Thanks to James Gunn’s incredible movies, the Guardians of the Galaxy have become a household name. Yet, they never really made themselves known within the medium of video games. That is, until Eidos-Montréal’s Guardians of The Galaxy came along. It is quite the departure from their repertoire of titles and a controversial one as well, considering Deus Ex has not received a mainline entry in the franchise for a good while now. Unfortunately, the game flew under the radar, owing to the fallout of Marvel’s Avengers and unremarkable marketing. But the game itself is really good! It delivers a heartfelt narrative paired with great visuals, ensuring a good time despite the repetitive combat.
The events take place a while after the formation of the Guardians, when tensions are still fairly high within the group. Star-Lord is yet to earn the respect of his teammates, who haven’t gotten their big break yet. Their new job goes wrong, triggering a series of events that leads to the formation of a villainous intergalactic cult.
Although the stakes are quite high, the game never loses sight of what makes for a good Guardians story. It keeps itself grounded in the personal stories of the Guardians themselves. They all have their own fears to work through. The banter between them is non-stop, even during gameplay, but at no point does it become annoying. Instead, it serves as a narrative device to show how they bond with each other. It is quite funny to listen to and take part in (as Star-Lord). The game’s writing is its strongest suit and the story managed to bring me to tears at certain points.
You, as Star-Lord,
are offered choices during some key moments. These choices don’t affect the narrative at a structural level but can make missions
easier or harder, letting
you somewhat shape your playthrough.
Initially, the combat is quite fun as it blends team tactics with real-time action. However, due to the abundance of crafting parts, progression is trivialised, and new abilities don’t really feel necessary, leading to the combat feeling repetitive. This feeling is not helped by the fact that the game has a habit of throwing hordes of enemies at you, which makes some endgame fights drag.
The killer soundtrack has a heavy emphasis on 80’s and 90’s rock. Tracks like (Don’t Fear) The Reaper and Every 1’s a Winner play at key story moments, making the already well-designed cutscenes shine more. All in all, the game is a nostalgic callback to the linear adventure games of the 2000s, oozing with newfound style.
VERDICT: GOTG will offer you a good narrative, great music mixed in with fun but repetitive combat. It does drag a bit at times, but the excellent writing makes up for it. If you are in the mood for a nostalgic linear adventure that will last you around 15 hours, take a look at this one. I give it seven out of ten.