The Guardians of the Galaxy Game That Almost Was — A Surprising Look Back
So, let me tell you about this fascinating take on the Guardians of the Galaxy video game from Eidos Montreal, released back in 2021. At first, this game didn’t get the warmest welcome—it didn’t exactly set the world on fire with sales and even caused Square Enix to sell the studio to Embracer Group. But here’s the thing: despite all that, the game is actually pretty fun and has a lot more going on beneath the surface than most people give it credit for.
I recently dove deep into this game after getting into Guardians lore and culture, and it kind of blew me away. What’s really interesting is how this game struggles a bit with its timing. It came out in a world where the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was everywhere, dominating pop culture in a way that made it tough for anything Guardians -related that wasn’t exactly like the movies to find its audience. The game isn’t quite the MCU Guardians fans expect, but it’s not wildly different either—sort of stuck in between, which made it a hard sell.
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What the game does well is mash up all the different versions of the Guardians’ backstory into one weird but compelling stew. You get Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, but he’s a bit of a patchwork—sometimes the edgy war vet from older comics, sometimes the snarky outlaw from the movies, sometimes both. Other characters like Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot also borrow bits from comics and movies, making the team feel familiar but a little different.
One of the best parts of the game is how it nails the group dynamics. The Guardians here feel like a band of friends who’ve been on the road too long—bickering, joking, and gradually opening up to each other. At first, their constant arguing can be a bit much, but it quickly turns into genuine humor and heart. There’s this great moment where Drax narrates “dog report items” for Cosmo, a psychic dog, which becomes a hilarious running gag that helps ease the tension between the characters. It’s little things like that which make hanging out with this crew feel real and fun.
But the gameplay? That’s where the game shows its limits. While combat is punchy and you can use each Guardian’s unique skills, the mechanics feel kind of basic and repetitive. There are the same old enemy types, the same slide sections popping up everywhere, and some boss fights that just drag on because enemies soak up tons of damage. It’s clear the developers wanted to do more with the gameplay but ran into time or budget constraints.
Still, the game offers meaningful choices that affect the story, which is pretty cool. For example, you might decide to hide an illegal tech or a space llama from the Nova Corps, and each choice changes how the story unfolds later on. These moments lean heavily on the writing and character interactions, which is the game’s strongest suit.
Looking back, it feels like Guardians of the Galaxy tried to appeal to a crowd that isn’t hardcore gamers or just MCU superfans but somewhere in the middle—people who love 80s music, pop culture references, and character-driven stories but don’t have tons of time to invest in complex gameplay. It’s a neat idea, but in today’s gaming world, players want depth, complexity, and more freedom. Just imagine if Guardians had taken a page from games like Baldur’s Gate 3 , which combines rich storytelling with deep gameplay and sold millions of copies. That could have been something special.
In the end, the Guardians of the Galaxy game is a charming, imperfect gem—full of heart, humor, and a real attempt to carve out its own identity in a crowded MCU world. It’s worth revisiting, especially if you’re a fan of the characters and just want to hang out with the “guys” for a while.
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