Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue Reviews
Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Games Series kicks off with a mixed bag of feelings. The episode is funny but boring, touching, yet unrefined. The gameplay is slick, but the quick-time events are a chore. It flips and flops between ‘intriguing mystery' and ‘mediocrity at its okayest,' but there's plenty of room to get better. Now that the stage has been set, I am ready for episode 2 to go the distance.
"Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue" is a satisfactory launchpad for the rest of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series. So far the game has a distinct identity chock-full of cheesy dialogue, catchy tunes and badass superheroes, although moments of seriousness and sadness that seem to come out of nowhere don't fit in.
Tangled Up in Blue lacks the narrative heft of many of the best Telltale games, and the individual Guardians aren't given enough to work with in the short running time to help distinguish them from the versions seen in the 2014 movie. There are flickers of hope – usually involving Rocket – that the characters will come into their own in future episodes, and some of the flashbacks and backstory hint that the storyline might go in interesting directions, but it feels like Guardians of the Galaxy-lite, lacking the irreverent humour, swashbuckling action, and the occasional heart of James Gunn's surprise hit.
It takes a while to find its voice and stretches a three song soundtrack to near breaking point, but this first episode demonstrates a willingness to take a stand-alone Guardians of the Galaxy plot in intriguing directions. Most importantly: it pulls off just enough jokes.
The first episode of Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy pretty much contains everything a fan of the movie could ever desire. The graphics engine desperately needs a revamp, though.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Guardians of the Galaxy is packed with Star-Lord and crew's humor and classic rock tunes, but this stiff point-and-click adventure game won't quite leave you hooked on a feeling.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy : The Telltale Series tells a story that is both interesting and surprising. But the technical limitations of Telltale's engine are really starting to drag its games down. The game's half-assed translation is also pretty annoying.
Review in French | Read full review
On the bright side, Tangled Up in Blue is a solid first salvo for Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series. Though some of the early storytelling does prove to be disappointing, it is nice to know that they have plenty of room for improvement in future chapters. Given the nature of the conflicts dealt with in this installment, I am still extremely curious to see where things go from here. The sky's the limit for this series. Let's hope that Telltale is shooting for the stars.
With the Guardians of the Galaxy, Telltale offered us a good use of the license with an interesting story that included a couple of nice plot twists. This chapter is just the beginning of something that should continue to improve in the following episodes to really shine between this kind of interactive stories.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I'll admit to being initially dubious about Telltale's prospects of taking on these characters, who we already know well from the first Guardians movie and the comics, and involve them in a compelling story that doesn't tread too heavily on the toes of the upcoming second movie.
Ultimately, Telltale's first episode of its Guardians of the Galaxy series is a solid start. While I'd definitely like to see Telltale take their foot off the gas when it comes to driving the story along in future episodes in favor of more quality time with the characters, the high-tempo introduction to the series is sure to keep players hooked.
Because of its tonal misfire, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy won't end up as one of Telltale's more memorable series. But an entertaining sidetrack, a decently written plot, and a few good gameplay ideas make it an entertaining distraction and a fun way to pass the time until Guardians 2 hits theaters, or the next episode of The Walking Dead hits Steam.
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series gets off to a good start with a story that intrigues about a set of characters all too familiar. How closely the game looks to the recent movie and upcoming sequel for its tone, characters and design is to some degree understandable, but also seems like a missed opportunity – at least this early on. As ever with a Telltale series there's potential going forward, but if the Guardians are to strike out on their own in video games, they need to play something new. At the moment, they're a bit like a covers band.
Given their penchant for classic rock tunes, we'll have to see with the remaining episodes if Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series can evolve from an acceptable (but not stellar) cover song to something truly great of its own.
The first episode of Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy isn't what fans will expect.
Telltale games are all about narrative choices and living with the consequences. Episode One does tend to feel linear, especially after multiple playthroughs led to the same conclusion, however that doesn't mean your choices won't change things in later episodes. There are a handful of major choices that should affect the overall narrative. There are also a bunch of easter eggs regarding the universe and characters outside of the Guardians that some may miss if they rush through the game. With that said, the old-school music selections in the game is enjoyable, as well as some good voice acting with some funny dialogue sequences.
I'm sure one day I'm going to finally be able to sit down and say that the well has run dry for Telltale, that their stories can't carry them through anymore. But today isn't that day.
Maybe future episodes will improve on this. Unfortunately Tangled Up in Blue starts Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series off on an unconvincing note. Its best plot ideas are ditched before they get going, the soundtrack is good but repetitive, and it fails to improve on the formula in the way recent Telltale games have been doing.
Tangled Up in Blue is a promising start for the Guardians of the Galaxy series, as Telltale applies its usual focus upon the contrasting relationships of the flawed but endearing squad. With some fresh tweaks to the gameplay and a solid soundtrack to rock out to, Telltale's latest is one to keep an eye on for both Guardians fans and newcomers alike.