Marvel’s Forgotten Mass Effect Clone Couldn’t Escape the Avengers’ Failure
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy offered a character-focused, single-player take on the team, with a story that balanced cosmic stakes and personal relationships. Released in 2021, it earned strong reviews but was overshadowed by the poor reception of Marvel’s Avengers, and its commercial performance fell short of Square Enix’s expectations.
Players control Star-Lord, direct the other Guardians in Mass Effect-style combat, and make dialogue and gameplay choices that shape interactions. The game had reached more than eight million players by November 2022, though that figure includes people who may have accessed it through subscription services. Developer Eidos-Montréal was sold to Embracer Group in 2022 and has since faced several rounds of layoffs.
In short
- Guardians of the Galaxy won strong reviews but missed sales expectations.
- Its story and character writing were widely praised.
- More than eight million people had played it by November 2022.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy showed that a focused, story-led superhero game could earn strong reviews by centring character relationships and meaningful player choices. Its more than eight million players suggest it found an audience, even if subscriptions make that figure hard to compare with sales.
The case against
Strong reviews and substantial reach do not necessarily make a game a commercial success, and its sales fell short of Square Enix’s expectations. Its resemblance to Mass Effect may also have made it seem less distinctive, while the poor reception of Marvel’s Avengers could reasonably have weakened interest in another Marvel game.
Explained simply
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a 2021 single-player game about the spacefaring superhero team. Players control Star-Lord, while the other Guardians fight alongside him and respond to choices made during conversations and missions.
The game was developed by Eidos-Montréal and published by Square Enix. Its focus on character relationships and a self-contained story differed from Marvel’s Avengers, a separate game that had struggled with its reception.
The two games’ fortunes mattered to their companies: Guardians received strong reviews, but Square Enix said its sales fell short of expectations. Eidos-Montréal was later sold to Embracer Group, which has since made several rounds of job cuts.