Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy | Review, to the rescue of the galaxy

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy | Review

Guardians of the Galaxy are definitely one of the strangest superhero teams around. Irreverent, problematic, braggart, irresponsible, prone to illegality but above all irresistible: the team composed of Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot is in fact something phenomenal, a strange but functioning amalgamation between characters that are profoundly different but together form something unique and capable of gathering the sympathy of anyone.

A handful of famous superheroes born in 1969, who got a second spring on the big screen with the two films directed by James Gunn and who are now trying to conquer the world of video games with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos Montreal. A return of the Guardians of the Galaxy to the playful universe, after the graphic adventure branded Telltale Games a few years ago, which we had the opportunity to flesh out in the last few days and which we are finally ready to talk to you about.

A very strong team

The first, necessary thing to say about Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy certainly concerns the sumptuous work done by Eidos Montreal on the characterization of the various characters. Not only the various members of the crew of the Milano, the spaceship of the Guardians, have in fact been recreated to perfection and are able to immediately get in tune with the player, but also all the different allies, opponents and various supporting actors have received a treatment with all the trimmings and contribute to making Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy a title in this respect perfectly in line with the high expectations of both fans of the MCU, and those who prefer the paper side of Marvel superheroes.

Not only the various characters but also the plot that underlies the game is level and, although in certain phases a little too diluted, it manages to honor the Guardians of the Galaxy and the imaginary that Marvel has been creating for the past fifty years. In this adventure, which lasts about ten hours, Star Lord and his companions find themselves facing a mysterious and dangerous sect which, led by a dark entity, threatens to destroy the entire galaxy.

An odyssey that will take us between various universes, space bases and so on and so forth and which is characterized by a large number of different situations, starting from the inevitable fights up to long dialogues, also passing through small sections at the helm of Milan.

Also worth noting are a large number of cinematics, an integral part of the game itself, which can last up to several minutes individually. It would be decidedly deleterious, given the preponderance of the game's narrative structure and its cinematic orientation, to want to skip them but an option to do so would definitely not have been bad, given their not always negligible length.

Worthy of above all, the great irony that permeates almost every situation in the game is noteworthy, ripping out much more than a laugh and which is aided by a high-level quality of dialogue. Every single joke is in fact studied almost to perfection and fits well with the precise moment in which it is positioned within the adventure. In this sense, Eidos Montreal has even thought of several hilarious exchanges to use when we move away from the main road with Star Lord, in which the Guardians of the Galaxy mock us more or less lovingly for our poor orientation.

Not only But big laughter make up the narrative plot of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, but also more busy moments, able to deepen the background of the various characters and sometimes even to excite and move, introducing dynamics and situations that are not always easy to deal with. In Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy by Eidos Montreal there is therefore, just like in the cinematographic counterparts dedicated to the weird team of space heroes, to have fun with, but also to get excited and reflect on. A work, the one on the narrative part, which, we repeat, is definitely of value.

A leap into the past

Unfortunately not all that glitters is gold and where Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy shows great flaws is in its structure, which to define simply dated is almost a compliment to the latest effort by Eidos Montreal. The entire game campaign, which is divided into 16 different chapters, is in fact marked by the same leitmotiv, made up of more or less long corridors and arenas in which to face small hordes of enemies.

In Marvel's Guardians the possibilities of exploration of the Galaxy are in fact reduced to a flicker, with the few, very few deviations from the main road that have a maximum duration of a few tens of seconds and exist only to take some collectibles or tools for enhancement. An anachronistic game system, which catapults backwards by well over a decade, where it was more tolerable due to decidedly less performing platforms on the technical side, and which is now obsolete to say the least.

To try to dampen this basic repetitiveness, but succeeding only in part, are from time to time slightly different sections, such as the aforementioned phases in the command of Milan. Various environmental puzzles also contribute to this, which recall the characteristics of the various Guardians of the Galaxy: Gamora can, for example, slash obstacles with her blade or climb walls, Drax move large pillars or demolish certain walls, Groot can create bridges. shrubs and Rocket, finally, sneaking into small holes or hacking some doors.

Mechanics certainly nice and in line with the game characters, but not always exploited properly. In fact, it almost never happens in the course of the game to be in doubt about how to continue and just as rarely happens to bring into symbiosis the various skills of the Guardians of the Galaxy in these small environmental puzzles, which therefore remain nothing but simple and brief variations. of the theme within the basic game structure.

Two blasters to tame them

Much more valid, although in this case certainly not transcendental, instead the gameplay during the various fights. During the various clashes, but also in the other game areas, we will in fact put ourselves in the shoes of Star Lord, complete with his formidable blasters and enviable rocket boots, with the game taking on the appearance of TPS. Dash, charged attacks, Gears of War-style charging system and special abilities: on such occasions Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy takes on all the various third-person shooter stylings.

There is also no shortage of elemental damage, with Star Lord's blasters that are able to hurl icy projectiles, do electric or fire damage and, finally, also attract enemies to themselves through air blasts. All possibilities of offense that marry more or less well with the various types of opponents that we will face, given that each of them is characterized by a weakness in one of the four elements.

Present then also in this case the peculiarities of the various Guardians of the Galaxy, with the special attacks of Gamora and company that can be occasionally recalled through a double convenient cross menu: the first to choose which guardian to use and the second to decide the skill to unleash. Also from this point of view, each character has abilities that reflect their characteristics, with Groot being able, for example, to immobilize enemies with his own branches, Rocket to bomb them with his own arsenal and so on. Very nice are also the various combos that can be created in harmony with the various guardians once an opponent has been weakened enough, made through short but captivating films.

Finally, the mechanics of the gathering complete the overall picture, that is the possibility of calling all the Guardians of the Galaxy to him to encourage them to give their all during the battle in question. In such situations, after hearing a brief exchange of words between the various superheroes, we will be asked to make a binary choice between two sentences with which to motivate them.

Although the choices are not always very clear, perhaps also due to of some artistic license too much in the localization phase, choosing well will lead to a momentary attack buff for the entire team, while making a mistake will grant it only to Star Lord. A mechanics that are all in all simple but well integrated both with the game and with the human relationships between the Guardians of the Galaxy and that manages to offer a rush of adrenaline, thanks to the irresistible songs that start following the fulfillment of these choices.

Without infamy or praise the various types of enemies, well done both in terms of design and dynamics, but not able to surprise or add anything new to the genre. Even the few boss battles present are uninspired, which never manage to give memorable clashes or game mechanics that can be remembered for a long time.

The great beauty of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

Nothing to say, however, regarding the technical and artistic aspect, with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy which is a joy for both the eyes and the ears. Every single location of the game has in fact been recreated with great care and dedication by Eidos Montreal, with some planets, but not only those, which are able to give really good views.

Excellent technical performance, with the different game environments that are dotted with elements and details, without ever going to affect, at least on PS5, the framerate of the title. Today there are two graphic modes, with the third featuring ray tracing coming soon, one more devoted to fluidity and one to visual quality. In any case, choosing the first does not involve heavy sacrifices in terms of graphic rendering, with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy which, even in this case, remains quite beautiful to see.

Masterly, and there were absolutely no doubts about it , the soundtrack, which includes real masterpieces within it, interspersed with unpublished pieces of excellent workmanship. An 80s compilation able to delight everyone and to make our runs in the Guardians of the Galaxy even more iconic.