From December to mid-January 2022, we’ll be posting our favourite video games of 2021 bit by bit. Here’s number 10. 

#10: Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch (Cloud)

This year’s feel-good hit video game is also a bit of a surprise, given Square Enix’s spotty track record with superhero movie licenses. But when you have the talented Eidos Montreal folks behind 2021’s Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, you can be sure to get a narrative treat unlike any other this year.

The game wisely combines both the lore of the films and comic book run in one awesome and original package exclusive to the game. The ensemble action-adventure pits you as Starlord for the whole of the game, but you get to command your motley crew of space misfits, go through the galaxy, and fight a ton of bad guys both small and super-large/cosmic. And it’s a helluva fun ride that’s worth paying attention to and even reloading to see different outcomes due to the game’s punchy and emotive writing and dialogue. There’s even an appropriate bunch of heartfelt scenes, so it’s not just all laughs-a-minute.

True, the combat can get repetitive, but it’s everything else that just makes Guardians of the Galaxy exhilarating to go through, especially for fans of Abnett and Lanning’s 2012 run. And also props for the game to grace us with the best on-screen version of space empath Mantis. And Cosmo, because he’s a good boy.