Summary
There was a time before 2014 when even the most hardcore comic book fan had a difficult time placing theGuardians of the Galaxyin the Marvel Comics universe. However, that all changed whenJames Gunn wrote and directed a movie,based on the lovable team of cosmic heroes, that took place as a part of the hugely successful MCU. Now, the group of misfits called the Guardians of the Galaxy are household names.
With such popularityhas come more comic books,movies, and appearances in some big Marvel video games. These games may not feature every member of the Guardians that fans have come to know, but plenty of Marvel video games now include some of these cosmic characters as playable characters.
The first fewMarvel vs. Capcomgamesbrought together a roster of the most popular Marvel characters of the time and pitted them against a roster of some of the most popular Capcom characters. As such, many of the previous games in this series featured Marvel mainstays, such as Spider-Man, Hulk, and Wolverine. However, the Guardians of the Galaxy were so popular by the timeMarvel vs. Capcom: Infinitewas in development that a few members of the team made the roster.
In this arcade-style fighting game, the villain, Ultron, is on a mission to gather the Infinity Stones. Therefore, heroes from the Marvel and Capcom universes have to team up to stop him. They do so through a series of fights where players can use combos or fill their super gauge to land powerful attacks.Gamorauses her sword fighting skills heavily in combat, whereasRocketuses guns and also receives help fromGrootoff-screen during certain moves.
Telltale Games creates a unique brand of video gamesthat are based solely on storytelling and character decisions. InMarvel’sGuardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series,the developers bring players a 3D story that includes all members of the Guardians team that people know in five episodes that have them to follow the story based on the decisions they make.
The series begins with the main team already established and helping the Nova Corps fight off an invasion from Thanos. The story then goes on to separate the team through the ensuing episodes, andStar Lordmust reassemble the Guardians to stop Hala and the Kree from destroying the galaxy.
LEGO Marvel Superheroeswas released in 2013. As such, the Guardians of the Galaxy are not featured in the roster of playable characters during the main story. However, the main team of Guardians doesturn up at the end of the credits.These versions of the characters look much more like their comic-book counterparts, and play very similar to what fans would expect.GamoraandDraxcarry swords, and bothStar LordandRocket Raccoonhave large guns.
These characters from the Guardians of the Galaxy populate the LEGO open world of New York City, and players must finish their tasks to unlock them as playable options. After this, the Guardians can be used for free play to solve puzzles and collect bricks, like in allLEGOgames.
The first two video games in theMarvel Ultimate Allianceseries were dungeon crawling games set in the Marvel Comics universe, where players were able to construct a team of four heroes to use on each mission. Unfortunately, none of the Guardians of the Galaxy were playable in these initial games,and the series seemingly ended in 2007.However, the rise of the MCU in movie theaters gave Nintendo the drive to bring the series back on the Switch in 2019 withMarvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order.
Of course, the Guardians of the Galaxy were much bigger characters in popular culture by this point, so the main team from the movies were included in the game as optional team members. Plus, the team is used in the first level as the POV characters to explain the Infinity Stones. All the characters play as melee brawlers in the game, withRocketandGrootteaming up as one character to help wipe out the waves of enemies in each level.
The firstLEGO Marvel Superheroesgame was largely based on the comic universe with a few nods to the MCU films that had come out before 2013. By the time the sequel was released, the MCU was in full swing and the Guardians of the Galaxy were household names. As a result, the cosmic team played a big role in this new game.
LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2begins with the Guardians fighting a celestial, and goes on to tell a more cosmic story that involves Kang and his goal to rule the Multiverse. Therefore, many characters from theGuardians of the Galaxymovies and comic books are playable in thisopen-world, puzzle-solving LEGO video game.
It took a while, but the Guardians of the Galaxy finally starred in their own triple-A video game in 2021. The game featured all the team members that players would expect, but the game only allows them to play asStar Lord. However, this third-person shooter gives Peter Quill a leadership role, which means that players get to command the rest of the team and activate their superpowers while fighting through the waves of enemies.
The story follows Quill and the team as they flash back to how Star Lord ended up in space, and they eventually meetAdam Warlockin a narrative-focused action adventure featuring many familiar faces from theGuardians of the Galaxyfranchise. Sadly, the lackluster release ofMarvel’sAvengerslive-service game meant that many fans did not want to check out another Marvel game and be let down. This meant that many gamers missed out on playing one ofthe best superhero games of the last ten years.
