Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy - Episode 1: Tangled Up in Blue

The first episode of Guardians of the Galaxy is a good start for a news Telltale's series. We only hope this quality could be maintained until the end of the saga.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series presents a very promising beginning in its first chapter: "Tangled in the Melancholy". The spirit of the saga's comics is very present and Telltale promises to make us enjoy this new adventure by joining Star Lord and the squad in their adventures in the galaxy, everything seasoned with an incredible soundtrack and a story that will surprise us.

Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely starting off on the right foot, with a great script, great actors, and a universe packed with personality (and backed by catchy tunes) to explore. If it can continue to deliver the quality of dialogue and panel-perfect action over the course of the rest of the season, it may find itself seated in the upper echelons of Telltale’s catalog. I just hope that now the series has introduced itself, the series gives its environments and characters just a bit more time to breathe in between speeding the plot along.

The first episode of Telltale's version of Guardians of The Galaxy starts off nicely with a enjoyable mix of humor and action. Although it starts off slow, the rest of the episode more than makes up for it. It is a nice start to a brand new adventure.

Overall, even with a few small missteps, this first episode of Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Series: Tangled in the Blue, sets the scene for what is yet to come and I’m hopeful that as we become immersed into the well-written story, these issues will melt away.

The first chapter's conflicts and outcomes may be conventional, but so were the the ones in the weird comic books my best friend's older brother stored in bread bags, which we'd read as fast as we could before he got home from football practice to terrify us. The feeling of wanting to read the next issue is just the same, too.

Telltale have crafted their own story from the Guardians comic-book lore, while keeping the flavour of the hugely successful movie. There are plenty of nods to both, and fans on the lookout for Knowhere, the Kree and other notable characters from the series will likely be more than happy. This is still a Telltale game though, and there simply aren’t any new mechanics to be found here that’ll convince detractors otherwise.

Episode One - Tangled Up in Blue is not perfect, much like the gang of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but with plenty of comedy, action and interesting stories, this might yet turn into one of Telltale's most beloved series.

We're left cautiously optimistic for Telltale's first foray into the Marvel universe, but the story needs to shift up a gear if this series is to escape the shadow of its big-screen brother. [June 2017, p.83]

With the Guardians of the Galaxy, Telltale offered us a good use of the license with an interesting story that included a couple of nice plot twists. This chapter is just the beginning of something that should continue to improve in the following episodes to really shine between this kind of interactive stories.

So far we have a very promising series, where Telltale tries to do some new things, even though they haven't fixed the issues we found in other of their works yet. In any case, if you like Guardians of the Galaxy and Telltale, it's a game you should try.

This first chapter begins and ends in a great way and with a good pace; the rest of it is pretty dull and with some meaningless dialogue. However, this game still has the spirit of the franchise and outstanding sound effects.

A fun start to Telltale's newest series, even though it lacks a bit of action and suffers from the usual technical issues.

Just like any other Telltale game, Guardians of the Galaxy is a great adaptation. It suffers from some minor technical and gameplay issues, but strong story, high replay value, and marvelous sound design and music easily overcome those shortcomings.

Though some of the early storytelling does prove to be disappointing, it is nice to know that they have plenty of room for improvement in future chapters. Given the nature of the conflicts dealt with in this installment, I am still extremely curious to see where things go from here.

The first episode delivers enough sharp story hooks, entertaining action sequences and amusing lines that I found myself quickly sucked in, my reservations swiftly squashed; by the time it was over, I was looking forward to the next episode and finding out where Telltale is taking the Guardians of the Galaxy.

An interesting prologue filled with action, jokes and our favourite team of former outlaws, but the "more of the same" feeling that the gameplay gives you is stronger than ever.

Guardians of the Galaxy of Telltale Games begins shy of top form, but with potential to recover in the subsequent episodes. Its good narrative and a universe full of possibilities give us hope to believe that it will. At the graphical level, it needs a good revision.

It's not a bad game by any means, but I'm starting to feel fatigued by episodic games. The characters work well together, and there are some nice ideas, but I'm not finding anything beyond this to keep me hooked.

After the kind of bonding experience only fighting a genocidal maniac can achieve, not being able to make everyone happy is a little heart-wrenching.

Telltale fans and Marvel fans won’t be disappointed with the first episode of Guardians of the Galaxy, but they might have expected more from it. The soundtrack is a perfect example of this; it uses licensed music just like the movie, but it almost seems like B-sides. Clearly the game didn’t have the same budget of the movie or the same people who picked the music, because it just doesn’t seem to be on the same level as the movie, and let’s be honest, these comparisons are inevitable. Telltale announced they would be working on a Marvel game nearly 2 years ago, and I guess they decided if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, because they didn’t take any chances with this release.

Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Games Series kicks off with a mixed bag of feelings. The episode is funny but boring, touching, yet unrefined. The gameplay is slick, but the quick-time events are a chore. It flips and flops between ‘intriguing mystery’ and ‘mediocrity at its okayest,’ but there’s plenty of room to get better. Now that the stage has been set, I am ready for episode 2 to go the distance.

Familiar issues hold it back from hooking us on its feeling. [July 2016, p.90]

Tangled Up in Blue lacks the narrative heft of many of the best Telltale games, and the individual Guardians aren't given enough to work with in the short running time to help distinguish them from the versions seen in the 2014 movie. There are flickers of hope – usually involving Rocket – that the characters will come into their own in future episodes, and some of the flashbacks and backstory hint that the storyline might go in interesting directions, but it feels like Guardians of the Galaxy-lite, lacking the irreverent humour, swashbuckling action, and the occasional heart of James Gunn's surprise hit.

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series gets off to a good start with a story that intrigues about a set of characters all too familiar. How closely the game looks to the recent movie and upcoming sequel for its tone, characters and design is to some degree understandable, but also seems like a missed opportunity – at least this early on. As ever with a Telltale series there's potential going forward, but if the Guardians are to strike out on their own in video games, they need to play something new. At the moment, they're a bit like a covers band.

The graphical departure and lovely humour paper over the cracks of a weak plot, but barely. Telltale fans will love it and Marvel fans will appreciate the reasonably faithful translation to the small screen, but for everyone else it would be advisable to wait and see how the next four episodes pan out before committing to another potentially lacklustre series.

While there’s nothing here that will cure Telltale fatigue, Guardians of the Galaxy also manages to stumble in its writing and visual style where the studio typically succeeds.