Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue Reviews
Guardians of the Galaxy - The Telltale Series doesn't bring anything particularly new or very interesting when compared to other Telltale games, but it is able once again to competently adapt the universe in which it happens, with the spirit and jokes from the films without repeating the movie's plot. Being similar to a cartoon episode's style in its storytelling is fun for anyone who is a fan of the franchise.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Just like any other Telltale game, Guardians of the Galaxy is a great adaption. It suffers from some minor technical and gameplay issues, but strong story, high replay value, and marvelous sound design and music easily overcome those shortcomings.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Unfortunately I was a little let down. I’m not sure how to describe it. In relation to all of the other Telltale games I’ve played this isn’t a terrible episode by any means. But it isn’t great either and more than usual it really felt like paint by numbers. Considering how much fun the movies were I expected that sort of tone to carry into this game. But it didn’t.
This first episode definitely wasn't bad. It scores well for its humor, music and nice graphics. Points down for weaker storyline and uninteresting decisions. The quick-time events can also get pretty annoying.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
It's a mixed bag, but there's cause for both optimism and concern after completing Episode One
All in all, despite a slew of visual glitches and indefensible movement problems caused by Telltale refusing to seriously upgrade their engine, the excellent writing and abundance of humour stops Guardians Of The Galaxy from sinking into the pit of ‘bad video games based on commercially-successful movies’. The fascinating character interactions and engaging storyline that never ceases in springing up surprises around every corner makes this a must-play for fans of the series and those who want a bit more after coming home from watching the feature film.
In the end, Tangled Up in Blue shows me that not everything fits into the standard Telltale Formula. Mechanics found in other Telltale games feel out of place in this title and decisions carried very little weight to what we were doing. That said, it was still an enjoyable experience and built up enough intrigue to make me consider checking out the other episodes. If anything, this can quench your GotG thirst until the movie arrives.
What we have here with Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue is a solid if unspectacular entry into the latest Telltale Games series. I have really high hopes for Guardians of the Galaxy, and while Tangled Up in Blue does a decent job of setting the stage without any major trip-ups, there is plenty of room for improvement to be had as well.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad start to the series, but the story did dip in places after a massive spike right at the start, it kind of came crashing down with a slight peak again towards the end.
I really enjoyed the small details Telltale brought forward, and am excited about the potential this series holds for Both TT and Marvel.
Reactions to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series will depend largely on how receptive a given player is to seeing more of the Guardians of the Galaxy in general. Unlike their successful big-screen debut, the narrative missteps in Tangled Up in Blue mean that players of the first episode won't immediately fall in love with this motley crew of ne'er-do-wells. Anyone that's already open to their cosmic antics will find a family that seems worth sticking with.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy feels like a mixed bag. While there's the promise of a fun adventure in the Marvel universe with a likable group of characters, it's hampered by the same problems of nearly every Telltale game in the last few years, plus a few new ones. It's not terrible, but I'd wait to see what the other episodes look like before picking it up.
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.
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.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is a Telltale game. It does what the studio does well, and falters where they normally falter. The first episode kicks off the overall story with some interesting moments, but Telltale's Batman adaptation had a stronger start and more interesting mechanics to paint over the formula.
Telltale's take on Guardians of the Galaxy probably isn't what most fans of the film will expect, and the differences may prove off-putting
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.
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.
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.
While there's nothing here that will cure Telltale fatigue, Guardians of the Galaxy also manages to stumble in its writing and visual style where the studio typically succeeds.