Review: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Episode 3 – PS4

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Episode 3 seems like a step down after the fun in episode 2. Despite a couple of big developments, there are parts that seem to drag and the humor seen in previous episodes is sadly lacking. There will be spoilers, but I will try to limit them.
Episode 3 starts with Peter walking into the temple as we try to learn more about the eternity forge and who is calling to Peter through his memories. Throughout the episode, we receive quite a few answers, and it is satisfying to not have to wait anymore. You can even skip some of the explanation, which is a nice for anyone who wants to see more of the characters and less of an exhaustive explanation.
As we have seen in previous episodes, how to use to use the eternity forge becomes a central part of the plot. Rocket and Drax fully support it, and you can sympathize with their motivations. They have real pain that you have the power to remove. There is still the overarching threat in Hala, but these more personal stories help make the characters feel more genuine.

We also see a sizable chunk of the backstory on why Gamora and Nebula cannot see each other without pulling a knife or gun. The way it is revealed provides some interesting depth to what would otherwise be an ordinary story (ordinary for two assassins who work for the most evil being in the universe kind of ordinary), and I liked the twist.
I have really enjoyed talking to the characters in the previous episodes, but they feel forced and a little clunky in episode 3.  In order to move on to my next goal, I have to talk to everyone on the ship to remove the emotional interference. The interaction with Groot is almost nothing, Rocket is angry, and Drax seems disappointed.
The raw mechanical parts of the game are completely unmasked here. I had to walk to someone and push buttons until a canned conversation was completed. Although it served a purpose, it felt like I really did not accomplish anything. Everyone outside Gamora and Nebula was the same before and after I talked to them.
Despite getting some answers and a direction, I do not think we really did all that much in the episode. There is some minor action at the beginning and the end, but it was more low-key. This could be due to the episodic nature of the game and where we are in the overall story that is split between five episodes, but I was somewhat disappointed.

There was also a weird issue with a memory. If you have played previous episodes, you know that you can see the memories of other characters. This episode lets you see the same memory from two points of view, and it works well, except for one point. In one memory, the character steps onto a different rising platform than we saw previously. Although it is only a second and the image is corrected later, it is seems strange that it would have been left in the game if the focus is on looking for the differences between two accounts. It is only my OCD and does not impact the game in any way.
Despite my criticisms, episode 3’s ending gives me a lot of hope for the next episode. It leaves me with enough questions and anticipation to reduce the annoyance of some of the lackluster character interactions, lack of more interesting things to do, the questionable musical montage, and missing humor. It could be just the curse of the middle episode in episodic games, but Episode 3 is a definite step down from the humor and adventure in the previous episode.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Episode 3 PS4 Review

• 6/10
  Overall - Good - 6.0/10

6/10

Summary

Episode 3 does not have as much action or humor as previous episodes, and it suffers for it. The character interaction can feel forced with some seeming to lack any real consequence. We do receive some big answers, a very important new character, and a clearer look into Gamora and Nebula’s past, but it is not enough to overcome the smaller issues that undermine the missing sense of fun found in previous episodes.