PlayStation Plus’ hidden Marvel gem is a superlative family tale

Family is a fickle thing, as it’s often believed your true family is the one you’re born into. If there’s a blood-relation there, that’s your family and there’s no changing that, for better or for worse.

I’m sure many will know that’s not exactly true though, or at least only half of the story. Your family can consist of whomever you choose, and I don’t think there’s any game that shows this off better than Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy, which I recently played through via PlayStation Plus.

Take a look at Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy below

Not only is this an underrated Marvel game that deserves our undying admiration, it’s also got what I would say to be one of the best stories in a Marvel video game ever written, behind Marvel’s Spider-Man.

For those who haven’t played the game, the Guardians Of The Galaxy at an undisclosed time after first forming their uneasy alliance. It hasn’t been too long, but it’s been enough time for them to have a basic understanding of each other. After what was supposed to be a quick job goes wrong the Guardians are thrown into the middle of a cataclysmic event that threatens to wipe out the known universe, and it’s up to them to stop it as they accidentally had a hand in causing it.

You play through the game as Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, who like his MCU counterpart, lost his mother as a child as he was abducted by aliens. He’s now amongst the company of Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon and Groot, who he can call upon during missions to attack enemies with their abilities, or solve environmental puzzles with their various skills.

I won’t go too deep into the gameplay but it’s a lot of fun. Combat feels dynamic and strategic with the way you utilise your own abilities along with your teammates, and when things are going south you can initiate a huddle-up manoeuvre where Star-Lord gives the Guardians a pep-talk before serenading the battlefield with a licensed track from his Walkman.

What I do really want to talk about is the story, as it’s written beautifully and could go toe-to-toe with James Gunn’s MCU trilogy in my opinion, a high compliment from myself as I’d consider those films to be the best MCU content outside the Avengers films.

Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy: Credit Square Enix

Aside from the humour you’d expect from this intergalactic gang of misfits, what sets its story apart is the overarching theme of finding your own family. It does this through two, seemingly separate, storylines early on in the game, which eventually converge to form the game’s second and third act.

The first storyline is obviously the Guardians and their relationship with each other, but the second is Peter Quill potentially being a father, which he discovers through an encounter with an old flame from his freedom fighting days. The child’s name is Nikki, and she has a lot of similarities to Peter, even more so later into the game, and the math does add-up… I can’t talk about much more without getting into severe spoilers, so I’ll leave it up to you to discover that plot for yourself.

Back to the Guardians though. The MCU films made it pretty clear towards the end that the main character was Rocket Raccoon all along, whereas the video game aims to share the love amongst the whole team and achieves it. Peter is obviously looking for his place in the galaxy, and is still living through the trauma of losing his mother. Gamora is coming to terms with always having her name attached to Thanos and is trying to repent for something she did a long time ago… Rocket like usual is insecure and would rather focus on money than apply his talents to something greater. Drax, like the MCU films, still lives in shame for the loss of his wife and daughter. Finally, Groot is…well, Groot, he’s just happy to be there more than anything.

So much of this is already known to the player who read the comics and have watched the films but for the Guardians it’s new information, and allows them to form a closer bond. The main threat of the game, Magus, is a destructive force that attempts to enslave the galaxy into a life of servitude, in exchange for the resurrection of fallen loved ones. Peter and Drax are hit the hardest by this as you can imagine, as they’ve both lost people they’d do anything to see again.

Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy Review: Credit Square Enix

Everything the Guardians are hiding within themselves is eventually laid bare throughout the story, allowing them to put their differences aside by truly understanding each other’s point of view. Rocket’s selfishness is easier to digest when you know it’s because he genuinely cares and doesn’t want to see the Guardians get hurt. At the start of the game they’re mere heroes for hire, but by the end of the game a family is formed, the family they all wanted, needed, or lost along the way.

Through Peter’s eyes you experience every step of this journey, and it makes for a truly definitive Guardians Of The Galaxy tale.

I won’t reveal anymore than that, and I’ll sign this off by saying if you’re a fan of Guardians Of The Galaxy from the comics or films and haven’t played this game yet you’re doing yourself a disservice. If you have a PlayStation Plus subscription you can experience the entire story from start to finish at no additional cost, and I promise it’ll be worth your time.

It’s a crying shame we’ll probably never get a sequel to this, as it’s seriously one of the most underrated Marvel games that’s ever been, and more people need to play it.