Guardians of the Galaxy is the Mass Effect game you didn’t know you were missing
It’s been nine years since Mass Effect fans got a new entry in the series with the divisive Mass Effect: Andromeda. 2021’s Mass Effect Legendary Edition remasters helped fill the Normandy-sized hole in their sci-fi-loving hearts, but the desire for a new Mass Effect adventure can’t be sated. In 2027, a couple of games, Exodus and The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, will look to fill that hole.
But a really great, character-driven, third-person sci-fi shooter where you fly around the galaxy in an attempt to save it has been sitting here all along since 2021. The under-appreciated Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is already the most Mass Effect-coded game of the generation. If you haven’t played it yet, now is the time: Guardians of the Galaxy is currently 85% on the Nintendo eShop, Steam, and the Xbox store. (It’s full price on PlayStation, but frequently discounted there too.)
Based on the Marvel Comics team lineup popularized by the MCU films, Guardians of the Galaxy puts you in the jet boots of Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord. Unlike some other superhero games, like the Marvel Ultimate Alliance series or Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Quill is the only playable character.
While not a created character like Shepard in Mass Effect, you still have some agency over Quill’s character development and the narrative of the game. You select dialogue options when conversing with your team members around the Milano (Quill’s starship) in very Mass Effect-coded sections. There may not be any loyalty missions in Guardians, as there famously are in Mass Effect 2, but getting to know Gamora, Rocket, and the rest certainly feels like gaining their loyalty over time. In many ways, it feels a lot like checking in with Garrus, Tali, and the rest in between missions on the Normandy.
Crafting a conversation doesn’t just happen on the Milano; the Guardians are constantly jabbering when exploring a level, like how you can prompt your Mass Effect squadmates to share their thoughts on the CItadel or Illium. Choice extends beyond dialogue as well. At one point, the Guardians have to decide which team member — Groot or Rocket — to pretend to sell as a monster to Lady Hellbender. Your choice affects how the next section plays out, not dissimilar to ending an encounter with your words or guns in a Mass Effect game. Other choices, like how you interact with the Worldmind and Cosmo, influence the ending’s final battle. It’s somewhat reminiscent of how your gathered war assets can have a minor effect on the climatic assault in Mass Effect 3.
Because you only play as Quill, Guardians’ gameplay feels very much like Mass Effect, even without cover to duck behind. Every Guardian has a power wheel that you can command in battle, like how Shepard directs her squadmates in Mass Effect. Sometimes teammates will even use special tandem attacks against an enemy that aren’t too far away from Mass Effect’s power combinations.
The similarities may end there, if I’m being honest. Guardians is a rather tight 20-hour, linear game, while the Mass Effect titles can be upward of 40-hour, sprawling RPGs. You can take Shepard, and Andromeda’s Ryder, in a number of gameplay directions with a mix of Tech and Biotic powers, whereas Quill is always going to be using his elemental guns no matter what. Shepard can be a dick at times on the Renegade path, while Quill is always going to be a hero in the end. (This is a Marvel game, after all.)
Still, the way you get to influence Quill’s relationships in Guardians of the Galaxy, eventually molding him into a true leader, feels ripped from a Mass Effect game. And the gameplay isn’t too dissimilar either, with Star-Lord’s command of the battlefield similar to Shepard’s. Mass Effect 5 feels very far away at this point. Those other two Mass Effect-like games aren’t here until 2027. While waiting, you could do a lot worse than giving Guardians of the Galaxy a spin for your next sci-fi gaming adventure. At the very least, you can enjoy some pretty dope original rock music made for the game.