After the excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, I was eager to check out an early vertical slice of Tribute Games’ latest beat-em-up project, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion.
Despite the demo build of MARVEL Cosmic Invasion including only two levels and nine playable characters, I came away from Dotemu’s recent presentation confident that fans have a lot to look forward to when the game launches later this year. Much like Shredder’s Revenge before it, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion features a bright, colourful retro aesthetic that fits the Marvel Comics brand perfectly. Unlike TMNT, however, it boasts a staggering 15 playable characters—bringing it closer to a fighting game roster than a traditional beat-’em-up.
In the demo, I was able to try out Captain America, Nova, Storm, Venom, Wolverine, Phyla-Vell, Spider-Man, Rocket and She-Hulk. What stood out most was the mix of iconic mainstays and less typical inclusions. MARVEL Cosmic Invasion seems intent on striking a balance between familiar and fresh. Spider-Man, Venom and Captain America feel reminiscent of their Marvel vs. Capcom 2 counterparts, while newer heroes like Phyla-Vell, Rocket and Nova offer something entirely original.
“MARVEL Cosmic Invasion seems intent on striking a balance between familiar and fresh.”
That fighting game influence feels intentional. The sprite design and animation for characters like Venom, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Storm and Captain America appear to pay homage to Capcom’s legendary MVC series. In many ways, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion feels like it’s trying to recapture the spirit of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 in the same way Shredder’s Revenge honoured Turtles in Time.
In terms of gameplay, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion features a two-character tag-team system, allowing players to switch between two heroes at any time by tapping the left bumper. Tapping the right bumper triggers an assist move while keeping your current hero in play. Holding the bumper activates a special attack—often with area-of-effect damage that’s perfect for crowd control.
The available roster currently feels like it comes in two flavours: fast characters with a solid mix of mid- to long-range attacks, and heavy, deliberate brawlers whose chunky-feeling blows can melt bosses and keep enemy waves at bay. Some heroes, like Rocket Raccoon, Spider-Man and Storm, also use ammo-based or charge-up attacks tied to cooldowns—helpful distinctions that break up the monotony of straight punching and kicking.
“On top of the pick-up-and-play online and local co-op, with each player having access to characters, I can see MARVEL Cosmic Invasion being one chaotic but fun beat-em-up when it sees release later this year.”
Another strong point of MARVEL Cosmic Invasion’s already diverse roster is the clear distinction between flight-capable characters and grounded brawlers. Characters like Nova, Spider-Man and Venom can soar or swing around freely, while others like Wolverine stay closer to street level. With drop-in, drop-out online and local co-op, and every player getting access to the full character list, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion looks set to be a chaotic but undeniably fun beat-’em-up when it launches later this year.
The first stage takes place in a New York City street-level setting that’s visually reminiscent of Shredder’s Revenge. Instead of fighting the Foot Clan, though, players battle waves of insectoid enemies—including one standout moment where a massive swarm nearly fills the screen, offering a fun and chaotic twist in an otherwise standard-feeling level. The stage wraps up with a boss fight against Beetle, a Kamen Rider–style villain pulled from the pages of MARVEL Cosmic Comics.
The second and final demo level transports players to a helicarrier under siege by AIM forces. Players must push deep into the ship’s interior to find MODOK, who appears to need rescuing—though the full context wasn’t revealed. The setting is a refreshing break from the urban street level and brings a notable bump in challenge, with gun-wielding foes, explosive hazards and trap-filled corridors scattered throughout the crumbling aircraft.
The final boss of this stage is none other than Taskmaster, another unique and well-chosen opponent for a mid-game brawl. With characters like Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill confirmed for the roster, and villains like Beetle and Annihilus already in the spotlight, it’ll be interesting to see whether any Fantastic Four characters make the cut by launch.
Dotemu is seemingly ready to unleash two fantastic beat-em-ups into the world later this year, with the likes of Absolum shaping up to be a fantastic blending of genres, and MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is on track to follow suit.
