On the May 2024 State-of-Play, Marvel Rivals was announced as the newest player-vs-player experience. Gamers felt confused, intrigued, or unimpressed by the game’s concept of their favorite superheroes fighting against their opponents in the far future of 2099.
Yet developer NetEase Games knows this isn’t their first Marvel Game. They began a relationship with Marvel starting with the mobile MOBA game, Marvel Super War. Jumping into the world of Sony’s next-gen console, PlayStation 5, here’s what we know about Marvel Rivals from their trailers.
Battling the Multiverse
Marvel is not a stranger to the multiverse as it holds one of its own. In the trailers for Marvel Rivals so far, the game appears to be based on Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Spiderman Into the Spiderverse. Different versions of Marvel’s superheroes and villains make their entrance through dimensional portals.
There are also a few characters that are making a debut for the first time out of their comics and mobile games to join the main Marvel superhero cast in a spin-off console game. We have Luna Snow (Agents of Atlas), Hela (Thor), Namor, Peni Parker (SP//dr), and Magik (X-Men Hellions)
Marvel Rivals Team-Up Gameplay
NetEase Games chose the starting roster based on three unit classes; Vanguard, Duelist, and Strategist. Vanguards are the heroes and villains with high defense or high offense. Duelists are fighters who are skilled with speed, and mid-range and close-quarter combat. And finally, Strategists specialized in support and long-range abilities.
To give Marvel Rivals refreshing gameplay, NetEase Games added in Team-Up Abilities. Team-Up is similar to Chrono Trigger‘s Double and Triple Techs. You and other players can use this mechanic to create different combos with certain character pairings.
In their gameplay and announcement trailer for Marvel Rivals, NetEase Games showed off a few of them including Rocket Raccoon and Groot performing “We Are Groot” of Rocket riding his best friend’s shoulders to give him his deadly arsenal. This will take trial and error to find these character combinations.
Is Marvel Rivals Innovative?
The State-of-Play announcement trailer made Marvel Rivals look underwhelming. If you visit Marvel’s official website on Marvel Rivals, their gameplay trailer provides this game justice on why you should PvP players and how Marvel could enter the world of Esports.
It may look like an Overwatch clone, but the Team-Up Abilities offers players more variety in strategic multiplayer. Instead of solely relying on certain units to provide support in the frontline and back, every unit plays a role in timing and executing their abilities with character combinations.
Players who love to play as bait could enjoy using Team-Up as an ambush to catch their opponents off-guard. And the unit classes of the roster so far are well-versed in their role. You have The Hulk as a walking tank Vanguard, Spiderman’s web-slinging and quick blows for the perfect Duelist, and Rocket Racoon’s small stature and heavy arsenal makes him a dangerous Strategist.
A Reason To Not Play
One reason players may not enjoy Marvel Rivals has to do with Marvel Rivals being advertised as a hero shooter. While I cannot deny the description, it’s more of a team arena battler.
Calling Marvel Rivals a shooter is a stretch as there are a variety of fighters to play that are not specialized in range attacks. NetEase Games wants players to work together to achieve victory. The roster justifies Marvel Rivals’ concept as they do not want players to have a team composed of one hero or villain.
The developers want to offer a fun PvP experience where experimenting with different team combinations can be rewarding. That is what makes Marvel Rivals an intriguing team arena battler.
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