Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a 2021 action-adventure game developed by Eidos-Montréal and originally published by Square Enix. Set in an original universe based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, the game's plot follows the Guardians who, while attempting to capture a beast for a wealthy collector, inadvertently trigger a catastrophe which threatens the peace of the galaxy. The player controls the team's self-proclaimed leader, Star-Lord, and issues commands to other Guardians including Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Rocket Raccoon and Groot. At certain points in the game, the player makes key decisions via dialogue trees that affect the relationships between Guardians and change the outcome of missions.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy was the second game developed in partnership between Marvel Entertainment and Square Enix. The game is strictly single-player and has no downloadable content or microtransactions, marking a departure from Marvel Entertainment and Square Enix's previous game, Marvel's Avengers. Marvel collaborated closely with the team at Eidos to create an original version of the Guardians. Despite the game's lighthearted tone, themes of trauma and grief are central to the story. The soundtrack comprises an original score composed by Richard Jacques, various licensed songs from the 1970s and 1980s, and a 1980s-inspired album by the game's audio director, Steve Szczepkowski.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy was announced in June 2021 and was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 26, 2021. A cloud streaming version for Nintendo Switch was released on the same day. A port for Nintendo Switch 2 with exclusive content will release under the subtitle Encore Edition in November 2026. While anticipation for the game was low due to the lackluster reception of Marvel's Avengers, it received generally positive reviews from critics. It was praised for its narrative, music, characters, and cast performance, but its gameplay and combat systems drew mixed reactions. The game was nominated for several year-end accolades by gaming publications, as well as winning awards for "Best Narrative" at The Game Awards 2021, along with "Adventure Game of the Year" and "Outstanding Achievement in Story" at the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. Despite positive critical reception, the game failed to meet Square Enix's sales expectations.
Gameplay In Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, the player controls Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, from a third-person perspective. The player can attack enemies with elemental guns which have four shooting modes; ice shots temporarily freeze enemies, lightning shots stun them, wind shots pull in faraway enemies, and plasma shots deal fire damage to boss characters. The other Guardians, including Gamora, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Drax the Destroyer, are non-player characters controlled by artificial intelligence, but the player can issue commands to them during combat. Each Guardian has four unique abilities which can be chained to inflict more damage; Groot uses his roots to immobilize enemies, Rocket deploys various explosives and bombs, Drax can easily stagger enemies with his strength, and Gamora uses her sword to deal powerful melee damage. Players can also use environmental features to their advantage, for instance, by instructing Drax to hurl a large boulder at enemies.
As the Guardians engage in combat, a Momentum gauge will fill, allowing the player to perform a "Call-to-Action" attack which deals significant damage to stronger enemies. Some enemies also have a "stagger bar" which temporarily stuns them when depleted. Defeated enemies drop pick-ups which replenish Star-Lord's health. As the player progresses through the game, they earn experience points which can be used to unlock new abilities for team members. Another meter that fills during combat allows the player to perform a special ability called "Team Huddle", which briefly stops the fighting and prompts Star-Lord to make a motivational speech, accompanied by background music, to inspire his teammates. A good speech will grant the other Guardians combat bonuses and revive all fallen Guardians, though Star-Lord's abilities will be boosted regardless of the quality of the speech. Players have to listen to what the Guardians are saying and observe their emotional states in order to select the best response option during Team Huddle.
While the game is mostly linear, players are encouraged to explore each location to find components, collectibles, and costumes. The player navigates the environment with Star-Lord's jet boots and can use his visor to scan for objects of interest. There are also some segments where the player pilots the Guardians' spaceship, the Milano, in battle against hostile ships. Occasionally, players must utilize the skills of the other Guardians in order to progress. For instance, Rocket can use his engineering knowledge to open locked doors, allowing the team to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Rocket can also use components at workbenches to craft combat perks for Star-Lord, which grant passive advantages such as increased health and shield regeneration.
At certain points in the game, the player makes key decisions via dialogue trees that affect the relationships between Guardians and change the outcome of missions. These choices are referenced by characters throughout the game. Players may also engage in optional conversations with other Guardians members aboard the Milano after gifting them an object of interest. Despite the branching dialogue paths, the overall plot is always the same and the game has only one ending.
Synopsis Characters Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy features the eponymous team, the Guardians of the Galaxy, including Peter Quill / Star-Lord (Jon McLaren), a Terran-Spartoi hybrid and leader of the group; Gamora (Kimberly-Sue Murray), the "deadliest woman in the galaxy" and adopted daughter of Thanos; Rocket Raccoon (Alex Weiner), a former bounty hunter, weapons specialist, and inventor; Groot (Robert Montcalm), Rocket's loyal partner and fellow former bounty hunter, who is the last of his species; Drax the Destroyer (Jason Cavalier), famed throughout the galaxy as the killer of Thanos.
The main antagonist groups are the Universal Church of Truth, led by Grand Unifier Raker (Andreas Apergis), and the Lethal Legion, a group of bounty hunters hired by Lady Hellbender (Sarah Levesque) which includes the Blood Brothers (Kwasi Songui and Christian Jadah) and Captain Glory (Danny Blanco Hall). Other characters include Peter Quill's former lover and Nova Corps Centurion Ko-Rel (Judith Baribeau), Ko-Rel's daughter Nikki Gold (Romane Denis), the "Celestial Madonna" Mantis (Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez), Cosmo the Spacedog (Alex Ivanovici), the Xandarian Worldmind (Robert Montcalm & Leni Parker), Adam Warlock (Brent Skagford), and Peter Quill's mother Meredith Quill (Mylene Dinh-Robic). The Guardians also face beasts such as the Dweller-in-Darkness and the legendary dragon Fin Fang Foom.
Plot On Peter Quill's 13th birthday, Chitauri warriors attack his home, kidnapping him and killing his mother Meredith. Many years later, Quill—now a mercenary called Star-Lord—is the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, a group of "heroes for hire" hoping to make money during their adventurous wanderings around the galaxy.
In the years following a massive interstellar war, the Guardians have accepted a job to capture a rare monster for their patron, Lady Hellbender, the fearsome ruler of a planet of exotic and deadly beasts. They head to the Quarantine Zone, a restricted sector established by the Nova Corps to store debris from the war. However, they are forced to flee the zone when Quill accidentally releases an alien entity from a yellow gem. The Guardians are intercepted by the Nova Corps patrol ship Hala's Hope, captained by Quill's former lover, Centurion Ko-Rel. Ko-Rel detains the Guardians along with Grand Unifier Raker of the Universal Church of Truth, who was caught in the Quarantine Zone searching for his church's "golden god". While being processed, Quill meets a teenage Nova Corps cadet named Nikki Gold. Upon learning that Nikki is Ko-Rel's daughter, Quill suspects that he might be her father. Ko-Rel releases the Guardians with a time limit to pay their fine for trespassing, otherwise a device installed on the Milano would disable the ship.
In order to make money, the Guardians plan to scam money from Lady Hellbender by passing off Rocket or Groot as a rare creature. When their plan goes awry, the Guardians are once again forced to flee, though not before obtaining payment from Lady Hellbender to cover their fine. The Guardians then travel to "The Rock", a Nova Corps outpost where Hala's Hope is docked. There they find that several officers have mutinied in order to spread "the Promise". After the Hope leaves the station, the Guardians seek help from Cosmo the Spacedog, Head of Security on Knowhere. Cosmo agrees to aid the Guardians in investigating the Hope, which is now transmitting a strange signal; he sends them to the ship using a transportation system called the Continuum Cortex.
The Guardians board Hala's Hope and find a massive cannon siphoning "Faith Energy" from the planet below. They are then captured by Raker, who takes them to meet the "Matriarch" of his Church; To Quill's horror, the Matriarch is revealed to be Nikki. She is using the yellow gem to brainwash thousands of alien followers with the "Promise" by trapping them in illusions crafted from their deepest desires, then harnessing their devotion as Faith Energy to power the Church's fleet. Nikki tempts each of the Guardians with the Promise, and while they each manage to resist and escape the Church, Drax is shaken by what he saw. Quill also learns that Ko-Rel was killed by the mysterious entity he released.
The Guardians attempt to enlist the Xandarian Worldmind, but it concludes that the Church's victory is inevitable and flees the galaxy with the remainder of the Nova Corps. Drax then succumbs to the Promise and imprisons the rest of the team. With help from Mantis, the Guardians enter Drax's mind and convince him that the Promise is not real. They also encounter Adam Warlock, the Church's original "golden god" who faked his death and went into hiding on Mantis' planet. Warlock reveals that the alien entity controlling Nikki is his dark side, Magus, whom he sealed in the Soul Stone. Magus is manipulating Raker and the Church to gather Faith Energy on which he can feed.
The Guardians turn to Lady Hellbender as a last resort. To gain her favor, they subdue and gift her the legendary monster Fin Fang Foom, and she agrees to aid in an assault on the Church's flagship, the Sacrosanct. During their assault, Raker traps the Guardians in an energy field, but Quill manages to infiltrate Nikki's Promise. With the help of Ko-Rel's spirit—who reveals Nikki is an adopted war orphan and not Quill's daughter—Quill convinces Nikki to accept Ko-Rel's death, freeing her from Magus' control and unlocking her hidden powers. The Guardians kill Raker while Warlock absorbs Magus back into his body, ending the threat of the Church. As the galaxy celebrates being freed from the Church's brainwashing, the Guardians take their leave with Nikki as their new recruit.