Streamer Mode quiets Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy for the worse

Marvel’s Guardians of the GalaxyAlthough there have been some significant departures from MCU’s core, they share the same love for music. The game cannot be streamed in its current state due to the DMCA takedowns by Twitch, and other streaming platforms for licensed music. To combat this, Eidos-Montréal offers a Streamer Mode option, which either replaces or removes the licensed music throughout Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

It is music that makes the difference. Guardians’ mood, what does Streamer Mode even look like?

Players can toggle Streamer Mode on and off at will with a “licensed music” option in the audio menu. And the effect is immediately noticeable from the game’s start screen. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy begins with a typical “press button to start” screen, with Peter and the rest of the Guardians thumbing through music tracks on their ship. With Streamer Mode on, the menu goes silent and a permanent text block appears at the top of the screen that says “Streamer Mode: On.”

While having that text across the top of the screen throughout your playthrough might sound obnoxious — and it is — it’s the silence that’s the real killer. It sets the scene for movies and also provides the soundtrack to the games’ action. When you load onto the Milano, there’s usually a classic blaring through Peter’s music player — and you can walk up to the player and change to your favorite bop whenever you want. The game offers an excellent selection of pop-rock hits from the ’70s and ’80s, like “White Wedding” by Billy Idol, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! and “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult.

Although Streamer mode turns off the license tracks’ mute buttons, it is often possible for players to still discern which track they are supposed to play. With Streamer Mode on, I walked up to Star-Lord’s music player just to see what would happen. “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley was playing on my jukebox, but I couldn’t hear it. I did however have the ability to see the album cover so I knew exactly what was missing.

Image: Eidos Montreal/Square Enix via Polygon

But these licensed tracks aren’t just there for some easy listening while lounging around the ship. They can also be used in conjunction with blockbuster gameplay events and feature in major combat maneuvers. “White Wedding” blasting during a spaceship battle was a great moment during my first-time playthrough, but it’s simply not to be for streamers or fans who plan to watch the game on Twitch. Without the music, moments that are meant to pop will just sit awkwardly in silence — like when Endgame Star-Lord shows Star-Lord rocking out in his headphones, appearing like a jackass to all those around him.

Streamer Mode did not hinder at least one crucial sequence, however. A little over halfway through the game, a majority of the Guardians need to sing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin to solve a puzzle — seriously. While the Guardians are able to follow the song’s lyrics with Streamer Mode, their background music is absent, so the scene becomes awkwardly a capella. But had I not just played it days before, with the licensed background music, it wouldn’t have seemed odd.

The number of references and the humming are endless. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s nice that Streamer Mode doesn’t require the team at Eidos-Montréal to completely rework scenes and puzzles to avoid litigation. Square Enix and Eidos-Montréal do what they need to do with the mode in order to let streamers enjoy the game. It’s not the developers’ fault that we are living through a major battle in the world of music licensing for streaming.

Streamers that only use Streamer Mode could not feel a significant difference. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, outside a few quiet moments. But knowing the moments they’re giving up on (something Rick Astley would never do), I can’t help but feel sad for them. Sometimes, I’d activate Star-Lord’s Huddle ability in combat just because I wanted something like “The Final Countdown” by Europe to play for the rest of the fight. Streamers and their audiences will never get that moment — nor will they experience the comedic twist where “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” randomly played during my Huddle in the penultimate boss fight.

Music sets the mood Marvel’s Guardians of the GalaxyYou can find it here. It’s not a critical mechanic, and it’s not going to ruin the experience if players can’t hear it for any variety of reasons. It helped me to get in that state of mind. Guardians of the Galaxy every time I booted the game up, and it’s a shame others may miss out on the ambiance.