A Marvel hero shooter is something I expected to happen a long time ago. They were wise to capitalize on the potential and if it succeeds I could see more Marvel titles across other live service models. It’s smartly designed with tight controls and a class system that allows for roles to be more expressive than others in the genre. There are some issues with it, but this basis is a great foundation for a never ending cash cow.

Characters in Marvel Rivals are distinct and most have their defining characteristics from their comic/ movie iterations. There are some weird abilities that don’t make a lot of sense to me though, like Hulk having a shield for his team. Loki is also a healer which goes against his very nature as a trickster god. Otherwise, most characters feel authentic to their source material. Squirrel Girl hops around and shoots explosive nuts at you, Iron Man jets across the battlefield shooting missiles and lasers, and The Punisher uses multiple guns. There were some definite inspirations from others in the genre, but nothing too egregious that makes them seem like rip-offs. It’s crazy that the starting roster is 33 characters though as most games of this type start with about half that amount. Some are similar in basic design, but the choices are varied enough that many people will be able to find a character for them. 

Gameplay feels great. Characters move how you would expect; Hulk leaps across the battlefield, Storm and Iron Man are constantly hovering around and the land shark… swims through land. When you see Thor, you know what he’s going to do, even if you’ve never played before. He’s going to fly in with his hammer and hit you with lightning. It’s a game that’s easy to read most of the time. Characters will shout something when they ult, so you’ll know when an enemy is using their special move. It does get tiring to hear these same voice lines be yelled all the time though. Star Lord’s is the most obnoxious and, though it fits his character, could use some adjustment. Scarlet Witch is my personal favorite, but her ultimate voice line is also quite grading. It might be because they only same them one way, so if there were different variations on the voice lines, that would help a bit. In any case, it’s necessary to be able to recognize when a character is using their special as, visually, it can be a mess at times. The comic art style helps characters stand out from one another well enough though, so I don’t have a problem picking the right target out of a group.

Team Ups give players another aspect to consider in team composition. Most are just one-way passives that make sense for the characters. The Hulk gives Doctor Strange a gamma radiation damage buff to his burst attack, Luna Snow gives Jeff The Shark an activatable ice power up that affects his damage dealing basic attack, and Thor gives Storm a chain lightning attack and so forth. The character needed for the team up usually gets nothing from it, which is a strange choice to me. It doesn’t make people want to play that character, unless they’re a real team player. I like the concept of these and hope to see more unique interactions as it’s really the only thing this game does different from other hero shooters.

The designs are overall fantastic. Each hero is unique in their looks and their ability effects accentuate their character. The multiverse angle really helps with ensuring each character has a unique identity and allows for experimentation in their designs, like with Psylocke. I’m not a comic reader, nor do I know a ton about the lore of Marvel, but I do know that she has psychic powers. That would’ve been an interesting aspect to add to her toolkit, rather than just making her a basic swordsman. Mantis also has no emotional manipulation or mind control powers, she only heals. It’s a little strange to have avoided the concept entirely as these characters are known for being able to manipulate minds. These versions may not have been the ones that people know from their most recent appearances and that’s okay, but to ignore defining traits like these is just weird. I do think they were trying to play it safe with this initial roster, however having characters with abilities not seen in the genre would have made it stand apart even more. I’m hoping they get a bit more creative down the line as more characters are introduced.

In relation to “playing it safe,” the maps and modes are a bit dull. I wish they had a “heroes versus villains” or a simple “stop the bad guy from doing X” mode to help diversify the play options. As it stands, there is a best of three and a capture the point mode which can go on for a hot minute if the matchmaking is good. Otherwise there is a payload push mode and that’s about it. There is a seasonal mode featuring Jeff the Shark right now, but I didn’t find it too compelling. The point is that the characters are very Marvel and the map designs are (for the most part) but the modes are uninspired. If one game mode involved stopping MODOK, Ultron or Dr Doom from accomplishing their goal or something, that would be more entertaining than just capturing the point. The maps have a Marvel multiverse feel to them, but the layouts aren’t anything new. Most are just hallways and there aren’t many varied sightlines to keep them from blending together. Aesthetically, they’re pretty cool. I do think the variations on each one are kind of cop outs from adding more diverse ones. It makes the identity of each zone less apparent and I have trouble knowing which version of Tokyo 2099 I’m going to when a match starts. Character identity is solid but the maps and modes are relatively generic and without the Marvel fanfare.

Monetization is the make or break for live service games and this one’s offerings aren’t out of line compared to others. Skins are about twenty bucks, but they are way more than just recolors. Each comes with their own highlight intro, spray and profile card as well. There aren’t any lootboxes (hallelujah) and the battle pass costs the same as the market standard. I do think that earning the currency for it is a bit slow unless you get the “luxury” version. Picking from a page of rewards to prioritize the ones you want sounds good in theory, but you have to spend a certain amount of currency per page to unlock the next one and you have to complete the page before you can get the skin on it. This illusion of choice is just plain ridiculous. If you’re not going to give people a choice, just don’t. Make it a straight line instead; it just doesn’t make sense to me. The rewards aren’t too exciting, other than the skins. You do get premium currency that you can use to get the next battlepass, which is nice, and they never expire. If you don’t finish the battlepass for the season, you can always play to complete it later. This is great for those that don’t have a lot of time during the season to play. Like the rest of the game, the battlepass lacks anything special, but it gets the job done. 

The game is fun enough, but it’s lacking something. Characters are well-designed for the genre but don’t bring anything new to the table. Map layouts are plain with a light coat of Marvel paint over them. Modes are what you’d expect with no personality to them. Team ups are the only unique addition to the formula, but players aren’t incentivized to pick synergistic combos as they are mostly one-way streets. It just doesn’t seem cohesive from a design perspective. So much care was put into the art and I can’t say the same for the rest of the game. Maybe it will evolve into something wholly unique, but right now it’s nothing special. (It’s still pretty fun for some mindless gaming though.)