There's nothin' left to do at night
But go crazy on you
Crazy on you
Let me go crazy, crazy on you, oh
So, we come to the end. While Telltale Games is known for the moral choice systems and how your choices do, in fact, matter...the games of theirs that I've played are really only games in the most basic sense of what a game is. That being said, it is certainly not an experience I'm entirely unable to enjoy, as you've seen by my rising, then falling, then rising interest again in this game. And thus, we come to the ending of the journey...at least for the first season of Telltale's stab at the Guardians of the Galaxy.
And I can tell you, I hope we'll be seeing Season 2.
When we last left our heroes, the Guardians were very much at the frayed ends of sanity. From my own choices, Peter Quill aka Star-Lord was left with only Gamora and an alien worm after having lost Rocket and Groot after the latter had been horribly burned in an accident, lost Drax after refusing to let him attempt suicide in fighting a giant worm on his own, and Mantis after...realizing she didn't have much to do besides things related to the Eternity Forge.
With Episode 5 - "Don't Stop Believin'" - kicking up (while not featuring the titular song), we have the need to pick up the members of the Guardians who have departed. With Mantis and Groot returning to spur them on, Quill and Gamora head have to head off to retrieve their other missing cohorts - in my case, Drax and Rocket. To give due credit to the writers as well as the voice actors, you do get some very good scenes based around your choices.
For my part, I had to deal with a drunken and despairing Rocket on Half-World as he prepared to blow up the facility in which he and Lyla managed to escape from during the flashbacks in Episode 2. Drax, meanwhile, had returned to his homeworld and consented to dig out his own grave and lay down in it next to his dead daughter.
In both cases, while the dialogue options are varied, you ultimately just go through all of them to get them back.
Good stuff for an interactive story, though not so much for a game.
Regardless, after managing to get them back onboard one way or another thanks to the threat of Hala, you get a lengthy sequence of QTEs to board Hala's ship and disable her doomsday weapon, which ends up leading into an admittedly kickass fight set to Heart's "Crazy On You" and then another Quill flashback that...honestly puts all the little ones we've had throughout the series in perspective.
I had given them grief, but it seems that it made sense in the lead up to a final scene of Quill and his mother...and how it connects to the present events.
You see, Hala's motivations were clear from the beginning, but also her desire was to bring back her lost son. Much like Quill's mourning for his dead mother, Hala mourned her lost son. Once she is broken and defeated, Quill has the option of either comforting or berating her in her delusion state, the comforting options mirroring dialogue used in the flashback with his mother.
I won't lie, Telltale really knows how to pull on the ol' heartstrings.
But Hala dies and the day is saved and, in the end, the Guardians are a family once more. It is here that, depending on whether the Eternity Forge was either empowered or destroyed, Quill has an opportunity to either bring back a loved one of his group or let them have a final few moments with a loved one, respectfully. They all play out the same way in the latter case, with them having a few moments with their loved one via Mantis' connection to the Forge.
I, in particular, allowed Quill to have a last few minutes with his mother in what is one of the most heartrending, beautifully choreographed scenes. There are very few moments where a video game has made me cry, but many tears were shed.
Manly tears, but tears nonetheless. I had to go and hug my mother. You might just chalk that up to my own liking of Peter Quill and how I identify with his story...and you'd probably be right, but the scene is no less beautiful or moving for it.
The other scenes play out in a similar way, although the revivals have the added bonus of having the family member (either Meredith Quill, Drax's daughter, Lyla, or Nebula if she died in a previous episode) around once again.
And of course, the Nova Corps call us the Guardians once more in a nice bookend from Episode 1...and you have the option of hanging up on them in order to party on Knowhere after saving the day once already today.
Like a bunch of A-Holes.
But ultimately, Episode 5 continues the path that the series has been taking. To it's detraction, while the Guardians getting back together is a foregone conclusion, it feels a little rushed and obvious. It also still barely qualifies as a game, with quick time events taking the place of true interaction.
That being said, the story has been - for the most part - compelling and enjoyable while having the necessary emotional punch. This really does feel as though it could be an adventure of the MCU version of the Guardians or even the comics versions. The voice acting is, again, top-notch and it's clear the actors are very much at home voicing their characters.
Really, if you can get it, do so.
Oh, and there is a post-credits scene. Because there's always a post-credits scene.
I am literally just shocked that Thanos actually stayed dead since Episode 1!
Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is now available from Telltale Games for Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.
For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.
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