The newly-released Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has found a way to fully embrace what the MCU has done for these characters without copying it. Prior to 2014, mainstream audiences were not familiar with the Guardians of the Galaxy. The first movie was an unlikely phenomenon due to how weird the concept was, but James Gunn brought something unique to it to not only make the GotG movie distinct from the rest of the MCU but any other superhero movie out there.
[WARNING: Spoilers for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy game below]
The director made the bumbling ragtag band of misfits one of the most poignant groups in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although there is a fair share of tear-jerking moments in the MCU, it rarely feels as personal as the touching moments in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. It's such a massive pillar of those films that it's hard to imagine them without it. It also makes it incredibly tough to take on the characters after the bar has been set so high.
Somehow, against the odds, Eidos-Montreal pulled it off with the acclaimed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. It is not only one of the most well-made Marvel games to date, but also one of the most profoundly intimate. Despite being a story about saving the galaxy as they know it, Eidos finds a way to isolate the characters and hone in on deeply personal moments. It's not just moments for the sake of character building either, it's weaved into the core plot in such a smart way that it feels organic and part of the larger themes of the game.
Marvel's GotG Retains What Made The MCU Films Resonate
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy begins by placing players in the shoes of a young Peter Quill on his birthday. His mom walks in and tries to connect with him over music, briefly plays with his Chewbacca action figure, and asks to spend time with him. Of course, as a player, it's clear something will eventually happen to his mother because Star-Lord ends up in space without her. Still, her ultimate demise is not seen until much later in the game due to the structure of the story.
Nonetheless, in just a few short minutes, it's hard not to care for the relationship between Peter and his mom. She's personable and trying her best as a single mother, and as the flashbacks unravel players see how much she values her son. She wants to play a game with him, throws a Pac-Man birthday party even though no one else is there to celebrate, and ultimately, just wants to be with him and get the most out of their time together. It's inevitably cut short when aliens come to abduct Peter, killing his mom in the process. It's a sad origin story, but one that many superheroes are quite familiar with.
There are various knick-knacks and Easter eggs in Peter's room on the Milano that throwback to his childhood, allowing him to recall a time when things were simpler. It's also revealed after a few chapters that he gave his Chewbacca figure to Ko-Rel, and although they don't linger on it too hard, it shows a real display of affection for her. It's one of the few things he has left from Earth, one of the few things he has left to his mom by, and he gave it to someone he cares for. And then she dies as well.
All of Peter's losses and nostalgia for his childhood plays into the core themes of the game. Marvel's GotG villains Grand Unifier Raker and Magus' ultimate plan is to brainwash everyone in the galaxy by showing them "The Promise," an illusion that allows the victim to see whatever reality they want. For Peter, that's returning to be with his mother. He's able to return to the moment when the aliens invaded their Missouri farm and save the day, preventing his mother from dying.
Why GotG Focuses Mainly On Peter Quill
After saving the day, he is able to finally hug his mom again. She welcomes him and the Guardians into their home and is able to tell her about his adventures, reminisce on his childhood, and more. This scene makes it clear why Eidos made Star-Lord the only playable character in Marvel's GotG. It would lack intimacy if there were co-op players or players had been jumping between characters throughout the rest of the game.
Peter is making up for lost time with his mom, just like he does with his father in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It's perfect, but it's too perfect. He eventually has to snap out of it. It's not real and it can never be real, and no amount of magic can bring back his mom. He has to let go and, in order to do so and destroy the illusion, he has to do the most painful thing a son could ever possibly do: Break free of her hug and repeatedly shoot her until she's dead.
The potency of nostalgia and grief in Guardians of the Galaxy is tangible and textured, so much so that it's basically a threat in this story. They're incredibly powerful feelings, and while they can be used to make people feel something really positive, it's important to not chase it, and to understand it's in the past. People have to move forward and find new memories to make, not become burdened by their old ones. This is demonstrated perfectly in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.
Every member of the team shares loss and trauma, which is what ultimately helps them bond and connect together. When Drax becomes corrupted, players realize it's because he's still hanging on to the idea of being with his family. Before the events of Marvel's GotG, Drax kills Thanos for the destruction he caused throughout the galaxy, which also resulted in the death of his wife and daughter. Drax still mourns his family, likely because he tried to distract himself from grieving by hunting down the Mad Titan. He eventually has to come to with the fact that his family is gone and he has a new family in the Guardians.
Marvel's GotG Themes Continue With Nikki
Perhaps more powerfully, this is how Star-Lord shakes Nikki from her illusion. In a moment that's reminiscent of the first Guardians movie where a young Peter refuses to be with his mother as she's dying of cancer, seemingly out of denial, Nikki states she'd rather live thinking her mother is coming back than accept the fact that she's not. The player has to talk her down from her power trip and help Nikki come to with her loss.
This could've been a simple cutscene with no player interaction, but instead, it becomes a scene with some of the most impactful choices in Marvel's GotG. Eidos uses the dialogue system to allow players to choose how they calm Nikki down. Star-Lord can just say something along the lines of "I know how you feel," but it doesn't really work. The player has to ultimately empathize with Nikki, but by telling her that what she's feeling isn't black and white, her trauma is unique to her. It doesn't discount her pain or categorize it, but lets her know that even though everyone encounters loss, it's different for everyone and they have to process it accordingly.
Once she breaks free, she becomes a member of the Guardians, a team essentially comprised of orphans. They're orphans of vastly different circumstances, but that's how they connect. At the start of the game, they're all mostly friendly with each other, but there's still a lot of bickering and hesitation about like Gamora. By the end of Marvel's GotG, they all open up about their tragic backstories and grow closer. Whether that be through Gamora itting she killed Nebula or Rocket revealing why he's afraid of water, they all have a devastating memory that they have to shed. In doing so, they become a collective family.
The ability to retain this level of emotional intimacy may not have been possible without being able to look at James Gunn's films for reference. Those films are able to zoom back into their characters and find the soul of the story even when planets are exploding or there's some other cataclysmic event. Marvel's GotG could've been like Marvel's Avengers, resulting in a fun but unfulfilling story. Eidos managed to totally avoid this, however. It manages to capture what makes the movies resonate with audiences without copying them or relying on them as a crutch. It pulls the human element out of the MCU films and reworks it for a new tale.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a beautiful, original story. It handles its themes with intelligence and elegance, never falling into cliché, nor does it utilize manipulative tricks on the player. Eidos-Montreal found a story that almost everyone can relate to on some level by tackling the ideas and feelings that come with loss. It handles it in such a personal way that it still feels like it can be unique to the player, but also feels focused enough to be universal.