Proving Hero Shooters Can Still Be Good: A Marvel Rivals Review

By Teepu

Player(s): 1-12
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC

Usually when we hear about a new hero shooter coming out, we roll our eyes and ignore it. Some may play it just out of curiosity and will quickly move on. It has been a consistent issue since Overwatch first popularized the genre. Many expected the same out of Marvel Rivals, yet they managed to surprise all of us.

Rather than try to directly clone Overwatch, or do something completely quirky, the developers behind Marvel Rivals chose to lean into what makes Marvel most interesting: its characters. Being a franchise that is all about the multiverse (especially with the current story arc in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), having a ton of characters from various realities coming together for some kind of multiverse bending scenario fits beautifully. There are definitely a lot of borrowed elements from Overwatch here, but they are easy to digest because of the characters.

The first thing you will notice when you try to play is that all 30+ characters are available for you from the start. There are no purchases necessary to enjoy the game in its entirety, which is always welcome in a free-to-play game. Sure, there are aesthetics you can invest in, but nothing that affects how you play. Now, if that sounds like a lot of characters to launch with, it absolutely is. I have not had the chance to try them all, but I have played about a third of the roster thus far, and they all felt distinct. Instead of focusing on a super competitive, balanced game, they chose to focus on making fun and distinct heroes so that everybody can have fun in their own way. Naturally, with aesthetics being where the game makes its money, there are battle passes you can participate in. They run like Halo Infinite, in that they never go away, with the catch being that you must purchase it during the time it is up to unlock it permanently. I wish they had gone the whole way, allowing you to go back to purchase any battle pass you may have missed during breaks, but it is a step in the right direction for the ecosystem.

For example, my personal favorites, Cloak and Dagger, are interesting because you can switch back and forth between them on the fly. As Cloak, you can briefly cloak your team or deal solid short-ranged damage; as Dagger, while you can certainly deal long-range damage, her primary purpose is to heal the team. This means that I can switch my role at a moment's notice, mid-combat, to suit my team’s needs. Let us be honest though, the main draw of Marvel comics is seeing how the heroes interact with each other in zany situations. Well, that is here too. Not only will characters have fun conversations in the match lobby before the fight begins, but each character has combo abilities they can do with another character or two. The one my friend and I used a lot was with Hulk and Wolverine. As Hulk, I can lift Wolverine and then toss him at the enemy to allow my melee partner to close distance quickly and cause chaos within the enemy. While he is doing that, I can either deal with another threat or hop in and start smashing everything in sight, causing devastation. That is only one example, as every single character has at least one other character they can do a combo ability with. It is an incredibly fun and unique quirk that helps distinguish this game from others I have played and adds to the kind of Marvel personality we all know and love.

A game needs more than just interesting character mechanics to be fun though. Thankfully, the game has launched with a solid map variety for all the modes, and it's still growing. Perhaps it is my decades of gaming, but it is hard for me to find something unique about shooter maps these days, this game is no exception. Nothing feels special. They are all designed well enough to balance each game type no doubt, but nothing stands out as exceptional. That is not to say they are not fun maps, just that they do not scream uniqueness like the cast does. The game does something special that helps to make things interesting: destructible environments. A good amount of the environment can be destroyed which can drastically change strategies mid-match and is the kind of dynamic a game like this needs to prevent itself from being too repetitive. I have played just as many matches where nobody destroys anything as matches where people destroy everything imaginable. The valuable cover you thought would be helpful could be gone in a second, and suddenly your team must scramble to restructure its strategy. Frankly speaking, that's wonderful. Not everything can be destroyed, and you will learn over time what parts are worth taking down, but diversity is welcome.

The game modes themselves are not really different from Overwatch and other similar games. Usually it is either hold points, escort objects, or just outright deathmatch. There's not much creativity there. They do not need to fix what is not broken I suppose. In my time playing, I never minded the cookie-cutter game mode. Between the fun character teamwork and destructible maps, I never really found myself being bored. That’s because I spent most of my time in Quick Match, I later realized there are some cycling unique game modes outside of Quick Match you can participate in. For the Lunar New Year, for example, there was a 3v3 soccer-like game where you had to take a ball and score goals with it. This will help keep things fresh when you need a break from the usual modes. On a side note, it is worth mentioning that there is a continuous multiverse story that the game is evolving around. (With Doctor Doom as the bad guy.) Unfortunately, due to following similar formats as other multiplayer games, most of this info is through things you have to read. Granted, unlocking mini comic books that tell you the story is cool, but it is still reading. I am here to play, not read.

I have dabbled in various games in the hero shooter genre, ranging from team vs team to Battle Royale style games. Overwatch had hooked me for the first year of its release then I dropped off; I spent a couple of heavy months with Star Wars Hunters then dropped off; I also spent a couple good months with Apex Legends then ended up quitting. We will see if Marvel Rivals will keep me interested longer than the others, but so far so good. The familiar, and sometimes not so familiar (Looking at you Jeff the Landshark!) characters, wonderful team-up combos, destructible environments, crisp mechanics, and ever-growing content make me think I will stick around. For now though, it is time for me to get back to the game, and continue to try new characters.

Check Out Marvel Rivals on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2767030/Marvel_Rivals/

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Story: C+
Gameplay: A+
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A-
Value: A+

OVERALL: A

Pros:
+ Huge cast of varied characters to pick from.
+ Thus far, the gameplay content is entirely free.
+ Team-up combos are a joy to execute.

Cons:
- An odd complaint perhaps, but due to the high number of characters, it can be daunting figuring out who to main.
- Game modes are mostly cookie cutter.
- Story seems interesting, but it's delivered in the most boring way possible.

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Can't win 'em all!