Formalized at E3 2021, the video game adaptation of Guardians of the Galaxy is the second project that Square Enix has managed to seal with Marvel, and by extension Disney. If Marvel’s Avengers was unfortunately not the expected success, the fault of a business model not adapted to the genre, the Japanese publisher had planned another title, Guardians of the Galaxy, this time oriented towards the narrative solo game. . After having discovered it through trailers and a hands-off last June, the title was approached last week on the occasion of a first grip. It was remotely, in the company of the developers, and after three good hours of play, a little preview to tell you about its strengths and weaknesses.
In order to give a better overview of the possibilities offered by the gameplay of Guardians of the Galaxy, Square Enix and Eidos Montreal had agreed to start the hands-on session in Chapter 5 of the adventure. Our space vigilantes have a very specific mission: to go to Nova to pay a debt, translated as a “fine” in the French version, which did not fail to make us smile. Unfortunately, once we arrived at the scene, our group found themselves face to face with enemies they weren’t necessarily expecting there. It is in this context that we were able to discover the different gameplay possibilities that the game can offer us, namely the interaction between the characters, the choices of dialogues, the combat system and especially its different inspirations. Because contrary to what one might think, this Guardians of the Galaxy made in Eidos Monréal is closer to comic-books than to films offered in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the cinema; which will not displease fans who find the rereading of Marvel Studios sometimes off-topic (the treatment of the character of Drax by Dave Bautista to name only him). This desire to look more like the original material is also felt in the visual, starting with the look of the characters, far from the rendering offered by the MCU films. So it is certain that not seeing the pretty face of Chris Pratt nor that of Zoe Saldana can offend the sensitivity of some, but as was the case with Marvel’s Avengers, the developers preferred to model unknown actors; probably because it’s cheaper, but also to move away from the vision imposed by the MCU. And seeing the cut of Peter Quill or the rendering of Gamora, it is obvious that Eidos Montreal wanted to reappropriate the characters in their own way. Whether or not we adhere to this artist’s vision remains a subjective point of view, but we will not be able to withdraw this desire to do something original.
Among the first elements that we were able to discover with the controller in hand, it was the entire exploration phase in the Guardians’ ship which was offered to us as an intro. The latter taking the direction of a station of the Nova Corps, we had time to explore the place; place in which we will be able to freely interact with the other members of the group. From the control room to the weapon and attribute improvement workshop, passing through the rooms of each Guardian, the idea was to immerse the player in their universe. Multiple response dialogues and objects with which we could interact allowed us to learn a little more about lore, but we are not going to lie to each other, it clearly lacked pep in the interactions and in the staging. Certainly, we can feel the Mass Effect inspiration for this approach to discussions, but the endless fields / counter-fields where the characters remain inert and lack naturalness always end up tarnishing the situation. Whatever happens, the developers have planned a lot of conversation topics, in order to give substance to this universe.
After these moments of relaxation, it was time to get to the heart of the matter and get to know the gameplay itself. We know since the announcement of the game, Guardians of the Galaxy is a narrative solo game, and even though the team consists of 5 characters with strong character, it is only Peter Quill / Star Lord who will be the only one and unique playable character. Many people would have liked Eidos Montreal to offer cooperation, but the structure has been designed in this way, the other teammates will only serve as reinforcement for the player. Indeed, at any time, it is possible to open an action wheel that allows you to give orders to partners. Of course, each other Guardian of the Galaxy having their own skills, the player to make intelligent use of their skills. For example, Drax will be the one who relies on brute force, which seems quite logical given his size. He is also responsible for lifting the heaviest objects that he can throw in the face of enemies. Gamora being more agile, she does not skimp on acrobatics to go and kill an enemy. Rocket being the firearms specialist, he is the ideal companion to call when it comes to hammering a missile area and therefore attacking from a distance. As for Groot, he is certainly slower than the others, but his ability to defend his comrades is unparalleled, especially with his branches, he can also strike from a distance.
Obviously, to avoid abusing their help, a cooldown system has been put in place, so that the player can also take advantage of Peter Quill’s own abilities, who turns out to be undoubtedly the best balanced character. As everyone knows, our Star Lord always walks with his two blasters, which allows him to strike from a distance. Moreover, with good evolutions of his weapons, he is able to create large explosions, sometimes in staging a little more punchy. Of course, Star Lord is also capable of melee defense, but it is clearly not in melee combat that has been shown to be the most effective. Close-range attacks, due to their excessively long animations, lacked impact. Some attacks hit the void and you often have to wait until the end of the anim ‘to retarget an opponent. It often happens when a game designer favors the fluidity of the animations over the efficiency of the action. It is a choice, which unfortunately weighs down the gameplay in this case. Star Lord’s other trump card are the thrusters attached to his boots. Not only do they make it easier for him to reach certain platforms that are at first glance inaccessible, but in addition he can gain height by hovering for a period of time. This allows him to avoid the mess at the bottom and better target his enemies. On paper, all of this seems to be the best proposition for enjoying all the characters, but once in the game, you immediately feel the weaknesses of this gameplay … No doubt because the Nova Corps base was not the place best suited to discover the full range of game mechanics, because of its narrow corridors. To this is added an innumerable number of enemies on the screen, which popped almost infinitely on certain portions if we did not trigger the objective in question, and which made the actions very muddled. Indeed, between the redundant enemies, the 4 other Guardians who also live their lives, the attacks that we deploy and the visual effects, the screen was quite cluttered, we will not lie to each other.
Another point because of which we came out a little chafouin, it is the dosage in the difficulty. So of course, we landed in the game for the first time in Chapter 5 and we are supposed to have taken our marks with the gameplay mechanics, but in Normal mode, the game abuses the drops of enemies to no longer know what to do with it. to do. There is undoubtedly a rebalancing to be done, especially for a game whose target is clearly the general public; knowing that it is necessary to remember to recall the objectives to be achieved in order to continue to move forward calmly. For example, during the flight of our Guardians from the Nova Corps station, as long as we had not destroyed the pillars that padlocked the Milano (the Guardians’ vessel), the enemies popped ad infinitum. These are obviously simple readjustments, but all these elements together contributed to the surrounding mess, which tarnished the gaming experience.
As for the technique and its graphics, Guardians of the Galaxy has risen to the challenge. The version we were able to play was running on a PC in ultra setting and the rendering (even in streaming) was very clean. The game has a certain finesse in its textures, the backgrounds are rich in detail and the game is bursting with color, which is a good point for a title stamped Guardians of the Galaxy. On the other hand, it is not a next gen game cut for the PS5 and the Xbox Series, the title having been designed at the base for the PS4 and Xbox One generation, knowing that the development started there soon. 5 years, at the same time as Marvel’s Avengers. Of course, with such a universe, we hope that Eidos Montreal will make us see multiple planets and that the interior sets, visually cold enough and as cramped as those we experienced for 3 hours, are only a tiny fraction. part of what awaits us in this adventure. Still, we already have a lot of tracks thanks to the different trailers that have been released so far. Come on, let’s touch wood, because there is good potential.
