Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Series Episode 2 Review – Journey Into the Depths of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Series Episode 2 Review 

The second episode of the newest Telltale adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy, begins in the aftermath of the opening episode, where tensions run high and plenty of questions remain. This episode, Under Pressure, struggles in the beginning to gain any real momentum, but once it does, it dives deep into the narrative, with some hard hitting moments throughout!

Following the action-packed start to the Guardians of the Galaxy: A Telltale Series, this second episode loses a bit of the momentum from the first one. In the beginning it seems as if Telltale is struggling to find their groove, stumbling a bit before regaining focus. In the light of a very real revelation about the newly discovered Eternity Forge, the team has to decide which path to take in the ensuing journey for answers. As you might have guessed, this isn’t always easy as Peter, Drax, Gamora, Rocket and Groot have very different ideas of what the future should hold.

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“Despite the few stumbles within Under Pressure, Telltale Games does a good job fixing its mistakes of the first episode and expanding on the guardians relationships, putting together a well-written narrative.”

Quite honestly this episode plays very differently depending on your choices in the first episode, especially with respect to the relationship between Peter Quill and the other guardians. This formula is even more true for the second episode, as Under Pressure gives meaning to it’s name, with decisions that quite clearly have consequences and which distinctly shape Peter’s relationship with the other guardians. In fact, your very first important decision of the episode echoes one you had to make in the first: to choose between Gamora and Rocket. This decision defines the rest of the episode, and determines where the journey will take you, the battles you will face, and the people you might meet!

If you’re a huge Rocket fan, you can look forward to delving into his surprisingly emotional background. You will get to play as Rocket as he remembers his past, introducing you to his long lost love, Lylla. You can’t help but become emotionally involved, because as brief as this part of the episode is, it is touching to see where Rocket comes from, what he went through to gain his freedom, what he is driven by, and how he has become the sarcastic creature we have come to love.

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“In the beginning it seems as if Telltale is struggling to find their groove, stumbling a bit before regaining focus.”

Under Pressure maintains the importance of Peter’s job as the leader of the guardians, and players will find that like in Tangled Up in Blue, this task is often the most boring part of the episode. In the second episode, this aspect of Guardians of the Galaxy seems less forced however, as the dialogue is better and we really begin to see each of the characters develop. These moments really do begin to feel like the two heroes just having a conversation and my hope is that it becomes more and more like this as the story progresses in future episodes.

While there were less noticeable glitches than that of Tangled Up in Blue, there were still a few small ones here and there throughout Under Pressure. This second episode takes almost two hours to complete, however if you skip the interactions between characters and continue only with the story, it takes less time overall.

This episode has a good flow and tempo, with lots of visually appealing cutscenes and action to break up the story, and while it reaches the end without feeling rushed, the cliffhanger feels a bit out of place. Although the cliffhanger allows Telltale a huge opportunity with a multitude of story branches to choose from, the ending just doesn’t fit the episode very well at all. While it isn’t my favourite way to finish a well-rounded, and emotionally-filled episode, it leaves the future like a bit of a blank canvas. Despite the few stumbles within Under Pressure, Telltale Games does a good job fixing its mistakes of the first episode and expanding on the guardians relationships, putting together a well-written narrative.

*** PS4 code provided by the publisher ***