Movie-worthy Story 

If you know the origin of the Guardians of the Galaxy, you will certainly identify with the beginning of the game, as we are taken to the 80s, in which the young metalhead Peter Quill is taken into space and his life as a mercenary in search of fame and fortune begins, after inviting the aliens Drax, Groot, Gamora, and Rocky to join the group.

Although the storytelling is somewhat original, it lives up to all the predicates that manage to make the crew of the starship Milano one of the most beloved in the MCU. Making a mess of everything and everyone they meet, the group will experience a test of friendship at every turn. Playing as Starlord, you must know how to manage the circle of friendship with the other characters, as they all carry past traumas and have a certain mistrust of Quill's leadership.

The fact that the characters are always talking to each other means that you must always pay attention to the dialog and what the conversation is about, as this can be an indicator of how your relationship with the other characters is progressing.

To briefly summarize the story, you and your team must pay a valuable fine to stellar officials while being pursued by Lady Hellbender after trying (unsuccessfully) to get the better of the collector of "exotic" creatures, while a mysterious fanatical cult begins to take over the entire galaxy. If you are used to Guardians of the Galaxy being a real trouble magnet, you will perfectly understand the events of the game and how each piece of the story manages to complement each other.

Right from the start, the story managed to impact me in such a way that I could really imagine that it could be worthy of the hero movies. It has its share of sarcasm, drama, originality, irreverence, and a lot of action and cuteness, especially coming from the duo Rocky and Groot.

Featuring a number of characters already known to fans of the franchise (and some expected for the MCU, as is the case of the New Troop), the script managed to adapt very well to the way the story should be told in video games, especially in a game in which linearity is the way the plot is told.



Future reflecting the past

Still, about the story of the game, we also meet Peter's mother, Meredith Quill, who is very present in the memories of our hero. This shows that although Peter seems like a tough and cool guy, he still has a sensitive side, which makes him think twice before acting rashly about some decisions for the group.

As much as this small detail may go unnoticed, Meredith's presence in the memories of the protagonist ends up generating the opportunity for the player to strengthen ties with the team. And believe me when I say that his acceptance as leader of Milano is 100% through these conversations.



It is worth noting that strengthening bonds is not a goal in itself, but only an opportunity to get to know your group better and increase the hours of gameplay and the possibility of doing side quests. But if you want to play the tough guy, you will finish the game the same way, only in less time.

The game manages to deliver very well the emotional content of each character, making us increasingly care about their traumas and we can help them overcome them in some way.

Effective and fun combat

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy features gameplay in which we control only Starlord, who is able to shoot with his weapons and deliver some melee blows. In addition, his companions can be activated to help him in battle after a bar is full.

Filled with enemies crowding the scenarios, the action is frenetic and unrestrained, in which you can be attacked from all sides. Peter does not have a proper dodge, but he is able to dodge long-distance shots, which can do enormous damage. You will face hordes of enemies, with some differences between them, making it worth thinking about which one to defeat first to make your life easier.

Each character has different abilities, where Rocky does damage in a certain area, Drax can stun enemies, Gamora delivers individual hits, and Groot can paralyze enemies with his roots.

Featuring three different attack variations, this makes fighting more exciting and fun, especially the fact that if you are doing badly, Quill will call a time-out, gather his friends together, and try to motivate them. If this works, all the characters are buffed for a while and do more damage to the enemies. The moment is sensational and makes it feel like a plan is really being drawn up by the team, but it's all just a pause in the combat for the player to breathe.

An Exhausting Recipe as Time Goes by

Despite the fun combat, it ends up being too repetitive because it is a linear game since in addition to the enemies, some puzzles must be solved with the help of your team. Rocky, for example, is able to enter tiny places and be thrown away with a little push from Drax, while Groot is able to create paths with his roots. And this formula is repeated exhaustively in all stages, showing that the creativity of gameplay left a little to be desired.

About the difficulty of the game... well... the challenge is quite painless. As the story progresses, some challenges become more difficult, but nothing that a strategy adjustment can't solve the problem. If you know how to use the special abilities of each hero at the right time, you will be able to complete the journey without too many hitches. The biggest challenge is the last stage, which requires a little more attention to the enemy's movements, but I will not reveal the name of the final boss so as not to spoil your experience.

Exploration not so explored

If you were expecting to be able to travel and get to know several planets and their different lands, you may be disappointed. Since this is a linear game, the scenarios hardly offer many options for route detours and hardly offer many rewards. Just a few different character skins and materials to modify Starlord's abilities on the stands controlled by the "mechanic" Rocky.



The best mixtapes are here

If you watched the movies directed by James Gunn, certainly was delighted with the quality of the soundtrack, which has hits and more hits of the 80s, all recorded on cassette tapes Awesome Mix Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Despite not having the same bands from the movies, the game does not leave anything to be desired and delivers music ranging from Kiss, Iron Maiden, among several others, combining perfectly with the action of the battles and tense moments experienced throughout the journey. The adventure also features music authored by the band Star-Lord, which in fact is the band of the game's audio director, Steve Szczepkowski, who had the idea of inserting a fictional way to give more immersion to the game and also influence a part of the new origin of the protagonist.

If like me, you like glam metal, very popular in the 80s, you will not be disappointed with the tracks played here. It is very easy to imagine the same songs from the game playing in the movies because the energy and timing of the music is very well synchronized.

The soundtrack is so good that if it is switched with any of the movies, you will not be able to notice the change. As a trademark of the franchise, the soundtrack could not disappoint, and here it shines brightly.

Oscar-worthy dubbing

The Brazilian dubbing of the game has the voices of the same voice actors from the movies, which is very well adapted for the game, reminding us even more of the movie version, but with the appearance of some different characters, such as Drax, Peter, and Rocket. In fact, the work of Eidos Montreal was excellent, as it merges some of what we know from the movies with the Marvel comic book versions, which have some differences compared to what is presented in the movies.



The game was played on an Xbox Series S, via Xbox Game Pass.