Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

Hi there. I don't like superhero stuff. And yet I had a lot ofHi there. I don't like superhero stuff. And yet I had a lot of fun with this game.

It's a story-driven linear space adventure. Though it seems like at least half of the gameplay duration is spent on dialog (that you cannot control) it's so good that it carries the game well as a whole. Other than dialog, there's some exploration (of very linear levels) and combat sets. That stuff is at best serviceable, so if you're here for serious gameplay you will be disappointed.

What makes the story so great is its characters, fleshed out via excellent writing, voice acting, and animation. There's a whole lot of humor and heart to all of them. The story itself is a goofy save-the-universe cliché with plot holes the size of galaxies, but it does the job in that it takes you from A to B across diverse and nicely designed locales, though it does drag out the endgame a bit too much. But really it's all just an excuse to spend more time with this fun bunch of awkward heroes. As for the superhero stuff I so dislike, Guardians of the Galaxy keeps that nonsense to a bearable minimum, but this is Marvel after all so ... there are moments. With capes. And powers.

The game also looks great, especially at 4K + HDR with all the bells and whistles that 2021 had to offer. The soundtrack is all awesome rock and new wave hits from the '80s, and even the sound effects are cinema-worthy.

My main complaint is combat. Despite a few cool ideas it boils down to somewhat boring button mashing. If you just keep triggering the powers of the crew whenever available you'll win every time. It requires neither skill nor tactics.

My second complaint is that it's all just a bit too linear, produced more like a movie than a video game. Though there are few choices you can make that influence the course of events, you're basically on rails for the entire game. It's a bit of a missed opportunity because the very notion of a space adventure begs for free travel to other planets.

Third complaint: progression balance. Two-thirds into the game I had already acquired all perks and maxed out abilities. From then on there was no in-game reward for finding new resources and XP. That made the already weak gameplay even weaker.

So, yeah, it's not the best game in the galaxy, but it a fun and lighthearted good time.

And there are dogs!!!