The third chapter of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise isn’t arriving in theaters until May 2023, but fans can return to the Guardians universe this week with the long-awaited video game Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, which was released this week on PC, Nintendo Switch (Cloud Version), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and GeForce Now.
Unlike the first two movies, which featured soundtracks packed with Seventies rock classics like David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream,” and Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” the game contains nothing but Eighties hits. There are New Wave tunes (Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” Gary Numan’s “Cars), hair-metal classics (Mötley Crüe’s “Kickstart My Heart,” Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It”), hard-rock songs (Iron Maiden’s “Where Eagles Dare,” Kiss’ “I Love it Loud”), and numerous other MTV-era gems (Culture Club’s “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya,” Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go,” New Kids on the Block’s “Hanging Tough”).
The game centers around Peter Quill, who we first meet as a rock-obsessed teenager on his family farm in Colorado. On his bed is a Rolling Stone with Star-Lord on the cover. They may be a fictional band, but the creators of the game went to remarkable lengths to make them seem real, even bringing on longtime Rolling Stone contributor Gavin Edwards to review their album and conduct an “interview” with them. Players can leaf through the issue and read both articles.
“If you’re looking to fulfill your recommended daily allowance of guitar-crunching, fist-pumping rock ’n’ roll, this promising debut album from the Canadian-American quartet Star-Lord has you covered,” Edwards writes. “Ten songs with low nutritional value but plenty of sugar rush. Star-Lord don’t reinvent the hard-rock genre, but with soaring anthems like ‘Watch Me Shine,’ they don’t need to. What sets them apart from peers? They live in outer space.”
The bedroom scene eventually leads to Quill going into outer space and teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, where he changes his name to Star-Lord, in honor of the band. He brings his Walkman along for the adventure and hits from his youth become the soundtrack to the game.
“When we started looking at the licensed tracks, there’s so much music to choose from,” senior audio director Steve Szczepkowski says in a promotional video. “Fun was the main factor. It was to bring a smile to your face when you hear it. … We obviously have some rock stuff, but we have a lot of New Wave pop stuff that was huge in the Eighties. … If you are a child of the Eighties or you do have some knowledge of that music in that era, you’re going to love it.” And if you just want to spend the next few months battling aliens in the Guardians-verse and don’t care much about Eighties music, you’re also going to love this one.
BLACKPINK’s Jennie is set to return with another solo release.
The 30 year old singer has confirmed that her digital solo EP, Fallen Angel, will arrive on August 28. The project will include three songs, FALLEN ANGEL, HEAVEN and Less Than a Lover.
The announcement was shared through the social media accounts of Odd Atelier, Jennie’s own company, where the new project was described as “A gift from JENNIE, with love”.
Jennie also confirmed that fans will be able to watch the music video for the EP’s title track on the same day the project comes out.
The upcoming release arrives only a few months after BLACKPINK dropped their highly awaited mini album Deadline in February.
The K pop group, made up of Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé, concluded their Deadline world tour on January 26, 2026, with their final show taking place at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong.
The group first introduced the project with the lead single JUMP in July 2025. The five track release was later completed with GO, Me and my, Champion, and Fxxxboy.
YG Entertainment previously shared its thoughts on Deadline, saying: “Even amid the intense schedule of a large-scale world tour, the members devoted significant time and effort to perfecting this album. We are confident it is a body of work that encapsulates both the individual musical capabilities of the four members and their synergy as a team. We ask for your continued support as BLACKPINK once again leaves a meaningful mark on the global music industry.”
The four members continued developing their individual careers after BLACKPINK released their 2022 album Born Pink.
Lisa had earlier given fans a glimpse into the group’s plans, revealing that the members had recently returned to the studio to work on music for another album.
Speaking with Variety, she said: “Actually, we were in the studio a few days ago.
"We’re all so super excited to get back together and go on tour. We really miss the Blinks. We can’t wait to see them."
Each member has also built a strong presence through their solo work.
Rosé released her solo album Rosie, which included her Grammy nominated collaboration with Bruno Mars, APT..
Lisa later unveiled her first full length album, Alter Ego, while also stepping into acting with a role on HBO's The White Lotus, which was filmed in Thailand. Jennie launched her first solo album, Ruby, last year, while Jisoo released her EP Amortage, giving each member another opportunity to showcase her own musical style.
