Are you a fan of Star-Lord and his band of misfits that are the Guardians of the Galaxy? Then you will want to pick up this action adventure game, well, called Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, when it becomes available later this month.
I was given a brief hands-on of the game, on a PlayStation 5 (PS5). And I am loving the game’s complex combat elements and interactivity with the other Guardians.
You will play as Peter Quill, the self-proclaimed Star-Lord, and leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Joining you in the spaceship Milano are, of course, Racoon, Drax, Gamora and Groot.
But don’t expect Chris Pratt or Bautista gracing this game. All the characters are different from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While it is a new interpretation from the developer Eidos Montreal, it does not venture far from the core Marvel tenets or the comic relief that the Guardians never fail to produce.
I was playing Chapter 5 of the game during the hands-on. This represents a certain difficulty, as I was still trying to get to grips with the controls.
But before the action starts, I was allowed to tour the iconic spaceship Milano. You can also talk to each Guardian about their feelings of the upcoming mission. And the mission sounds too easy to be true. The team is supposed to dock on the nearest Nova Corps base to pay a fine.
Upon arrival, the Guardians realised something was amiss as there were no “one” at the base. As we explore the seemingly abandoned base, there was never a dull moment. Rocket will be complaining the absurdity of the mission, Drax will talk about his past, Gamora will ask people to shut up while Groot will just say “I am Groot”. The banter is what you would expect from anything that bears the title of Guardians of the Galaxy.
There are puzzles along the way to solve. For instance, you need to open the door and you need someone to route the power supply to it. And it can only be accessed using a small door that seems stuck.
You know who is the candidate who can do it – Rocket. And after some bickering, Rocket proceeded to hack the door and turn on the power supply. But you still have to do some routing of your own to get the door open.
Soon, you realised something is amiss there are Nova Corps guards with a weird glow on them. Fighting soon broke out.
As Star-Lord, you will be the focal point of the combat. You might be controlling Star-Lord with his ice guns and jet boots during battle. However, there are some strategic elements during combat. You can also direct your four fellow Guardians to launch special attacks on your enemies. This is especially important when you have a big boss to fight.
For instance, you can get Drax to hurl an object at the target, Groot to do a Mammoth Grab to paralyse the enemy, and Rocket to launch a Five Barrel Barrage.
There is also a Huddle Meter that will fill up when you done enough damage. This is when you can call your fellow Guardians for a huddle, whereby the four will look at you and listen to your rallying cry.
Depending on how you manage to get them fired up, the whole team might be getting a power-up or you might just fall flat on your face and goes back to the battle again without gaining any extra advantage. It is fun to see the other Guardians questioning you or reminding you to get back to the fight.
Perhaps, the only downer is that this game is a single-player-only experience. There is no co-operation mode. It would have great if someone can take up the role of one of other four Guardians and join in the fight.
Anyway, the game’s voice acting, soundtrack and graphics are superb. And I can’t wait for the game to arrive.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be available on the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on Oct 26.
