Whether or not you're a big fan of the Marvel Universe, you'll recognize the Guardians of the Galaxy. This iconic group of intergalactic criminals is committed to cleansing the universe of all threats.

Square Enix has announced Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, a third-person shooter that is expected to arrive just before Halloween this year. The announcement was made at E3 2021 as part of Square Enix's showcase.

Guardians of the Galaxy is due out this fall, so the good news is that we now have a better idea of what to expect from this game.

We've gathered everything you need to know about the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy game, including release date, trailer analysis, gameplay, and more.

During Square Enix's E3 presentation, the publisher revealed that "Guardians of the Galaxy" will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S on October 26, 2021.

At launch, fans can purchase either a digital or physical copy of the base game. Pre-orders, however, are already available. Order now for $60 and get the Throwback Guardians Outfit Pack. This pack includes costumes from each Guardians classic comic book.

The digital deluxe edition of the game costs slightly more at $80 and adds several extras, including two Star-Lord costumes, the original video game soundtrack, and a digital "Art of the Game" mini art book. A physical deluxe edition will also be available for $80 and will include a steelbook case and a physical copy of the mini artbook.

The trailer for "Guardians of the Galaxy" manages to pack in quite a bit of action, considering it is less than three minutes long.

Let's address the elephant in the room first: Guardians bears no resemblance to the MCU films. Like Square Enix's The Avengers, also from Square Enix, this Guardians of the Galaxy is loosely based on the comics, but features an original story. In other words, there is no Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, or Vin Diesel.

According to the trailer, the bad band is in some sort of financial trouble. As usual, at least part of the storyline is expected to involve the team embarking on a get-rich-quick scheme, but biting off more than they can chew.

To the tune of Bonnie Tyler's 80s hit "I Need a Hero," the trailer also gave us a glimpse of some of the gameplay, specifically the combat: at about the one-minute mark, the Guardians of the Galaxy are seen as Star-Lord, the iconic bra Star, and we see him enter into a team fight with an alien creature.

Like the MCU film of the same name, these Guardians of the Galaxy appear to catcall each other, as seen when Drax pushes an unwilling rocket through the breach. It is safe to assume that the tension between these teams will be depicted many times in the main game.

A second trailer was shown at PlayStation Showcase 2021 that further elaborates on the story, characters, and lore.

The new Guardians of the Galaxy game is being developed by Eidos Montreal, a Canadian game studio that has produced numerous hits, including 2011's Deus Ex: Human Revolution and 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider They are. In short: We're thrilled.

Instead of switching between different team members, players take on the role of Peter "Star-Lord" Quill, the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy. During the game, you lead the other Guardians, giving orders to Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot to defeat enemies and complete missions. Hopefully, you will also be in charge of the music playlist.

The decisions you make during the game as a Star-Lord will affect the storyline and your team's relationships. According to Square Enix, "The consequences of your decisions can range from mild to totally unexpected," so you need to act with a light heart. Yikes.

Given Marvel's Avengers' mixed reception upon its release, one would also expect the gameplay of the new Guardians of the Galaxy to be less repetitive and more story-driven, as in our review of Marvel's Avengers, The Game Editor Marshall Onoroff praised the game's story, although it was "absolutely painful to watch through to the end" due to the "lack of precision in the gameplay."

We don't have a huge amount of information on "Guardians of the Galaxy" yet, but if the film's humor nails it and the action is engaging, we may be in for a solid game based on the MCU.

Games like "Spider-Man: Miles Morales" show that there is room for an engaging Marvel game on Microsoft and Sony's new consoles. So we quietly expect to see more around "Guardians of the Galaxy."