It has been hard to escape Marvel over the past decade or so. It has penetrated popular culture in a way never really seen before, as comic books and their heroes have catapulted to fame in the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe. With over 20 movies and counting, Marvel has also expanded to more TV shows with character tie-ins across multiple mediums to give fans plenty to watch. With games like Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, the brand's dominance continues.

Released in October 2021, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy received a positive response from players, as well as a slew of award nominations and a win for Best Narrative at The Game Awards 2021. The popular ragtag team of misfits captured audiences' hearts in their first film outing in 2014, and were a fan-favorite addition to many other Marvel movies since. With an action game all to themselves, players were able to see how the Guardians fared as playable characters in comparison to their big-screen counterparts, but it wasn't long until the difference started to show. The Soul Stone becomes a major plot point in the game, and there are plenty of changes from how the Soul Stone appears in the MCU.

RELATED: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Explaining The Soul Stone

marvel-soul-stone-thanos

The Soul Stone is one of six Infinity Stones, which are the remnants of a singularity that predates the universe. Each of them has a unique property that controls an important aspect of existence: Space, Reality, Power, Soul, Mind, and Time; each a different color and kept separate. In the MCU, the Mad Titan Thanos is hellbent on collecting all six stones in order to bring "stability" to the universe by wiping out half of all life. Thanos' search for the stones spans several Marvel movies and culminates in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, when the genocidal warlord is finally defeated.

The Soul Stone plays an integral part in the MCU and is considered to be one of the most dangerous Infinity Stones. It can manipulate the essence of a person (their soul) and has the ability to resurrect or conjure the spiritual representation of those who have died. In order to retrieve the Soul Stone from its shrine on the planet of Vormir, a sacrifice must be made in the form of a loved one. This is the only Infinity Stone that requires such a test, and the effects of the sacrifice are irreversible even if someone possesses the power of all six stones. First Thanos sacrificed his adopted daughter Gamora, and then Black Widow sacrificed herself so that Hawkeye could collect the Soul Stone to complete the Avenger's Time Heist.

This depiction of the Soul Stone differs from the stone in the comics, where it was the first to be introduced. The Soul Stone is sentient and constantly hungering for souls it can collect from people either living or dead, which then allows its wielder to steal the powers of the Soul Stone's victims. It also has a pocket universe (glimpsed briefly after Thanos sacrifices Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War) known as the Soul World – a peaceful paradise where Adam Warlock can trap unruly beings.

The Soul Stone In Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy Video Game Poster

No heartbreaking sacrifice is required to obtain the coveted Soul Stone in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Instead, the Soul Stone is encountered toward the start of the game when the Guardians enter the Quarantine Zone established by the Nova Corps. Their trespassing leads to dire consequences when they find the Soul Stone during a classic competition of "who can shoot the most parasitic egg sacks" between Star-Lord and the anthropomorphic raccoon Rocket. When Star-Lord picks up the Soul Stone, a dark entity is released that the Guardians are forced to flee from as they escape the Quarantine Zone.

The nature of the Soul Stone's discovery doesn't downplay its significance, as the dark entity that Star-Lord unwittingly released turns out the be the game's main antagonist – Magus. Magus, in turn, is revealed to be the dark side of Adam Warlock trapped inside the Soul Stone. Unlike in the MCU, the Guardians don't know what the Soul Stone is, and there are no other Infinity Stones mentioned throughout the game. In fact, Thanos is already dead when Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy begins, having been killed by Drax the Destroyer before the events of the game.

The Soul Stone is a key part of the Universal Church of Truth's mission to brainwash beings into submission with visions of their greatest desires. Without the powers of the Soul Stone to harness a being's soul, the Church's plans would not have been possible. The visions, called the "Promise," provide most of the plot's emotional heft and allow the game to delve deeper into the backstories of the Guardians. The MCU never used the Soul Stone in such a unique way, and now that it has been destroyed by Thanos (with the alternate version returned to its original place during the Time Heist), it looks like it won't get that chance.

RELATED: Guardians of the Galaxy Really Delivers on Rocket's Heartbreaking Background

What This Could Mean For Future Guardians of the Galaxy Games

Marvel's Guardian's of the Galaxy patch notes

Beyond the Soul Stone, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy features numerous changes from the MCU. From different appearances, character backstories, and reshaped locations, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy takes elements from the comics and MCU that fans know to deliver a new story. Although a sequel has not yet been confirmed by Square Enix, this hasn't stopped players from speculating what a follow-up might entail.

With only one of the Infinity Stones making an appearance, it stands to reason that a sequel to Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy might focus on another. Options like the Time or Reality Stones offer up interesting game mechanic options, as well as story implications, but any of the remaining Infinity Stones could be a compelling feature of the next game. Although a lot of narrative threads were wrapped up by the time players completed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, there were still one or two elements that could be explored in a follow-up, leaving the window open just enough for gamers to get their hopes up that there might be a Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: Guardians of the Galaxy: Explaining Adam Warlock's Relationship with [SPOILER]