Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue Reviews
The first episode of Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy isn't what fans will expect.
The first episode of Telltale's Guardians of the Galaxy felt like it was phoned in. Though the trademark characters and world is there, it lacks the essence that put the series on the map. Here's hoping future episodes recapture the spirit that made the comics and movie so great.
At the end of the day, Tangled Up in Blue is a completely unremarkable Telltale game. The most unique thing it does is to provide some verticality while exploring environments, thanks to Quill's rocket boots. There's potential for the series to turn into a fantastic, galaxy-hopping adventure with the Guardians; however, if this episode is what can be expected from the whole series, you're probably better off just watching the movies again.
I like Telltale games for the most part. I loved The Wolf Among Us and Tales From The Borderlands. Those were also games that I played years ago. As of now, the engine feels the same if not slowly getting worse. It could also be that I was more forgiving in the past when I was playing those games on older hardware. Now it is 2017, and I'm all out of patience. Guardians is hindered by its engine and will continue to be if Telltale does not change, which is a true shame.
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.
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue is traditional for Telltale Games collection of overdue templates, where you can see a cynical imitation of a popular universe.
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Guardians of the Galaxy's story may eventually get someplace interesting, but it's a poor fit for Telltale's simple quick time events and stiff dialogue sequences.
Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy has smartly attempted to recreate the breezy feel and tone of Tales from the Borderlands in its first episode, and despite the strain of Telltale’s brand fatigue weighing heavily, they’ve basically manage to achieve this.
A stuttered start to this new story. None of the characters feel quite right for some reason, and the story is filled with developments that are telegraphed or predictable. Worse yet, the decisions are lacking any sort of grey area and instead seem to just be fuelling breaking the Guardians up in a later episode… Telltale has got its hands on a great licence and this first episode does not do it justice. Here's hoping it improves in subsequent parts.
For the first chapter in a new series, Guardians of the Galaxy doesn't make you want to keep going. Hopefully the story can pick up in the next chapters to let Guardians stand shoulder to shoulder with the other great Telltale games.
For what it's worth, 'Tangled Up in Blue' does do a good job with its emotional beats, and it's going to be interesting to see where it leads.
A new IP which offers some great laughs and a fresh coat of paint, but not a whole lot more.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.