If their creation dates back to 1969, Guardians of the Galaxy especially exploded in the eyes of the general public thanks to the feature film released in 2014. But until now, the gaming industry had refrained from adapting this real phenomenon. on consoles and PC. In partnership with Disney, Square Enix and Eidos Montreal are finally tackling this charismatic squad. As in the cinema, did the charm operate via this relatively ambitious video game? Here is our answer.
7
View PriceRead ConclusionMarvel Guardians of the Galaxy
- The humor of Guardians of the Galaxy (with a good VF)
- A colorful universe and successful decorations
- The soundtrack with small onions
- Many choices to make along the adventure
- Ultra dirigiste progression
- Combat lacks clarity and difficulty
- An agreed final that is slow to take place
- Lack of finish (bugs)
Test conducted using the Xbox Series X version of the game, using code provided by the publisher. Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy will be released on October 26, 2021 on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch (via Cloud).
Kept secret until the last minute, the game stamped Guardians of the Galaxy surprised players when it was announced at E3 2021. Alas, after the total debacle of Marvel's Avengers (developed by Crystal Dynamics), mistrust could be in order... Insomniac Games being the only studio to fully convince in the department of Marvel adaptations in recent years. In an effort to reassure its audience and avoid the miscommunications that hurt the Avengers so badly in 2020, Eidos Montreal quickly shed light on the nature of its game. Only playable in solo, devoid of microtransactions and featuring of an unpublished story, this opus leaves with excellent intentions... Still it is necessary to transform the test on the ground.
En route, bad company
During this adventure, we play exclusively Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. He is quite logically accompanied by Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket and Groot. Connoisseurs of the Marvel universe will therefore not be out of place. Without going into too much detail to avoid spoiling the few surprises in the scenario, let's mention the fact that our fine team finds itself at the heart of a series of events capable of leading to the destruction of the entire galaxy (just that) . This epic is also an opportunity to meet other familiar characters for those who know films and/or comics.
Since we refrain from revealing even snippets of information on the script content of Eidos Montreal's software, let us specify that overall, this adventure holds up. It is carried at arm's length by a flamboyant cast over a good fifteen chapters. The dialogues reserve moments of frank laughter which remain in the spirit of what makes the charm of feature films. And if there are sometimes lengths during the discussions, the extremely convincing Spanish dubbings largely make up for this slight blunder. It is clear that various exchanges remain dispensable but we take a malicious pleasure in seeing the relations between the guards evolve over time. In this, it is a real success!
Moreover, like a Mass Effect which popularized such a practice, the galactic epic of our superheroes is punctuated by multiple-choice conversations. Depending on the phrase selected or the solution chosen to resolve a specific situation, the course of events will be more or less altered. Like Telltale Games productions, the consequences of the option chosen by the player are clearly displayed on the screen. The echo of our choices sometimes only revealing themselves at the end of the game... Be that as it may, the impression of being really active in the unfolding of the story is palpable.
A happy boxing
As surprising as it may seem for a single-player game, Guardians of the Galaxy relies strictly on cooperation between each member of the team. Indeed, Star-Lord (the player therefore) has the possibility of giving orders to his teammates whether during the fighting or during the exploration phases. After using his visor, which is mainly used to analyze elements of the decor, Peter can ask the other guardians to perform such and such an action. Drax can smash through walls, Gamora can grapple onto a surface to propel Quill, Groot spawns bridges, and Rocket squeezes through tight passageways. All of these operations are done through a circular menu that opens by holding LB on Xbox (or L1 on PlayStation).
And it's exactly the same in combat. Each protagonist has four unique skills (including an ultimate power) that the player uses at any time. Combining abilities is an essential part of achieving victory. Add to that the fact that Star-Lord is equipped with his elementary blasters whose performance will evolve over the chapters. A time of adaptation is almost obligatory to better apprehend this playability... But once the mastery acquired, the game will not resist you.
JVFR
Unfortunately, if the intentions are laudable on paper, the combat system is too perfectible. The first concern is quickly obvious as the battles are more of a mess than anything else. We quickly lose track of the many enemies who attack us and launching a simple contextual action (like telling Drax to throw a rock carelessly placed nearby by pressing Y) is sometimes a real test. However, these hazards are not too disabling since the difficulty (in normal mode at least) is not really raised. The bosses even allow themselves to put up very little resistance against our squad. The feeling of power is part of it and only leaves us on rare occasions.
JVFR
In a straight line, dear guardians!
If Eidos Montreal leaves some freedom to the player concerning the dialogues, the observation is radically different on the progression in general. Indeed, the game is very linear with its levels that we cross from side to side without ever looking back. Alternative paths are in the game but they only lead to bonuses such as resources to improve Peter's guns (from a workbench) or caches unlocking outfits for our guardians. But beyond these digressions, we advance without thinking too much. Once one or more chapters have been completed, our fine team returns to its ship, the Milano. This kind of hub makes it possible to discuss with the crew. Optional conversations are unlocked by collecting unique items during our wanderings. These passages tell us about the lore of the game and the past of the guardians.
JVFR
You understood it, the exploration however praised by Square Enix is anecdotal and a kind of routine ends up settling. This is a shame because it is to Eidos Montreal that we owe Shadow of the Tomb Raider, an episode which precisely highlighted rather large levels. The game tries from time to time to vary the pleasures with, for example, air combat passages during which we are asked to shoot down ships or to pilot the Milano to escape a perilous situation. Too bad not to have included little puzzles to break the rhythm of a somewhat predictable adventure.
JVFR
We also feel that the game is trying to escape its own linearity by using mechanics borrowed from the RPG genre. In addition to collecting items used to purchase upgrades for Quill's gear, an XP gauge fills up at the conclusion of a battle. Once full, the player earns a skill point which must be assigned to one of the five heroes for additional powers. Thus, you have to fight in style a bit like in a Devil May Cry in order to gain as much experience as possible. A nice “find” but which does not bring much since the XP flows freely throughout the game.
When the music is good !
Let's start on the positive because this adaptation of the Guardians of the Galaxy is quite conclusive on the visual level. If all the environments are not equal, the artistic touch and its saturated colors bring a real cachet to the whole. Yes, the animations (and particularly those of the faces) remain rudimentary but the rendered copy is satisfactory. Whether in quality or performance mode, the game is technically successful and does not suffer from any major slowdown. The only downside in this area comes from the glaring lack of finish which leads to annoying bugs... And it is at this moment that a wild disclaimer appears.
JVFR
We finished the game on Xbox Series X without the day one patch which was only applied a handful of days before the official launch. From the top of its 19,5 GB, the update in question is supposed to bring multiple improvements and other optimizations. And believe us, the game needed it because huge bugs plagued our review. Whether it's accessories that were placed in the wrong place, entire textures that got out of the way (on the water in particular), decorations that struggled to appear or even contextual actions that didn't work, there was something for everyone. tastes. Note that the patch was deployed in order to correct these imperfections, but not all of them were erased with a wave of a magic wand. So, expect more or less annoying bugs.
JVFR
Where this Guardians of the Galaxy game shines is with its very “80s” soundtrack. KISS, Blondie, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Europe or the famous Rick Astley are in the game. The songs can be listened to without limits from the guardians' ship and punctuate the most epic passages. A real delight for the ears. As for the voices, it is difficult to ignore the pronounced lip desynchronization in VF or even the sound mixing faults causing the dialogues to be much too low compared to the music. It is also not uncommon for a character to abruptly stop his tirade or repeat short sentences over and over during a fight. Once again, the lack of finish is to be pointed out. Fortunately, the humor and personality of the heroes easily erase these shortcomings. And what about this incredible surprise that awaits you!
JVFR
Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy: the opinion of JVFR
We are therefore faced with a game with an ultra-classic and linear structure but which has a real identity. The ubiquitous humor instantly hits the mark and watching the evolution of the relationship between the guardians is relatively pleasant. Special mention to the delicious soundtrack, the worked dialogues and the many nods to the Marvel universe (and beyond). The staging also shows appreciable flashes.
But we cannot dodge the deficiencies which materialize by bugs and situations after all agreed. Some exchanges between our heroes turn out to be unnecessarily long and the scenario drags on in the final chapters. In the end, this title honoring Guardians of the Galaxy does not invent anything and is content to reuse the codes of “hallway games” released in recent years. It is nonetheless a well-made entertainment that will certainly appeal to fans of films and comics alike.
Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy7
Eidos Montreal generally does well with Guardians of the Galaxy. But the title remains much too classic to stand out from the competition. The humor is pleasant but the game lacks an obvious lack of finish. In short, it's a production without big surprises that still manages to be entertaining.Most
- The humor of Guardians of the Galaxy (with a good VF)
- A colorful universe and successful decorations
- The soundtrack with small onions
- Many choices to make along the adventure
- The cooperative side well rendered for a solo game
The lessers
- Ultra dirigiste progression
- Combat lacks clarity and difficulty
- An agreed final that is slow to take place
- Lack of finish (bugs)
