more of the same; knock-off MCU character designs and uncompelling gameplay. To top all that off, I was disappointed that Eidos Montreal was making this game and not Dues Ex.
Having finally played the game myself, I can say that Guardians of the Galaxy doesn’t suck. Its actually good and clearly has a lot of passion behind it. Its also a game with very obvious flaws.
The main appeal of Guardians of the Galaxy is it’s impeccable writing. The characterization of the Guardians is absolutely fantastic. The influence of James Gunn’s vision runs deep here, but Eidos Montreal was more faithful to the comics. The result is a version of the Guardians that feels distinct from the MCU. I’d even say that I prefer this version; owed to the more likeable characters. Star-Lord is still the goofy guy who wants to be Flash Gordon, but he’s far more mature and self-aware than MCU Star-Lord. The MCU has a tendency to treat Peter Quill like a butt monkey, while the game gives him more dignity and actually shows him as a leader. Another example is Gamora, who is more out-going and sassy compared to Zoe Saldana’s version. Each one of these characters is brought to life by a cast of incredibly talented voice actors giving memorable performances. I still prefer Bradley Cooper’s Rocket, though.
I was surprised at how much better the writing was compared to the MCU at times. The plot can be both funny and heartwarming one moment, then dark and tragic the next. Unlike the MCU, which undercuts emotional scenes with ill-timed humor, oftentimes at the expense of the characters, the game allows those moments to exist naturally. The result are characters who are more relatable.
The choice to start the plot soon after the Guardians team-up is smart. We see the Guardians go from a motley group of misfits who can’t stand one another, to a found family of comrades. Each of the characters has their own tragic past that we learn more about as we progress.
The gameplay is mediocre at best. It can be split evenly between combat and exploration. In combat, you only control Star-Lord and can command the other guardians using a pop-up wheel. Its clear that the developers intended for Star-Lord to be a support character; his main role is to use the element gun to soften up enemies so that the other guardians can lay the beatdown. Unfortunately, combat isn’t particularly deep or engaging. Star-Lord deals very little damage with his guns, so they feel like pea shooters most of the time. As fun as the element gun is, it never becomes more than an alternate firing mode to use. Even commanding the guardians lacks the tactical depth of Dragon Age. At no point during the 15-20 hour long adventure did I enjoy the combat. Even at its best it was merely tolerable.
Combat could’ve been far better had more depth been introduced. Perhaps lean into the tactical gameplay elements and make it resemble Dragon Age. Allow the player to tactically pause combat and give detailed commands to the team. Maybe allow the player to manually control each guardian. Even Star-Lord’s element guns could be overhauled so you can do some crazy attacks with the elements. As it is, combat feels lackluster and held back.
The other half of gameplay is exploration and the term ‘exploration’ feels a little generous considering that levels are hallways that funnel the player from point A to B. Occasionally, you’ll encounter a simple puzzle to solve or a collectible to find, but beyond that, exploration is mainly intended to deliver (admittedly great) dialogue between the Guardians.
Linearity is neither good nor bad in of itself, it’s simply a method of game design. However, good linear games are able to trick the player into forgetting that you’re playing a linear experience. Games such as Uncharted, Last of Us, Devil May Cry 5, and Bioshock Infinite accomplish this in various ways, from great combat to fun platforming. Guardians of the Galaxy, however, has none of those things. Its combat is too barebones and awkward to be engaging. Platforming is non-existent and puzzle solving is simplistic.
When I wrote my prediction for Guardians of the Galaxy in my “Games to Anticipate in 2021” post, I wrote that the game would live or die based on its writing. That even if the game had mediocre gameplay, if the writing was solid, Guardians would still succeed.
And my prediction holds true. Guardians of the Galaxy is carried entirely by its stellar writing, graphics, and performances. Everything else just isn’t worth the time. Maybe in a sequel Eidos Montreal can improve upon the shortcomings of this game; because I believe that a Guardians of the Galaxy game with this level of writing and overhauled gameplay is an easy Game of the Year.
As it stands, Guardians of the Galaxy is a fun game that many can enjoy, especially if you’re a fan of cinematic action games or Tell-Tale games. I do think that Guardians benefitted from the lack of high-profile game releases in 2021, potentially causing people to over state the quality of the game. I don’t see myself ever replaying the game because nothing about it’s gameplay is worth experiencing again. If I wanted to experience the story, I can just watch it on YouTube. I think this game will be fondly remembered but I doubt it will have a lasting appeal on the gaming community.
Dar Al-Tadabur 