The single-player game nobody expected
After the live-service misfire of Marvel's Avengers, almost nobody expected Eidos-Montréal's Guardians to be this good. It's a full-fat, single-player narrative adventure with the best writing in any Marvel game — funny, heartfelt, and genuinely a joy to play through.
You play only as Star-Lord, barking orders at a crew of AI companions, but the magic is in the chatter. Peter, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot bicker constantly, and the branching dialogue makes their dynamic feel alive rather than scripted. The story swings from laugh-out-loud comedy to real emotional gut-punches, backed by an all-timer of an '80s soundtrack and gorgeous, colour-drenched cosmic vistas.
The one thing that plays it safe
Combat is the ceiling. You fire Star-Lord's elemental blasters and call in Guardian abilities in flashy set-piece brawls — it's stylish and fun, but shallow, and it repeats a little too often across a fairly linear campaign. It never sinks the experience, but it's the clear limit on an otherwise brilliant game.
The Verdict — Pros
- The best writing in any Marvel game
- A crew whose banter feels genuinely alive
- Swings from comedy to real emotion
- An all-timer '80s soundtrack
- Gorgeous, colour-drenched cosmic vistas
The Verdict — Cons
- Combat is stylish but shallow & repetitive
- Fairly linear, on-rails structure
- Chapter select nastily resets collectibles
A relaxing plat — with a few traps
Step-by-Step Roadmap
Set up: Custom difficulty + a checklist
Start on the easiest Custom settings — no trophy needs a hard difficulty. Keep a collectible checklist open and make a manual save at the start of each chapter so you can reload if you miss something.
Story run — grab every collectible
Play all 16 chapters and pick up all Guardian Collectibles, Outfits and Compendium entries the first time through — chapter select won't save them. Interact with Guardian Collectibles on the Milano the moment they appear, and bank credits for the Chapter 9 fine.
Watch the 6 missables
Thoughtful Captain, Managerial Skills, Like a Glove!, Fashion Passion, Lore Hoarder (65% Compendium) and Galactic Frugality are the only trophies that need planning — everything else pops naturally.
Clean-up → platinum
After the credits, use chapter select for any leftover combat trophies (those don't reset). Missed collectibles? Run New Game Plus to grab them. The last trophy pops This Is What We Do — the platinum.
Full Trophy List (59)
The six missable trophies are flagged — everything else pops naturally. Each links to its detailed sub-page.
| Trophy | Grade | How to Unlock | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🏆 | This Is What We Do | Platinum | Unlock all other trophies. |
| 🥇 | Guardians of the Galaxy | Gold | Finish the main story. → Story |
| 🥈 | Managerial Skills | Silver Missable | All Guardian Collectibles for one character. → Collectibles |
| 🥈 | Fashion Passion | Silver Missable | Find & equip all Outfits. → Collectibles |
| 🥈 | Lore Hoarder | Silver Missable | Unlock 65% of the Compendium. → Collectibles |
| 🥉 | Thoughtful Captain | Bronze Missable | Find half the Guardian Collectibles. → Collectibles |
| 🥉 | Like a Glove! | Bronze Missable | Find & equip one Outfit. → Collectibles |
| 🥉 | Galactic Frugality | Bronze Missable | Pay the ~8,000+ credit fine in Chapter 9. → Collectibles |
| 🥉 | A Risky Gamble | Bronze | Complete Chapter 1. → Story |
| 🥉 | Busted | Bronze | Complete Chapter 2. → Story |
| 🥉 | The Cost of Freedom | Bronze | Complete Chapter 3. → Story |
| 🥉 | The Monster Queen | Bronze | Complete Chapter 4. → Story |
| 🥉 | Due or Die | Bronze | Complete Chapter 5. → Story |
| 🥉 | Between a Rock and a Hard Place | Bronze | Complete Chapter 6. → Story |
| 🥉 | Canine Confusion | Bronze | Complete Chapter 7. → Story |
| 🥉 | The Matriarch | Bronze | Complete Chapter 8. → Story |
| 🥉 | Desperate Times | Bronze | Complete Chapter 9. → Story |
| 🥉 | Test of Faith | Bronze | Complete Chapter 10. → Story |
| 🥉 | Mind Over Matter | Bronze | Complete Chapter 11. → Story |
| 🥉 | Knowhere to Run | Bronze | Complete Chapter 12. → Story |
| 🥉 | Against All Odds | Bronze | Complete Chapter 13. → Story |
| 🥉 | Into The Fire | Bronze | Complete Chapter 14. → Story |
| 🥉 | Broken Promises | Bronze | Complete Chapter 15. → Story |
| 🥉 | The Magus | Bronze | Complete Chapter 16. → Story |
| 🥉 | Llama Wrangler | Bronze | Capture the Quarantine Zone monster. → Story |
| 🥉 | Squid Kicker | Bronze | Defeat the Dweller-in-Darkness. → Story |
| 🥉 | Family Intervention | Bronze | Defeat the Blood Brothers. → Story |
| 🥉 | Mama's Boy | Bronze | Defeat the Meredith Quill delusion. → Story |
| 🥉 | Titanslayer | Bronze | Survive the Thanos manifestations. → Story |
| 🥉 | Foom's Doom | Bronze | Defeat Fin Fang Foom. → Story |
| 🥉 | Faithless | Bronze | Defeat Grand Unifier Raker. → Story |
| 🥉 | Poetry Critic | Bronze | Defeat The Magus (final boss). → Story |
| 🥉 | Eat It, Rodent | Bronze | Win the bet against Rocket in Chapter 1. → Story |
| 🥉 | Self-Improvement | Bronze | Purchase your first Star-Lord ability. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Dynamic Team | Bronze | Invest in one special ability for each companion. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Fully Loaded | Bronze | Invest in all special abilities for all companions. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Flash Freeze | Bronze | Acquire the Ice element for your guns. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Shock and Awe | Bronze | Acquire the Lightning element. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Fan Friction | Bronze | Acquire the Wind element. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Lava Launcher | Bronze | Acquire the Plasma element. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Pick Me Up | Bronze | Revive a fallen team member. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Stagger Swagger | Bronze | Stagger 25 enemies. → Combat |
| 🥉 | No Way, Nova Corps | Bronze | Interrupt a Nova Centurion with Gamora. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Slakebuster | Bronze | Interrupt a Slakebeast with Drax. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Groot Canal | Bronze | Interrupt a Charger with Groot. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Drax the Dismemberer | Bronze | Dismember an Inquisitor with Drax. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Unstoppable Force | Bronze | Reach maximum Momentum 10 times. → Combat |
| 🥉 | The Crowd Goes Wild | Bronze | Execute a Flair Attack 10 times. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Set 'em Up, Knock 'em Down | Bronze | Defeat 15 staggered enemies with a charged shot. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Bullet Hell | Bronze | Defeat 15 enemies with Fan the Hammer. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Adding Injury to Insult | Bronze | Defeat 10 enemies affected by Wrath of Katath. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Trained to Perfection | Bronze | Defeat 10 enemies with Executioner. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Boom Show | Bronze | Defeat 20 enemies with Five Barrel Barrage. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Herbal Remedy | Bronze | Heal companions 10 times with Gift of the Florae. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Altitude Adjustment | Bronze | Defeat 20 enemies with Eye of the Hurricane. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Killer Friendship | Bronze | Execute an auto-combo with Gamora. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Katathian Handshake | Bronze | Execute an auto-combo with Drax. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Aim Assist | Bronze | Execute an auto-combo with Rocket. → Combat |
| 🥉 | Timber! | Bronze | Execute an auto-combo with Groot. → Combat |
Detailed Trophy Pages
Story & Bosses
All 16 chapter-completion trophies and every boss defeat, from the Dweller-in-Darkness to Fin Fang Foom and The Magus.
Combat & Abilities
Every element, ability upgrade and combat trophy — staggers, interrupts, character auto-combos and ability-kill counters.
Collectibles & Missables
The 6 missables — Guardian Collectibles, Outfits, the Compendium and the Chapter 9 fine — plus the chapter-select trap and NG+.