Moving beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel’s “Guardians of The Galaxy” hit all major consoles this October. The game adds a refreshing twist from the third-person action game genre while maintaining its roots.  

Gamers play as the human leader of the Guardians, Star Lord, as players wield a plethora of powerful weapons and tools. The game’s story maintains its relevance from the comics and keeps the comedic value seen in the movies as well. 

The story revolves around the Guardians’ struggle to find their bail money, which seems innocent at first but quickly spirals into a galaxy-threatening mission. The graphics and beautifully generated worlds really add an enhancing boost to the story as you explore these foreign planets. 

Each character is beautifully executed from top to bottom due to the brilliant voice castings and the thrilling character developments. Fans of the comics, movies or even just superhero games, in general, will absolutely love “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

The most unique twist to the game is its assist-style combat mechanics which are foreign to many other popular titles. Players play mainly as Star Lord, but with the press of a few buttons, you can call the other Guardians to assist you. 

Gamers can find gems to upgrade their companions and give them new powerful abilities to progress gameplay. Star Lord can summon his powerful tree ally, Groot, to entangle enemies throughout the battlefield. He can also summon the deadliest woman in the galaxy, Gamora, to unleash powerful sword attacks. 

Along with powerful attacks, each Guardian is equipped with a certain trait or skill to help solve the variety of puzzles the game provides. Drax offers his uncanny strength to move heavy objects while Rocket offers his technological genius to hack through security.

Even though you only play as Star Lord, each guardian still has a valuable role, and it is extremely satisfying to summon your stronger comrades on a whim. 

Along with ally assists and attacks, Star Lord has his own array of powerful attacks. His signature space blasters, The Quad Blasters, have powerful elemental attacks that unlock throughout the story. He can switch between elements at will, and it allows you to solve different missions and deal additional damage to certain foes. 

Fights can easily become overpowering in the game, and it is nice to have the powerful blend of ally defenders and a varied arsenal to fend them off. The combat itself is quite similar to other third-person fighters. Players fight hordes of aliens and programmed bosses with clear movement patterns, which make them easy to combat and defeat. 

To boost the challenge, gamers can adjust things like regeneration levels, shield growth and enemy damage. Whether they lower or strengthen these features can make the difference between victory and utter defeat. 

The game even added a unique saving grace feature in the form of a pep talk. When the gamer’s team is on low or out of specials, Star Lord can initiate a pep talk. In this talk, Star Lord listens to the Guardians and attempts to take away key phrases they say to choose the perfect speech to give them. If chosen correctly, the Guardians are healed, energized and ready to engage the battlefield. This is just one of the many features that keep gameplay exciting and engaging. 

Senior Benjamin Schroeder stated, “It sounds very cool, I’m interested to see how it would mesh with other games like it.” 

According to Google’s audience rating summary, “95% of people liked the game,” which is an exciting amount from past Marvel Games. Unlike Marvel “Avengers” which opened its release with bugs and errors, “Guardians of the Galaxy” has lived up to the hype.

Senior Jaylen Williams commented, “Marvel Avengers was my most anticipated game for 4 years and was excited for the release. Unfortunately, when it was released it was buggy and had little to do, but after a few updates it has become more exciting and fun to play.”

Along with addictive fights, intriguing characters and a good story the game also is a comic lovers paradise. Characters like the Nova corps, Blood Brothers, Thanos, Darkhawk and even Adam Warlock make appearances. 

The game’s dialogue is filled with small references that fans can catch onto with ease. Along with references, the soundtrack in Peter Quill fashion is filled with popular classic songs like “Where Eagles Dare” and “Dont Worry Be Happy.”

Every time players open the game, a new song is playing in the background, adding another layer of enjoyment to the game. Looking past the fighting, the story plays like a movie in its cinematic moments which take up a few hours of gameplay. Luckily, players are not forced to sit back on the couch and just watch, but they are given dialogue options to choose from to change the story. 

Each dialogue choice has the power to change relationships with characters and progress the story as a whole. Some choices can even directly change how your missions play out and your relationship with the Guardians. 

Despite it not being an open-world game, it seems virtually open as a plethora of interactions and choices are available at the touch of a button. Players can dig through the files of Nova Corps and find intel on Marvel fans’ favorite heroes and villains. 

Even simple tasks like pressing Y quickly as Drax sticks his hand in front of you to press a button add a comedic and engaging aspect to the game. The comedy is perfectly executed as the Guardians maintain their movie charm while staying comically accurate. 

The dialogue between characters is engagingly scripted, to the extent that the wait periods attempting to figure out challenging puzzles are filled with interesting banter. It truly feels like there is not a dull moment in the entire game. 

Star Lord can also do a variety of activities like talk to strangers, gamble, buy sodas and explore the beautiful terrain of the beautifully generated worlds. There are no side quests or missions like other third-person shooters, but they seem unnecessary with its immersive story. 

Throughout the story, players can also attain hidden items such as skins and small items that can open new conversations with the Guardians. The skins are absolutely beautiful, and it is a true treat to unlock your favorite comic book moments in skin form. 

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” has set a new standard for the genre as it is much more than a video game but, rather, a digital experience into another galaxy.