If you read or watch the Vortex regularly, you probably haven’t missed the fact that we trusted the Rangers of the Galaxy and hoped that it would eventually be one of the pleasant surprises of the pre-Christmas season. It was obvious that the authors of the Eidos-Montréal studio faced many doubts, even though I personally not only did not share them, but also did not understand them very well. I’m not saying this to prepare a recording for a smash, and now burn out that we knew and were right. No way. Because I didn’t believe in such an optimistic result either. One of the favorites emerged from the underrated outsider, and the game obviously pleasantly surprised a large part of the fans. Perhaps just like the impending catastrophe, the Rangers themselves can ultimately make a win.
Like the comic book, the Guardians of the Galaxy are well out of the ordinary with Marvel adaptations. This is despite the fact that at its core it is actually a classic action adventure with several RPG elements, which builds mainly on proven principles and mechanisms. When someone wants to bring the Guardian of the Galaxy closer to you and confines themselves to a description of the gameplay, without emphasizing the story, humor, characters, dubbing, music, and overall atmosphere, you can rightly get the feeling that it doesn’t sound out of the ordinary. And that’s probably why many players didn’t find the game particularly great before the release. But once you embark on a space adventure with Star-Lord and his teammates, the title takes over and doesn’t let the player go.
At times, the Guardians of the Galaxy may resemble a kind of comedic light variation on Mass Effect, but don’t be fooled.
The Guardians of the Galaxy are in trouble again, and it is up to you to help them. You directly control only the Star-Lord, the other characters are commanded by artificial intelligence. But Gamora, Rocket, Groot and Drax are equally valid members of the team. And if you happen to split up for a while, you’ll notice right away, because it will be reflected in the gameplay, atmosphere and dynamics of the team. You can give orders to your partners, who otherwise fight autonomously. They have several special abilities at their disposal, which you will gradually unlock for the accumulated experience. And you also expand the register of your own skills. Of course, Peter Quill can do a few more tricks on top. With the help of collected parts and Rocket’s clever works, you can improve his equipment and, in addition, gradually discover and master several Star-Lord blaster modes, which will allow you to freeze or electrify the enemy. You will not only use these tricks, as well as the abilities of others, not only in combat, but also in solving simple spatial and logical puzzles.
I didn’t get into the action right from the start just for nothing. The Guardians of the Galaxy are primarily pure events with various acrobatic passages. Even if you return to your ship between missions, unlock some bonuses, have meaningful conversations with other team members, and sometimes make some important decisions that affect the relationship or course of the mission, it is not an RPG or an action RPG. At times, the Guardians of the Galaxy may resemble a kind of comedic light variation on Mass Effect, but don’t be fooled. Here you do not level the characters in the true sense of the word, you do not choose weapons and equipment with the exception of costumes, you do not take tasks or move freely with the world. It is a relatively straightforward adventure with various deviations, where humor and action come first.
The fights are frenetic and sometimes quite chaotic, which may not suit everyone. It’s not enough to run around and shoot from blasters. As already mentioned, Peter has his own special abilities and also has to trigger special actions of others. As if that wasn’t enough on its own, there could be interactive objects in the environment that, when the button was pressed, triggered another action by the partner. A quick-time event can also appear in a duel, which starts another type of attack. It is possible to attack a weakened enemy with a comb, and in the end there is also the possibility to summon all members of the team, wake them up with the right motivational language and send them back into battle accompanied by one of the hits of the eighties. In other words, there is a lot going on in duels and you can use many different mechanisms. Despite this, they will begin to run out over time. The fights will never stop entertaining you completely, but you will realize that they are very repetitive and you will proceed very similarly in all arenas. Some might even say that it doesn’t really matter what you are squeezing, especially you have to activate all the relevant benefits in time. But of course, it cannot be overlooked that with the right combination of elements and attacks you will be more effective.
But in the end, I enjoyed the world itself even more than the fight, and this whole adventure, which I wouldn’t be afraid to compare to a bloated Hollywood blockbuster. You will visit strange worlds and places that have a unique, imaginative and unusual design. Exactly as I like science fiction, they often go completely beyond the common notion. Your enemies are often similarly bizarre. You’ll come across things you won’t see anywhere else. You fly in a spaceship and a few surprises await you. The story itself is great. The theme doesn’t put you on your ass, but as the script develops, the whole plot gets you. Of course, she is supported by great characters and well-written dialogues. The Guardians of the Galaxy are really funny, and I miss the humor of similar modern games. Thanks to the great dubbing, their mutual verbal skirmishes and spiculation sound even better. There are also a few funny allusions to other characters from Marvel. Precisely because the dialogues tread so well and the action can be too much in places, it doesn’t matter at all that in a few moments the authors will deliberately slow down and serve you levels that you are more likely to chew. At least you have time to admire the surroundings, whether it is an exotic planet or a space station, which convincingly creates the illusion of a real city full of people and things, although in reality you can only proecute a few characters and you can’t get too out of the way.
For lovers of the eighties
In addition to great dubbing, I have already touched on music briefly. It is the soundtrack and the aesthetics and mood of the eighties that make the Rangers of the Galaxy an unmistakable show. The play contains a huge number of jokes and easter eggs and the musical accompaniment itself is one great honor and a nostalgic probe into the past. After all, you and Peter will dive into it repeatedly and in person as part of flashbacks, which will prepare you for more than one shock and surprise. But if you have no relation to this period, you will hardly consider it a plus, I fully understand and respect that. In reality, however, there are a few objective problems that I have yet to warn you about. I have already warned you about fun, complex, but still relatively shallow and over time repetitive fights. The game is really very nice to look at and has an amazing stylization, however it is accompanied by a lot of bugs and glitches. The authors will certainly correct a lot over time, but I was surprised that the game repeatedly fell on my PS5 or got stuck, or due to some glitch it was not possible to continue playing. You may also come across tearing the whole game or jamming the sound.
It is a pity of a technical error, but even that does not change the fact that otherwise I have to highly recommend the Guardians of the Galaxy to you. This is a very successful game, which does not come up with anything downright original, some major innovation or its own big new idea, but the well-known ingredients are mixed by the authors Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Shadow of the Tomb Raider so cleverly that their distinctive cocktail acts as an immense refreshment.
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