Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (GotG), as brilliant of a game as it is, has a major flaw in gamers’ minds. Instead of allowing players to take control of all the guardians, it limits them to just one. Eidos Montreal’s decision to restrict player control to the “leader” of the guardians, Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord, earned the ire of gamers worldwide who wished to have multiple playable characters. Nevertheless, the game still received critical acclaim from both critics and gamers alike. It earned several praises as a hidden gem in the superhero game genre.
In this article, we aim to take a look at the characters in the game that you can technically play apart from Star-Lord. Moreover, we’d also highlight some major characters that play a huge role in the game’s narrative.
Characters players can technically control
Marvel’s GotG is chock full of characters taken directly from the expansive Marvel Universe. For the most part, the playable characters in the game remain faithful to the source material. In some cases, they are arguably characterized better than what the MCU managed to accomplish.
Without prior knowledge about the game, players can assume that they’d be able to control all five guardians. If not for the whole game, perhaps a dedicated section or even for a short while. However, that is not just the case. Players are only able to control Peter Quill and that is that. At least it allows you to give commands to your teammates, which technically gives you control over them to some degree.
With that in mind, let us discuss each of the guardians and how they impact the overall gameplay.
Rocket Racoon
Rocket deals with enemies in bunches. He deploys various explosives and bombs on top of blasting them away with his arsenal of powerful guns. You can rely on him to deal massive damage while also lending some crowd control. Outside of combat, Rocket can use his engineering skills to open locked doors. He can also help you reach inaccessible areas with his little stature. Furthermore, Star-Lord can also go to him in the Milano to craft various combat perks and upgrades.
Groot
Groot is your go-to guy whenever in the face of overwhelming opposition. His excellent crowd-control abilities can significantly help you fight your way through waves of enemies. Groot can immobilize several enemies at once using his roots, exposing them to your attacks. While he doesn’t deal a lot of damage, his skills are indispensable in chaotic encounters. Believe us, there are a lot of them here. Notably, Groot can also make wooden bridges to help you progress to the next area.
Gamora
Gamora is the typical single-target damage dealer you can almost always find in any action RPG game. She deals the most damage among all the guardians and is also the fastest. You can always rely on her sword to deal the finishing blow. However, she doesn’t offer much crowd control. She needs others to set up for her to capitalize fully on her strengths. Moreover, Gamora can also slice obstacles to help the party progress through a certain area.
Drax
While all of the guardians have their funny moments, Drax is just the highlight for us in this game humor-wise. You cannot help but fall in love with him in Marvel’s GotG because of how brilliantly written he is here. That said, Drax is one of the best playable characters for staggering enemies to then expose them to major damage. He breaks the guards of enemies using his brute strength, making him the perfect setup guy. Outside of combat, Drax can help you lift large boulders and obstacles.
Although players cannot directly control them, they can issue commands to them via their various skills. Take note that each character has their cooldowns so you couldn’t just spam your favorite attack. While it is a shame to not be able to control other characters, the game did a great job integrating them into various systems that you can arguably claim that you are indeed in control of as well.
Prominent Marvel Characters Present in the Game
Apart from the guardians themselves, Marvel’s GotG also features other prominent Marvel characters. Some of them are integral parts of the game’s story, while others are there to give more exposition or help players on major encounters. Here are some of them:
- Mantis
Unfortunately, unlike the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy, Mantis is not an official member of the team and does play a smaller role here. Nevertheless, she is just as lovable here and quirky as her movie counterpart.
- Cosmo
Cosmo the cute telepathic dog manages the Knowhere space station, keeping both civilians and criminals under control. He is a strong leader that utilizes his immense psychic abilities to preserve the peace of his domain.
- Lady Hellbender
Lady Hellbender is a mighty warrior who collects various types of monsters all over the galaxy. She houses them all on her home planet, Seknarf Nine. Despite her tough and ruthless exterior, she is a warrior of honor that lives up to her every word.
- Centurion Ko-Rel
Peter Quill’s former lover and a high-ranking official at the Nova Corps. At first, she will come up to players as an inconsequential character from Peter’s past but her importance in the story will soon become more prominent as the story progresses.
- Adam Warlock
The powerful golden guy in possession of the soul stone. Adam Warlock is an integral part of the Marvel Universe, and he is in this game as well. The latter parts of the game effectively revolve around him.
Do you think Marvel’s GotG could have been better if it only had more playable characters? Let us know your thoughts below. For more articles like this and up-to-date gaming news, be sure to visit our website and follow our social media accounts.
