The Guardians of the Galaxy are back to start wrapping up summer with the latest episode of their Telltale series: More Than a Feeling. Unlike the previous episode, where we found success with its use of emotions, this one… not so much.
What’s It About?
More than a Feeling will pick up right after the events of Under Pressure but quickly put you into a Gamora driven story. The trend is clearer: each episode will give a share of the stage to a Guardian outside of Peter. So, shortly after the opening, we’re thrust into a memory that Gamora shares with Nebula.
The remainder of the episode picks up the pace and resolves the mystery of why Peter is seeing visions of his mother through the Eternity Forge. Through it, the Guardians pick up a new ally in Mantis. With her assistance, the team discovers more about what the Eternity Forge can do and how they handle it can affect the galaxy at large. Wouldn’t be Guardians of much if it wasn’t about the galaxy, right?
Why Should I Care?
This episode certainly picks up the pacing of the storytelling but to a detrimental degree. Without accomplishing much, I was through the first three chapters in very little time. Quick episodes are definitely rampant among many Telltale series, but this seems pretty egregious. I’m pretty sure the only reason my gameplay even sniffed two hours was because I was occasionally checking my phone. That actually spoke to my level of engagement with this episode. After a quick start, you’re dragged into busy work before things really slow then. Then, suddenly, you’re in a major action set piece to end things. It’s jarring and disrupts too much of the flow.
In our review of Under Pressure, I touched upon how the emotion packed into that episode helped with the success. With the focus on Gamora and her dynamic with Nebula, there was an opportunity to continue that trend. Unfortunately, this one fell flat due to the Telltale decision tree. I loved getting the perspectives of both characters. In a nice way, their shared experience bookends the story; you see it from Gamora’s view first, then Nebula’s. The scenes between them are played with great intensity. That all starts to fall apart as things get too black and white. Decisions I needed to make between the characters didn’t provide enough middle ground. Sure, you need to make a definite decision on how the relationship would work, but it didn’t seem like it was an emotionally draining choice. It just seemed like an annoyance.
That goes for much of the back half the episode when Mantis was heavily involved. I enjoyed the treatment of the character here more than I did in the movie, Vol. 2, earlier this year, but her emotion-based abilities just created more busy work for me as the player. I literally had to play as the world’s worst therapist to various Fonzi-like thumbs up approvals. It was odd. For as much as the emotion worked for the story in Under Pressure, I just didn’t find it works very well in More Than a Feeling. Oh, the irony.
What Makes it Worth My Time and Money?
More Than a Feeling’s primary value comes from the context you’ll get by playing it. I found it to be something you have to play rather than something you get to play. Thankfully, it’s over quickly. Which is disappointing because there are some definite bright spots in the game. Some of the scenes between Gamora and Nebula are excellent. Rocket and Drax come in with strong, humorous moments at the right times. Thanos makes a flashback appearance that shows how rough and intense he can be by setting expectations rather than fighting. But in the end, the story is plagued by pacing issues and the emotionally charged moments just don’t quite stick the landing. Play this episode to get you over to the next.
—
Check out our reviews of this season’s other episodes of Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy!
Title:
Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Episode 3: More Than a Feeling
Platform:
Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC
Publisher:
Telltale Games
Developer:
Telltale Games
Genre:
Action adventure
Release Date:
August 22, 2017
ESRB Rating:
T
Developer's Twitter:
Editor's Note:
A copy of the game was purchased by the reviewer and the episode was played to completion.
“Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Episode 3: More Than a Feeling” Review
The Guardians of the Galaxy are back to start wrapping up summer with the latest episode of their Telltale series: More Than a Feeling. Unlike the previous episode, where we found success with its use of emotions, this one… not…
The Guardians of the Galaxy are back to start wrapping up summer with the latest episode of their Telltale series: More Than a Feeling. Unlike the previous episode, where we found success with its use of emotions, this one… not so much.
What’s It About?
More than a Feeling will pick up right after the events of Under Pressure but quickly put you into a Gamora driven story. The trend is clearer: each episode will give a share of the stage to a Guardian outside of Peter. So, shortly after the opening, we’re thrust into a memory that Gamora shares with Nebula.
The remainder of the episode picks up the pace and resolves the mystery of why Peter is seeing visions of his mother through the Eternity Forge. Through it, the Guardians pick up a new ally in Mantis. With her assistance, the team discovers more about what the Eternity Forge can do and how they handle it can affect the galaxy at large. Wouldn’t be Guardians of much if it wasn’t about the galaxy, right?
Why Should I Care?
This episode certainly picks up the pacing of the storytelling but to a detrimental degree. Without accomplishing much, I was through the first three chapters in very little time. Quick episodes are definitely rampant among many Telltale series, but this seems pretty egregious. I’m pretty sure the only reason my gameplay even sniffed two hours was because I was occasionally checking my phone. That actually spoke to my level of engagement with this episode. After a quick start, you’re dragged into busy work before things really slow then. Then, suddenly, you’re in a major action set piece to end things. It’s jarring and disrupts too much of the flow.
In our review of Under Pressure, I touched upon how the emotion packed into that episode helped with the success. With the focus on Gamora and her dynamic with Nebula, there was an opportunity to continue that trend. Unfortunately, this one fell flat due to the Telltale decision tree. I loved getting the perspectives of both characters. In a nice way, their shared experience bookends the story; you see it from Gamora’s view first, then Nebula’s. The scenes between them are played with great intensity. That all starts to fall apart as things get too black and white. Decisions I needed to make between the characters didn’t provide enough middle ground. Sure, you need to make a definite decision on how the relationship would work, but it didn’t seem like it was an emotionally draining choice. It just seemed like an annoyance.
That goes for much of the back half the episode when Mantis was heavily involved. I enjoyed the treatment of the character here more than I did in the movie, Vol. 2, earlier this year, but her emotion-based abilities just created more busy work for me as the player. I literally had to play as the world’s worst therapist to various Fonzi-like thumbs up approvals. It was odd. For as much as the emotion worked for the story in Under Pressure, I just didn’t find it works very well in More Than a Feeling. Oh, the irony.
What Makes it Worth My Time and Money?
More Than a Feeling’s primary value comes from the context you’ll get by playing it. I found it to be something you have to play rather than something you get to play. Thankfully, it’s over quickly. Which is disappointing because there are some definite bright spots in the game. Some of the scenes between Gamora and Nebula are excellent. Rocket and Drax come in with strong, humorous moments at the right times. Thanos makes a flashback appearance that shows how rough and intense he can be by setting expectations rather than fighting. But in the end, the story is plagued by pacing issues and the emotionally charged moments just don’t quite stick the landing. Play this episode to get you over to the next.
—
Check out our reviews of this season’s other episodes of Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy!
Written by: Alex Quevedo
Date published: 08/25/2017
2.5 / 5 stars
by Alex Quevedo