Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy
PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series
Developer Eidos Montreal Publisher Square Enix
Format PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series Origin Canada Release October 26
Credit to Mary DeMarle, Guardians Of The Galaxy’s executive narrative director, for avoiding the wishy-washy, noncommittal answer you might expect. “I would pick Guardians 1,” she says, hesitating for all of two seconds before giving her clear response to the obvious question. “I think it was because it was my introduction to the characters. I went to the movie not knowing what to expect and fell in love with it right from the beginning, with Star-Lord kicking the rats and playing his music as he’s stealing the orb. It’s unpredictable, it’s fun; these characters are zany, they have a heart. So that one was my favourite.”
Even so, we do wonder if Square Enix considered calling this ‘Vol 2’. This isn’t, after all, the Guardians’ first videogame rodeo, even if Telltale’s game felt like a bit of a missed opportunity: the bickering and sniping we associate with this band of galactic misfits may have been in the studio’s wheelhouse, but its colourful action was limited to the usual simplistic QTEs.
The set-pieces here, on the other hand, crescendo in a way that’s reminiscent of the delightful introduction to the second film, in which the title characters fight a tentacled alien to the strains of ELO’s Mr Blue Sky. Eidos Montreal’s game captures that wit and energy, not least through the ’80s hits that sound out when your team gauge peaks: the likes of Wham, Blondie and Iron Maiden supply some of the classics from whose lyrics Star-Lord will cobble together a speech in an attempt to boost his colleagues. “You have to read the reactions of the team to see how they are,” DeMarle explains. “Are they in need of being boosted up? Or are they too hyped and they need to calm down? You have to make the choice to either cheer them up or tell them, ‘OK, focus, guys’.” Nail the right tone and their combat abilities will all be boosted. Fail to inspire your friends and only you will gain a temporary buff.
Part of the reason, she says, for having Peter Quill as the game’s protagonist was the studio’s history in singleplayer story-driven games. But she says it was also a creative choice: to lean into the fantasy of being right at the heart of this “group of oddballs” and dealing with their natural unpredictability. It’s not just about branching narrative paths, though you’ll find those here, too, as you’re invited to make the deciding call on group decisions or follow one Guardian’s advice at the cost of upsetting another.
“We’re also very aware that we’re dealing with an ensemble cast here,” DeMarle adds. “Each of these characters is important, so they also have their story arcs through the game. [They’ve] been together for a little bit of time, but not long enough to really gel yet – and Peter doesn’t really know how to be a leader yet.” It’s a setup that allows the game to blend storytelling and systems, as you steadily learn how to harness their strengths in combat, and figure out the most devastating combinations of abilities. Whether, as DeMarle bullishly puts it, the game “redefines solo teamplay” remains to be seen, but it’s rare to have such a degree of control over three AI characters in realtime while directly controlling a fourth. Running, jumping and knee-sliding around enemies while picking out instructions to yell out to the other Guardians sounds like a lot to keep track of, but it seems to flow fairly effortlessly.
The equivalent of Guardians 2’s Abilisk, then – at least for DeMarle and her writing team – is how to sustain that dysfunctional family dynamic for the duration of a videogame rather than a two-hour film. “Hitting that [balance] so that they’re still dysfunctional, but they’re growing together, that becomes a really interesting challenge. And then with the amount of banter that we’re writing in this game, coming up with new ways to do it, and new themes and things for them to hit on – that becomes a very big challenge, too.” Given what the studio previously achieved with an existing property in Deus Ex, you wouldn’t bet against it vanquishing that particular beast – and in doing so, there’s a chance it could yet deliver Marvel’s best videogame to date.
“Each of these characters is important, so they have their story arcs through the game”