Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy review: 2021’s best surprise

I entered Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Although I expected a few laughs, the actual tears shocked me. I’m an emotional guy, and I’m secure in the fact that I’ve cried during multiple video games and Marvel movies. But there’s an exploration of loss in Eidos Montreal’s newest outing that genuinely caught me off guard.

But then, there’s nothing to be concerned with. Marvel’s Guardians of the GalaxyIt was exactly what I had hoped for.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a third-person action game where you play as Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord, the ’80s-obsessed captain of the titular mercenaries-turned-heroes. The game takes you and your squad to a variety of planets where you’ll need to blast enemies with your dual guns and command the rest of the Guardians to perform special moves in combat. The game’s quieter moments have you exploring the weirdest parts of Marvel’s galaxy, selecting dialogue options and using your allies to break down walls or create bridges out of branches. The best part of the game is when you can see bridges and walls. Marvel’s Guardians of the GalaxyThey are metaphorical in some ways, so your relationships with crew members is crucial.

Most of the 16 chapters feature the Guardians making their way through a new planet, ship, or space station, shooting the shit, launching into cutscenes, and solving environmental puzzles with Drax’s strength or Rocket’s hacking skills. I am able to hit the shoulder button during crucial moments and select a dialog option. This allows me to steer conversations in the right direction while I’m bumbling about. Sometimes the game pops up with a typical “Rocket will remember this” prompt, and sometimes my input just adds a bit of flavor.

Image: Eidos Montreal/Square Enix

Combat occasionally interrupts the exploration, and as Star Lord, it’s my job to not only fight but to command the rest of the team as well. Gamora is a master at inflicting heavy damage on individual enemies, and Groot excels at binding his enemies to their roots. Guardians This is a great example of camaraderie. I often feel like the other member has been killed in action.

However, Eidos Montreal understands its source material and knows that arguments and internal drama are essential to the Guardians’ dynamics. Everyone felt disenfranchised about halfway through our adventure. Rocket and Star Lord got into an argument. Gamora became depressed due to unknown causes. Drax, uncharacteristically, had given up. And Groot … was Groot. After stepping out of a space station I found that we were all on our own. For the first time, I was apart from my teammates, and it’s to this game’s credit that I actually felt lonely.

Drax, staring into an immense cosmic void, was finally discovered by me. We began to talk and dialogue options opened. Canonically, these characters’ pasts aren’t exactly the same as the James Gunn Marvel movies, but there is at least one constant: Peter Quill and Drax the Destroyer have both lost their families to tragedy. Drax was astonished when I described the concept of heaven as a human to him. He also explained his beliefs. Drax ended the conversation by asking for some alone time, but as I walked away, he stopped me to say, “Peter Quill, I hope your mother found her way to ‘heaven.’” On its own, the line might seem trite, but at the tail end of an uncharacteristically emotional conversation with an otherwise stoic brute, it was affecting.

Each Guardian has a strong personality, and it is an excellent highlight to see them all come together in this game. Drax once suggested that Rocket be tossed across a gap to allow us to cross, which I rejected. Instead, we took the long road. Over hours of their chit chat, I witnessed the pair develop a close friendship. When Rocket himself eventually asked Drax to chuck him for the good of the team — much like Gimli in Two Towers — Drax denied the request, saying Rocket was a valuable teammate, not a tool. We found another way around at Drax’s behest.

I’m unsure if that moment would’ve happened if I hadn’t said no to Drax’s initial throw, but I’m not sure I care. What matters to me is that I watched their relationship build from animosity to trust and respect — eventually, Drax saw the same potential in Rocket that I did.

Image: Eidos Montreal/Square Enix

My favorite memory in Guardians of the Galaxy didn’t occur until I was nearing the end. Groot, after spending most of the game asking Groot for bridges to be made for his team, walked up to the gap without my permission and put a bridge there. Although I initially thought it was just a bug Peter complimented Groot for his initiative. Rocket started hacking electronics on his own. My teammates treated me with respect right from the start, and I was able to see them reciprocating it in their gameplay.

Guardians of the GalaxyThere are many moments such as these that you will find in life. The Guardians never stop sniping at each other — it’s their nature — but it’s the difference between intentionally hurting a rival kid’s feelings and ribbing a sibling. True to life, the Guardians don’t change on a dime when you say the magic words — their evolution is gradual and, occasionally, painful.

Marvel’s Guardians of the GalaxyThe game is about friendship and finding family. It also demonstrates how essential connection is for everyone. Rocket Raccoon is a frustrating character. But in his absence, I found myself exploring less and pushing through the story just to find my way back to him, even if he was still mad at me — anything not to be alone anymore. It takes work to love someone, or a group of someones, and it’s that shared labor that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy You can tap into.

Life can be isolating, and I’ve turned to many video games to make friends and help me keep in touch with real-life loved ones around the country or — over the past year — just around the corner. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy won’t fool you into thinking you’re having those same, genuine social interactions with people you care about. But to Eidos Montreal’s great credit, the Guardians give a convincing performance.

It was always my intention to blast aliens into space. Marvel’s Guardians of the GalaxyIt is. But its new place as one of the more emotionally resonant video game stories in recent memory easily makes it 2021’s best surprise.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy On October 26, the following information will be available PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 WindowsPC Xbox OneAnd Xbox Series X. A “Cloud Version” will also come to Nintendo SwitchThe game was released on the release day. Square Enix provided the pre-release code and Eidos Montreal reviewed the game on PlayStation 5 Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. Although these partnerships do not impact editorial content, Vox Media could earn commissions for products sold via affiliate links. Find out more. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here