3.5/5 ★ – JakeBakesCakes's review of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

The best way I can describe this game is that feels like the best season of a CW show. Not in the writing or characters, both are actually better than a CW show. I make this comparison for the game’s length and pacing. There is an over-arching narrative which is always present and important, but it’s dragged out and filled with unnecessary detours. Are these detours often fun and filled with solid character development like a good season of Arrow? Yes, they are. Do I wish this game was shorter and more focused on the heart of the story rather than the mechanics of the story? Also, yes. The story is the best part of this game by far. It’s an impressive feat to have me now associate my love for these characters with the games instead of the movies. The dialogue never stops, but it’s 90% great. The relationships are convincing an dynamic, the banter is fun, and the core emotional theme works really fucking well. I cried! That says enough. The other thing this game does incredibly well is art and world design. I was consistently astounded at how colorful and inventive some of the worlds are. After playing Halo Infinite and trekking down the same boring ass corridor, Guardians was a breath of fresh air. The music, while increasingly less fresh every time a movie/game does the 80s bit after the OG Guardians movie, is still fun. I mean, it’s 80s music!? The combat. Well, it’s fine. It’s not good. It’s not bad. It’s just fine. And fine becomes a slog over a 15+ hour game. The enemies are too spongey. The way you use your fellow guardians doesn’t feel strategic. And the huddle power-up gets annoying on the second try. I appreciate what the game was going for, but they missed the mark.