Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy returns with the second episode, Under Pressure. As the name suggests, our main man Star-Lord has to make some tough decisions, and no matter what he picks, someone is going to be upset.
Our story picks up immediately where we left off, literally in the middle of a word. Peter Quill, who had just died at the end of the first episode, is now back alive and feeling fine. This doesn’t sit well with everyone initially, but then the fear of a zombie situation or evil mind-controlling monster quickly disappear.
Now that the gang are in control of the Eternity Forge, the mysterious relic responsible for bringing Quill back to life, they must figure out what the thing actually is and how it works. This leads to the first major decision: do you follow Rocket to his home world and see if the device can work on someone from Rocket’s past, or do you follow Gamora to capture her sister and get her to translate the ancient symbols on the Infinity Forge.
The choice seems like an obvious and understandable one seeing as how, no offense, a dead body isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Even if you did agree to help Rocket, you can still back out after Gamora mentions that time is of the essence to capture her sister. Ultimately though, the decision comes down to who you want to have mad at you, and that’s kind of annoying.
Regardless of the decisions you make, you still get a look into Rocket’s history. While Under Pressure doesn’t go into an elaborate origin story, we do see his final moments in the research facility that created him. We also see the love of his life, an otter named Lylla, who gives Rocket the motivation to go become the weapon of mass destruction we know today. It’s a surprisingly touching look behind the sarcastic and annoying facade we typically see from the character.
The episode ends with a huge tease for what’s coming next, and very well may involve Quill’s mother making a return.
My big problem with Telltale’s take on Guardians of the Galaxy is that it just hasn’t grabbed me like the other Telltalle series. The story feels too serious and no matter what you do, people will be getting mad. Major decisions also don’t feel that important, despite characters reacting to my choices like I just slapped them in the face. I understand that conflict is necessary for a story, but it doesn’t feel great when people can’t just be talked to reasonably.
There also is just a lack of the light and humorous tone from the movies. I just saw Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 yesterday (I know, I’m very late to the party), and laughed pretty much the whole way through. There are a few chuckle-worthy moments in the game, a few jokes that fall flat and a whole lot of serious, emotional stuff. The game doesn’t have to be a joke-a-minute riot, but I wasn’t expecting it to make me depressed either.
While I had praised Episode One of Guardians for being technically proficient, things seem to have declined a little on that front as well in the second episode. Mouths would sometimes not move during dialogue and the sounds in the background would often disappear whenever a new person would speak. Hearing a motor hum in the background as one character talks, and not hearing it when a second character joins the conversation really throws you off the game’s storytelling.
So what do you think? Did you make Rocket or Gamora mad at you in Under Pressure? Are you interested in where the story is going in the third episode? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
