REVIEW – The second episode of Telltale’s epic sci-fi adventure is finally here, and it starts right after the first episode left off, with Peter Quill being brought back to life by the mysterious artifact called the Eternity Forge. Now determined more than ever to uncover its secrets, the Guardians decide to look for clues as to the origin of the object. However, they might end up more broken than ever as all of them have a stake in trying to use the Forge.

Thanos might be dead now, and the Galaxy is safe for a bit, but who knows what the power of The Eternity Forge will cause members of the Guardians to do in order to bring back parts of their broken past.

A raccoon and depression

While the first episode from this season was rather light-hearted (yes even if we kill an angry god in the first minute of the pilot episode), this episode decides to show that there is a darker side to being the hero of the Galaxy. The story in Episode 2 is much more focused on our cute little talking raccoon with a big gun, and provides ample backstory to his character, and why he is such a cynic to those around him. It is one of the best parts of this episode including the interactivity, and the script that was written for the narrative surrounding Rocket’s past. It is both great to see such acting but also provides a much-needed depth to the character – whose only characteristic was that he was a wisecracking bounty hunter who loves to make weapons.

The rest of the episode though is a pretty big blur regarding memorable scenes, and even feels like a filler to the overall arc of the season. There were also fewer chances to interact with the other crew members, and narratively the episode was tied between Gamorra and Rocket regarding importance. We also got to finally meet Nebula, aka Gamorra’s sister, but even that interaction was brief.

Overall the storylines for this episode were okay, with Rocket’s being the highlight regarding an emotional rollercoaster.

A science-fiction epic with lack of sights

As much as a roller coaster was Rocket’s storyline the rest of the game regarding quality is just either bad or lacks any attention to detail. I did not feel like I was playing a game, hell even Kojima’s efforts back in Metal Gear Solid 2 had more gameplay than this episode. The episode feels painfully slow to play, as the game switches between locations (and loading screens) every 10 or so minutes. Speaking of locations, they also lack any effort. Sure there’s a planet name on the screen when we get there regarding a narrative, but otherwise, the Telltale engine is dreadful here, and even the art design is entirely mediocre. It is sci-fi game with any class or quality, which is odd because The Guardians of The Galaxy was always great in presenting awe-inspiring locations. Here we get two temples, and I think three indoor locations at best, and even those are unimpressive due to texture quality.

The voice acting is still on par and provides great immersion for the storylines, but even then that is just a bare minimum in such games.

This episode does feel like one big giant cutscene, where the choices made do not really offer much variation. It feels short, and that is saying something compared to the first episode. Plus, unfortunately, the action scenes or aka the quick time events are a chore to get through, have no style to them, and feels really tacked on this episode.

No rush.

In the end, sadly this episode feels mediocre compared to Telltale’s offerings, and capabilities. Even Episode 1 was much better. Hopefully, Episode 3 will be able to set things right.

-Dante-

Publisher: Telltale Games, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Telltale Games

Genre: Action

Release date: June 6, 2017