This was a really pleasant surprise. After the somewhat engaging but kind of mediocre Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and based on what I've heard about Avengers, I had a lot more fun with Guardians than I expected to. It doesn't re-write the book on third person action games but is carried by its great cast of characters, clever writing, satisfying gameplay, and a touching story hat had me invested from beginning to end. The inspiration from the MCU version is unmistakeable but thankfully this adaptation really comes into its own and explores a ton of the cosmic side of Marvel that has yet to be touched on in the movies. The Guardians don't feel like carbon copies of their film counterparts and each member of the team gets an appropriate amount of development and moments to shine during the story. The amount of dialogue is seriously insane and the presentation had my full attention at all times (a podcast game this is not). While I think the script succeeds at a lot of great comedy that doesn't undercut emotional beats or feel forced, your mileage on the frequent use of the word "flark" may vary. And I can recall at least a couple jokes that I would deem cringey, but those are very few and far between; the majority of the time the writing is fantastic.

But the game does falter in a few spots. For one the graphics definitely lack polish. I'm impressed with the stable 60fps on Series X even when a ton of shit is happening on-screen during combat, but there are graphical hiccups here and there. Skyboxes will often flicker or have visible seams, which took me out of the beautiful space scenery at points. Certain character models can look or move a bit awkward, especially while they lock eyes with you during a looping, stationary animation. I got stuck in the geometry a couple of times and the camera locked into place when it wasn't supposed to, but I can count those kinds of instances on one hand. A quick re-load always did the trick and the autosaves ensured I never lost a minute or two of progress. On the gameplay side I can definitely see some people finding the combat repetitive, not to mention easy. I always found it satisfying, especially once I figured out powerful move combos with your teammates, and the exploration helps break up the monotony. And I won't be the first to say that this feels like a nice blend of Uncharted and the team building of Mass Effect, although it handles action set pieces nowhere near as well as the former. This game's idea of an action set piece is sliding down a giant hill inside of a cave, of which you will see quite a few.

Overall, I would recommend checking this one out, especially if you have Game Pass. I slept on it for too long but I really hope they can expand on this IP in the future. Seems like Eidos-Montreal got sold off to a new publisher so I guess I won't hold my breath for the time being.