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[Punished Miku]

I've been playing this game all weekend, and I'm shocked at how underrated this game is - not just by average gamers, but even by official reviews, which settled on a Metacritic average of 80. I genuinely can't understand why that is. Is it because the marketing was so bad that it permanently tainted people's perception of the game? Is it because of Avengers being so bad that it permanently tainted people's perception of western SQEX games? Is it superhero fatigue? EIther way, I've just lost even more faith in the opinions of journalists to tell me what is worth playing.

After firing it up I realized within a few hours that this is a masterpiece of a game. It's basically the modern incarnation of Mass Effect 2, complete with team combat and light puzzle mechanics, Bioware-at-their-best-level dialogue, and a great story. There is zero open world bloat. No side quests. You're going to new places the entire game, and almost every location in the game so far has stood out as being unusually original and interesting visually and in terms of story. And honestly, the dialogue is probably better than Bioware's best. It's genuinely entertaining and funny almost the entire time.

It stands at the very top of the superhero genre as well. Arkham Asylum, Spider Man (90% a Batman clone with tons of polish), and now Guardians.

Graphically, it is literally one of the most impressive looking games I've seen ever. The environments remind me of the kind of polish I saw on FFXIII when it first came out. It's that good.

Will this game ever get the sort of admiration and prestige it deserves? It's literally right up there with Mass Effect 2, Spider Man, Arkham Asylum and some of the best western games I've ever played. The only downside I can think of is that the combat is pretty casual, without a ton of depth. But it's honestly still fun combat, and fits with the tone and pace of the game. It's just not difficult.

I just wonder if this game will be appreciated several years from now after we hear what the Deus Ex team moves onto next. This is pretty much the best thing western SQEX has ever made, by far.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Marvel fatigue, at least in my case.

Should probably add it to my backlog to at least and give it a go sometime. Lots of people here praising it and I also trust you.

That said... Man, you are setting the bar really high comparing it to ME2, I loved that one.

 

[RJMacready73]

Gotta say you're selling me on it as I'm looking a new game to tide me over till Horizon and I want something that's gorgeous to look at, simple to play with a decent story

 

[StateofMajora]

I can’t stand the movies, or really any modern mavel movie set in the avengersverse. So that’s why i’ve stayed away.

Best I can say about it without playing it is that the graphics are pretty good. Would anyone play it without liking the source material?

 

[Punished Miku]

I want something that's gorgeous to look at, simple to play with a decent story

This game is right up your alley, sir.

I can’t stand the movies, or really any modern mavel movie set in the avengersverse. So that’s why i’ve stayed away.

Best I can say about it without playing it is that the graphics are pretty good. Would anyone play it without liking the source material?

The tone is pretty close to the movies, but it works for me. If you didn't even like Guardians 1, then I'd just skip it. Guardians 1 is basically Farscape the movie. I loved Farscape. I thought Guardians 2 wasn't as good, and think the game is better than the second movie so far.

 

[Certinty]

Best game of 2021 by a long way in my eyes.

Story is great, emotional when it needs to be, paced well, handles characters very well.

Characters are superb, each feels unique and alive, they interact like a dysfunctional family. Character models are honestly insane too, Gamora's alone might be the best I've ever come across in gaming.

Dialogue is out of this world, some of the best I've come across in gaming. The interactions between the characters and the sheer amount of it is fantastic. So much is even hidden that most people will never even hear most of it, the game is that in depth and covers literally everything you can see/do with some sort of dialogue.

Soundtrack is God-tier, everyone knows this.

Visually on PS5 I think it was the best looking game of 2021. Each planet looks incredibly different and superb in its own right, no idea how it's so overlooked visually.

Gameplay was good, not great. I actually found the combat pretty fun despite being relatively basic but I enjoyed giving commands to other Guardians to make for a more unique and deep experience.

Overall, the level of polish and attention to detail and love put into almost all the game is a work of wonder. Fix very few things here and there and it's the quality of an AAA Sony first party title such as Uncharted 4, Spider-Man, God of War etc. in my eyes.

What a game. I just fear the Avengers game being the way it was put a lot of people off this which is a huge shame.

 

[Deerock71]

Because it's a licensed game.

 

[Punished Miku]

That said... Man, you are setting the bar really high comparing it to ME2, I loved that one.

If you made Mass Effect 2 into a more comedic game, with more action instead of RPG tinkering that's basically what Guardians is. Only it looks better than ME2 did at the time graphically.

 

[Elbow Identity Shallow]

This review is the only one I'm aware of that really sums it up for me, it just wasn't particularly interesting.

 

[TonyK]

I finished it this weekend and the second half of the game is a LOT worse than the first part. In all senses, graphically included. Second half of the game seems made by the B team.

At the end it becomes very boring and repetitive. Constant silly and not fun dialogs are exhausting. I wish it was a version with 90% less dialogs during gameplay.

I love the movies, by the way.

 

[zcaa0g]

Damn good game and I was very skeptical that it would be. To each their own.

 

[Valt7786]

It was a squenix marvel game that came out after Avengers, it was prejudged, harshly.

 

[GHG]

Because it's not actually that great and it's only "great" due to the lackluster year we just had in gaming. Shades of 2014 with Shadow of Mordor.

 

[01011001]

why is it underrated?

well because this exists:

 

[BaneIsPain]

Bad first impression thanks to Marvel's Avengers.
It is pretty good

 

[just_like_that]

because its kinda meh

 

[ManaByte]

Because people pre-judged it based on a game in a different genre from a completely different developer.

 

[Dr. Claus]

I've been playing this game all weekend, and I'm shocked at how underrated this game is - not just by average gamers, but even by official reviews, which settled on a Metacritic average of 80. I genuinely can't understand why that is. Is it because the marketing was so bad that it permanently tainted people's perception of the game? Is it because of Avengers being so bad that it permanently tainted people's perception of western SQEX games? Is it superhero fatigue? EIther way, I've just lost even more faith in the opinions of journalists to tell me what is worth playing.

Nobody trusts gaming "journalists" because they are flarking scutbags who lost any value in the gaming landscape.

As for the average person, you can thank Marvel's Avengers. With how piss poor that release was and the insulting way it dealed with characters, gameplay, and progression - people thought that GotG would have ended the same way.

After firing it up I realized within a few hours that this is a masterpiece of a game. It's basically the modern incarnation of Mass Effect 2, complete with team combat and light puzzle mechanics, Bioware-at-their-best-level dialogue, and a great story. There is zero open world bloat. No side quests. You're going to new places the entire game, and almost every location in the game so far has stood out as being unusually original and interesting visually and in terms of story. And honestly, the dialogue is probably better than Bioware's best. It's genuinely entertaining and funny almost the entire time.

Still working through the game myself. Just reached chapter 9? I think. Got back on the Milano.

Its a great game, but I can't say its a masterpiece. Definitely a surprise though and I really enjoy the writing. So far no slacktivist bullshit. Just pure fun. Depending on how well it sticks the ending, I think I may light it more than the Sony-owned Spider-Man exclusives. Certainly has better pacing and writing so far.

It stands at the very top of the superhero genre as well. Arkham Asylum, Spider Man (90% a Batman clone with tons of polish), and now Guardians.

Agreed, at least so far.

Graphically, it is literally one of the most impressive looking games I've seen ever. The environments remind me of the kind of polish I saw on FFXIII when it first came out. It's that good.

I do really like the facial animations at times. They are subtle. But there are lots of bugs/glitches, and overall while the art direction is great, it never wow'd me like say RDR2.

Will this game ever get the sort of admiration and prestige it deserves? It's literally right up there with Mass Effect 2, Spider Man, Arkham Asylum and some of the best western games I've ever played. The only downside I can think of is that the combat is pretty casual, without a ton of depth. But it's honestly still fun combat, and fits with the tone and pace of the game. It's just not difficult.

I think it will, over time.

I just wonder if this game will be appreciated several years from now after we hear what the Deus Ex team moves onto next. This is pretty much the best thing western SQEX has ever made, by far.

I can agree with that. Almost the entirety of western SQEX divisions are horrid. I enjoyed Tomb Raider's original reboot for what it was, but I hated its sequel and never played the third one. Deus Ex Human Revolution was amazing, Mankind Divided was a disappointment. Life is Strange? The single worst thing I have seen put out by western studios (until recent Naughty Dog anyway).

But this is super damn good so far. It doe start slow though. I really didn't get into it until around mission 3/4? But once I reached that point it is hard to put down.

 

[Punished Miku]

I finished it this weekend and the second half of the game is a LOT worse than the first part. In all senses, graphically included. Second half of the game seems made by the B team.

At the end it becomes very boring and repetitive. Constant silly and not fun dialogs are exhausting. I wish it was a version with 90% less dialogs during gameplay.

I love the movies, by the way.

Im on Chapter 9. Im curious if I agree with this because it's been really entertaining so far.

 

[Beechos]

The only thing thats average about this game is the so so combat and puzzles everything else was amazing easily one of the best games of the year.

 

[Neff]

The strengths of the game don't quite come across in the trailers, and there's also the initially jarring reaction to the game's cast which are essentially a reboot version of the movie's cast which won audiences over with their chemistry, and don't quite have the same appeal at first glance.

Shame, because it really is damn good.

 

[Synless]

I beat the game several weeks ago and here’s my $.02. The gameplay is mostly meh, it’s pretty generic by all counts. The writing and character interactions are top notch though. As are the visuals, it’s a pretty looking game.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

Honestly speaking Marvel - if it is not Spider-Man or X-Men is not really interesting universe. I am not sure why, but the universes of Spider-Man and X-Men are just much better and characters are more interesting in comparison to MCU where aside Captain America and Iron Man, all other characters are just not interesting.

 

[ChiefDada]

This is news to me. All I've been hearing nonstop is just how great of a sleeper hit it is. I just looked at some of the reviews and a couple of people mentioned lackluster button mashing gameplay. I don't think this is a fair criticism at all in a world where Spiderman gets near universal praise from media outlets.

 

[TheDreadBaron]

I've never played it, but I got turned off by the look of the gameplay, how the camera hard locks onto a target specifically. It looks like there's hardly any smoothing or anything, and I don't like the game taking that much control out of my hands. It ends up making character movement less controllable as well because your character's movements are all relative to the direction the camera is facing and that's out of your control. Navigating in space relative to the level while you're locked onto a target becomes tricky. It could be a great game that I would enjoy, but I just really don't like the look of that mechanic, I like to aim at the targets I'm shooting at manually and be in full control of the camera.

 

[Ristifer]

Amazing game. The visuals, art direction, character designs, dialogue, world building, etc., are all top-notch. And the game has three great soundtracks: the faux metal album, that is actually insanely good, the symphonic score, and the full licensed 80s music.

I think the combat and puzzles are good, but could be vastly improved in a sequel, which is fine with me. There’s room for improvement. Still, the whole package is stunning. The game oozes with charm, and where other games try to pack in one-liner after one-liner, this game incorporates meaningful dialogue at every opportunity. All that, with wonderful voice acting as well.

Can’t recommend it enough.

 

[GymWolf]

It is a bit underrated but tbf the gameplay is really nothing special, the definition of serviceable.

 

[ClanOfNone]

I'm just about at the end, I picked it up during the psn end of year sale. I've enjoyed my time with it, and I'll definitely finish it which is more than I can say for a lot of games.

Graphics and sound were all top notch. Dialogue ranged from great to cringe, but pretty solid overall.
VA cast was absolutely stellar, I loved Drax n Rocket the most.
Kinda bummer to just play as Quill.
Would've liked some more unlocks/customization options.
Fin Fang Foom looked weird. I'm used to his old Marvel design.

Fun game, would def be interested in a sequel.

 

[Lognor]

It's definitely on my radar; I'm just waiting for it to inevitably come to Game Pass, probably in the next 3 months.

 

[Patrick S.]

Amazing game. The visuals, art direction, character designs, dialogue, world building, etc., are all top-notch. And the game has three great soundtracks: the faux metal album, that is actually insanely good, the symphonic score, and the full licensed 80s music.

I think the combat and puzzles are good, but could be vastly improved in a sequel, which is fine with me. There’s room for improvement. Still, the whole package is stunning. The game oozes with charm, and where other games try to pack in one-liner after one-liner, this game incorporates meaningful dialogue at every opportunity. All that, with wonderful voice acting as well.

Can’t recommend it enough.

I really wonder if they'll take away half of the soundtrack in a couple of years like Take 2 always does with the GTA games.

 

[Danjin44]

For me personally I have zero love for anything Marvel or DC related media so I avoid them like a plague

 

[lughnasadh123]

Avenger's game setting expectations.
First showings make a not so great impression.
Different look from the movies.
Combat not clicking with people early making them more likely to drop it.

For those that enjoy the visuals and a good story it's top notch just sadly with a lot of hurdles to get deep enough into it to enjoy those things.

 

[arvfab]

I really enjoyed this game. While it has some issues (combat is really weak, by the end of the game I was only giving orders; dialogues gets interrupted with no way to hear the end of them; had to fight a boss multiple times because an animation of the team was not starting; etc.), I still think it was far superior to Deathloop.

 

[Ailike]

I'm gonna be honest here and show how dumb I am. I assumed it was an 'expansion' or new 'season' to the Avengers game so I just ignored it.

 

[JayK47]

I plan to play this game after Spiderman. Looks like fun to me and I did not even know it was a game that was coming out until it was already out. Glad to head it should be good.

 

[ReBurn]

It's a great game. Got it for 40 bucks during the winter sales. I recommend it.

 

[Guilty_AI]

My brain just automatically blurs anything marvel related at this point

 

[tommib]

I can’t stand the movies, or really any modern mavel movie set in the avengersverse. So that’s why i’ve stayed away.

Best I can say about it without playing it is that the graphics are pretty good. Would anyone play it without liking the source material?

Same here. I’ve read and heard that it’s supposed to be really well written and funny but I can’t stand anything Guardians of the Galaxy related. I’ve never watched any of the films. Completely puts me off.

Having said that, I’m allergic to Star Wars and loved Fallen Order. So, we might be able to enjoy the game despite Marvel.

 

[Sleepwalker]

GOTY 2021 for me.


Felt like if naughty dog made a gotg game, gameplay issues and all.

 

[Pagusas]

big issue to me was how bad Avengers was, and how the charecrers felt like porn knockoffs of the MCU. Does this one have the same issue of “kinda sorta cheap chinese MCU knockoff?”

 

[ProgenitorCastle]

This is motivating me to continue it! I should reinstall it at some point and continue playing it

 

[elliot5]

big issue to me was how bad Avengers was, and how the charecrers felt like porn knockoffs of the MCU. Does this one have the same issue of “kinda sorta cheap chinese MCU knockoff?”

You can get the mcu outfits unlocked during the campaign if you find them. But maybe upon first impression that’s the case, but at the same time the designs are very different that they feel unique. I prefer these characters to the movie designs and personalities

 

[Jaybe]

GOTY 2021 for me.


Felt like if naughty dog made a gotg game, gameplay issues and all.

Yes. I wrote on another thread it is the best Naughty Dog game not made by Naughty Dog.

Punished Miku thanks for writing this up. You out into words what I wanted to.

 

[Pejo]

Just want to chime in with a threadly reminder that the OST is fucking amazing. They created a band just for the game and it's got glorious classic 80s rock vibes.

 

[stevish]

I Bought it due to the great word of mouth, I'm not really a marvel fan but the GotG movie was good imo so I have it a go.

I'm at about chapter 9 and i really don't understand the love. The combat is ok, dialogue is fun at times but there's a little too much snark, not much substance. Everyone's seemingly angry for little reason? Lots and lots of walk and talk and extremely basic puzzles.

What am I missing? Maybe I just didn't go into the game loving the characters or with all the history? I don't think I'll keep going with it.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Yes. I wrote on another thread it is the best Naughty Dog game not made by Naughty Dog.

Punished Miku thanks for writing this up. You out into words what I wanted to.

This is a good game made by people who know how to create fun gameplay, write good stories, and have continuously great pacing.

So its like Naughty Dog circa 11 years ago.

I Bought it due to the great word of mouth, I'm not really a marvel fan but the GotG movie was good imo so I have it a go.

I'm at about chapter 9 and i really don't understand the love. The combat is ok, dialogue is fun at times but there's a little too much snark, not much substance. Everyone's seemingly angry for little reason? Lots and lots of walk and talk and extremely basic puzzles.

What am I missing? Maybe I just didn't go into the game loving the characters or with all the history? I don't think I'll keep going with it.

Angry for little reason? Were you just not paying attention? There are numerous reasons why the characters are very angry.

 

[Ristifer]

Also want to point out that it’s worth it to explore and find character-specific artifacts around each world in order to unlock unique conversations with the team. Lots of worthwhile conversations and backstories that bring out the characters’ personalities even more.

 

[Sosokrates]

I think once you get to 80 metacritic/opencritic dont mean much.

Reviews should always be a guide, a developers previous work can inform me about there next work just as much as a review.

You also have to wade through all the fanboy and marketing bullshit, people will hype or smear a game based on fanboyism, remember no mans sky people would shill the fuck out of that game before it came out, acting like its something great.

 

[intbal]

I avoided it because the combat, in the footage I've seen anyway, reminded me of ReCore (minus the core extraction part). And ReCore got old really fast.
Maybe I'll give it a shot if it gets a deep price cut.

 

[Tschumi]

I didn't know if was done by the deus ex team until DF mentioned it in their best graphics of 2021 video, fuck yeah HR and MD are both in my top 10 games of the decade, this bodes well for the next deus ex game, and bodes well for my chances of buying this one day