Reviews of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy are in, and it seems like its narrative-driven, single-player-only approach has elevated Eidos-Montreal's game well above Marvel's Avengers in critics' eyes. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is publisher Square Enix’s second attempt at a video game based on the Marvel comic book universe after last year’s Marvel’s Avengers, which was made by Rise of the Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics.
Marvel’s Avengers was widely panned by both critics and players due to its technical issues, repetitive and shallow gameplay, and lack of endgame content - although it did present a serviceable (but short) story campaign at launch. For Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, development duties fell upon Eidos-Montreal, the studio behind the modern Deus Ex games and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Along with the change in developer, the new game is significantly different from Marvel's Avengers because Marvel's GotG's only playable character is Star-Lord, and he's accompanied by mostly AI-controlled allies. Instead of pure action, the player's focus is also split with decision-making through dialogue trees.
After the reception Marvel’s Avengers received in 2020, understandable doubt has lingered about this second outing despite its handling by a different studio and clear marketing. However, it looks like Eidos-Montreal has made several attentive decisions with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Its singe-player story approach (as the game foregoes multiplayer altogether) has resulted in early critical praise for its story, characters, and player-driven choices. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy's soundtrack game's soundtrack, one of the aspects that helped to sell the MCU version of the franchise, has also been unsurprisingly applauded by reviewers. Read on to see what critics have to say so far about Marvel's GotG.
Maria Meluso - 3.5/5 - Screen Rant
"The characters and chaotic story are the heart of the game, and these elements are executed exceptionally well. Despite its clunkiness, the combat can be fun and heart-pounding, and the way the choice mechanics are integrated makes it feel as though players really do cause the unpredictable consequences the Guardians face. For superhero games in particular, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a breath of fresh air that demonstrates just how much fun, and how innovative, single-player games can still be."
Tom Marks - 8/10 - IGN
"Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy nicely balances a goofy, action-filled adventure with some genuinely heartfelt story moments, and the choices you’re given can add some surprising personal twists to your particular playthrough. Its combat and level design are relatively simple if still consistently entertaining, but it’s the relationships and banter between its characters that keep everything fresh as they evolve. It isn’t going to set the world on fire, but Guardians of the Galaxy is still another convincing example of how much fun a linear, no-frills, single-player campaign can be."
Joshua Duckworth - 4/5 - Game Rant
"As chaotic as it gets and despite any faults players may have with it, it’s hard not to feel like Star-Lord himself at the end of the game. For a game with such a heavy focus on narrative and choices, player investment is crucial, and Guardians of the Galaxy delivers tenfold."
Dave Irwin - 7/10 - PCGamesN
"Combat could’ve been more challenging and it’s a shame that technical issues have spoiled otherwise strong presentation, but I’ve enjoyed chatting with the crew, fighting alongside them in battle, and jamming to ’80s tunes on Peter’s portable tape deck. On the whole, Guardians of the Galaxy succeeds where it counts most."
Stacey Henley - 4/5 - TheGamer
"Eidos-Montreal’s Guardians of the Galaxy is brilliant, but the one thing holding me back from giving it a higher score is how dated many of its conventions seem. The power cooldown has no plan B, QTEs are everywhere, and again… Eagle Vision. It’s a few years behind the times, even without George Michael's dulcet tones. It’s fun, but it certainly isn’t fresh, and for a lot of people, that will be enough. In some ways, it's an experience not to be missed. In others, it's an experience you've had before."
As evidenced by the reviews, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy still has its fair share of shortcomings. Some notable ones that have been pointed out so far include dated gameplay systems and mechanics, run-of-the-mill combat and level design, and some technical issues. It seems as though Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy's story and how choices affect its events help the new title rise above its flaws, however.
The mostly positive reception of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy might be glimmer of hope for future Marvel video games at Square Enix, which has hopefully learned a lesson about narrative- and character-focused approaches to the comic book universe. With luck, Square Enix may take advantage of the good will and momentum that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy could earn and move past the launch of Marvel's Avengers.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, GeForce Now, and PC on October 26, 2021.