Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review

00:00:04.400all right

00:00:05.600enough with the warm-up

00:00:07.359time to catch us a real monster

00:00:09.840let's get paid

00:00:11.920if you're like me and played marvel's

00:00:13.759avengers only to say gee i wish this is

00:00:16.240just focused on the single player

00:00:17.600campaign instead of all that games as a

00:00:19.600service stuff then boy do i have good

00:00:22.080news for you

00:00:23.439with no micro transactions no

00:00:25.199multiplayer and a relatively meaty story

00:00:27.920square enix's next marvel game marvel's

00:00:30.480guardians of the galaxy is further proof

00:00:32.800that linear single-player campaigns

00:00:34.719haven't gone anywhere it's simple but

00:00:37.040entertaining combat and levels

00:00:38.960revolutionize the action genre or

00:00:40.879anything but those solid fundamentals

00:00:43.280and the loads of personalities slathered

00:00:45.600on top of them still make for some good

00:00:47.600old-fashioned fun

00:00:50.079we're not seriously flying into that

00:00:52.960you say the weather patterns of

00:00:54.320secondary are tied to the

00:00:57.840that's not how women work or whether

00:01:00.719anyways i'm sure it looks worse than it

00:01:02.480is

00:01:03.280despite being named after the team you

00:01:05.119spend the entirety of this roughly

00:01:06.79918-hour campaign playing as peter quill

00:01:09.280aka star-lord that was a surprising

00:01:11.680choice to me but it's one that ends up

00:01:13.200working very well

00:01:15.040the main plot is a cosmic comic book

00:01:17.280adventure about the guardians trying to

00:01:18.960get out of debt learning to work

00:01:20.479together and maybe saving the galaxy

00:01:22.479along the way but it's framed by events

00:01:24.640that are much more personal to peter the

00:01:26.720result is an engaging story that

00:01:28.479balances its spectacle and banter with

00:01:30.640some genuinely heartfelt moments for

00:01:32.799both peter and the rest of the crew

00:01:35.040gamora

00:01:36.079rocket groot and drax believe that

00:01:41.840one must lead a life filled with purpose

00:01:44.240while that story is entirely linear

00:01:46.240developer idos montreal's deus ex roots

00:01:48.720certainly show through with the amount

00:01:50.079of conversation choice you're given

00:01:51.840there's rarely a moment where the

00:01:53.119guardians aren't talking which is

00:01:55.200welcome when the writing and

00:01:56.320performances are all as amusing as they

00:01:58.159are we'll be in and out with no one the

00:01:59.920wiser

00:02:00.540[Music]

00:02:02.719what part quiet don't you understand

00:02:05.680dead is quiet peter quill no killing

00:02:09.679peter's dialogue choices are mostly just

00:02:11.680a fun bit of role playing but some can

00:02:13.840have an unexpected impact for example

00:02:16.319one time i made a choice that resulted

00:02:17.840in the next level being a simple stealth

00:02:19.440section only to find out after finishing

00:02:21.680the story that the other option would

00:02:23.599have instead led to a massive fire fight

00:02:33.599i still ended up in the same place and

00:02:35.440the vast majority of this campaign will

00:02:37.280likely look very similar for everyone

00:02:39.360but little differences like this added a

00:02:41.360neat personal touch to my playthrough

00:02:43.760guys

00:02:45.920i think we should

00:02:48.080hear our group for once

00:02:55.280you'll also control peter and his dual

00:02:57.120pistols during combat only able to tell

00:02:59.360your teammates to use certain abilities

00:03:01.120rather than swapping into their shoes

00:03:02.640directly that could be gamora dealing

00:03:04.879massive damage to a single target or

00:03:07.200group binding enemies with roots peter

00:03:09.760has his own powers too like unleashing

00:03:11.519an extra rapid fire stream of shots

00:03:16.560as well as different elemental shots

00:03:18.400like ice and electricity

00:03:20.239that wide variety of options is

00:03:22.000consistently fun and rewarding to juggle

00:03:24.319even if it doesn't necessarily add up to

00:03:26.159the deepest combat system i've ever seen

00:03:28.560most of the time you'll be holding the

00:03:30.000left trigger to lock onto an enemy and

00:03:31.840the right trigger to unleash a fire hose

00:03:33.599of lasers but different enemy types did

00:03:35.760push me to dodge around swap between

00:03:37.680elemental attacks frequently or combine

00:03:39.519specific teammate abilities as needed

00:03:42.319another thing that keeps combat fresh

00:03:43.680throughout is the banter

00:03:46.480[Music]

00:03:50.319the interplay between each guardian is

00:03:52.000both entertaining and insightful as

00:03:53.760their relationships evolve there were

00:03:55.760moments where i'd hear the same line a

00:03:57.280few too many times but similar fights

00:03:59.599were still frequently made fresh again

00:04:01.360based on the conversations that took

00:04:02.959place during them whose idea was to make

00:04:05.680me sharp on the inside i am not sure but

00:04:08.959i am sure

00:04:11.280there's even a super move called the

00:04:12.879huddle where peter gathers everyone

00:04:14.640around and you have to choose the

00:04:15.680correct pep talk he'll give to earn a

00:04:17.440buff doing so will even start playing

00:04:19.519one of guardians of galaxy's many

00:04:21.120licensed 80s songs

00:04:23.360it's incredibly silly but fighting a

00:04:25.680giant alien squid boss while everybody

00:04:27.759have fun tonight by wang chung played

00:04:29.600has got to be one of the most absurdly

00:04:31.600joyous moments i've had in the game all

00:04:33.440year

00:04:38.160come on

00:04:43.520in between the fights and cut scenes

00:04:45.199you'll make your way through gorgeous

00:04:46.639alien worlds nova core spaceships and

00:04:49.440more varied locations these sections are

00:04:51.680all extremely linear paths with an

00:04:53.759occasional simple environmental puzzle

00:04:55.440to solve or optional collectible to find

00:04:57.759similar to the combat they stay

00:04:59.440entertaining more thanks to the story

00:05:01.039and personality your team brings to them

00:05:02.800and their visual variety rather than

00:05:04.400being especially interesting to interact

00:05:06.320with on their own the collectibles you

00:05:08.320pick up are either crafting resources

00:05:10.000used to upgrade peter's capabilities a

00:05:12.240cool selection of cosmetic costumes

00:05:14.400written logs for a bit of story flavor

00:05:16.320or special items that unlock insightful

00:05:18.240new conversations when you're hanging

00:05:19.680out back on your ship between chapters

00:05:21.600it was always rewarding to collect these

00:05:23.199things even if the side paths were often

00:05:24.880just as easy to find and navigate as the

00:05:26.560main ones and the sprint button was

00:05:28.880sorely missed what gives them the right

00:05:30.880to just take my ship they're just

00:05:33.680parking it you'll get it back what if i

00:05:36.720parked your sword then i parked your arm

00:05:39.759off crafting currency can be spent on 15

00:05:42.639different perks that are all available

00:05:44.320to unlock right away while fights earn

00:05:46.479new ability points to unlock new powers

00:05:49.039having nearly everything on the table

00:05:50.720from the start is nice because you get

00:05:52.720to unlock upgrades in any order but it

00:05:54.960also means progression doesn't have many

00:05:56.560surprises throughout the campaign which

00:05:58.720is certainly a trade-off but the perks

00:06:00.720can definitely feel impactful adding

00:06:02.560stuff like a charged shot or briefly

00:06:04.720slowing time after a close dodge which

00:06:07.280once again keeps that system engaging to

00:06:09.199the end despite being a little bit flat

00:06:11.039overall

00:06:12.360[Music]

00:06:13.600don't worry once the thumpers are placed

00:06:16.400we'll meet the middle and we'll capture

00:06:18.240the monster together

00:06:20.560very well

00:06:23.280marvel's guardians of the galaxy nicely

00:06:25.280balances a goofy action-filled adventure

00:06:27.440with some genuinely heartfelt story

00:06:29.360moments and the choices you're given can

00:06:31.199add surprising personal twists to your

00:06:33.280play through its combat and level design

00:06:35.280are relatively simple if still

00:06:36.720consistently entertaining but it's the

00:06:38.560relationships and banter between its

00:06:40.160characters that keep everything fresh as

00:06:42.080they evolve it's probably not going to

00:06:44.319set the world on fire but guardians of

00:06:46.080the galaxy is still another convincing

00:06:48.000argument for how much fun a linear no

00:06:50.080frills single player campaign can be for

00:06:52.479more great single player action games

00:06:54.080from this year check out our reviews of

00:06:55.599ratchet clank rift apart or psychonauts

00:06:57.6802 and for everything else keep it right

00:06:59.759here on ign

00:07:03.950[Music]

00:07:06.400dudes we're talking about fighting alone

00:07:09.440we're a team we fight better together

00:07:12.479because out on that field it's all for

00:07:14.639one and one for all and that's exactly

00:07:16.880how we win this time who's with me

00:07:25.360no no of course i will i'll call you