I just walked out of my preview for Marvel Rivals at Summer Game Fest 2024 and to say I am frazzled is an understatement. I jumped into the game not knowing what modes I’d be playing or who I was playing with. I learned to play on the fly, and I think I got a glimpse of what a casual gamer would feel like jumping into Marvel Rivals, and I have to say, it’s not a good feeling.
Stay with me here, because I think Marvel Rivals could be a lot of fun in the right environment. I am not an Overwatch player, but a fellow writer explained after that much of the gameplay is similar. Complaints I had are the standard for Overwatch, so anyone making the switch from that will likely feel right home.
Each character has different abilities in Marvel Rivals, and rather than a set standard for controls and only the abilities changing, both the abilities and the buttons that control them change as well. Each character has cooldowns, basic attacks and ultimate abilities, and buttons will vary. So one character will use RB, X and LT for instance, but the next will use LB, LT, and B, etc. This felt impossible for me to wrap my head around, but I’m sure over time, or if you choose to master only a few characters, it would become easier..
That’s what I’m referring to about jumping in, though. It LOOKS like a fun jump in and out game, but feels like it needs some finesse to master. Like Fortnite, that is an easier game to pop in and pop out of because almost everything plays the same, and there are no real mechanics that change unless you’re playing different modes completely. Marvel Rivals makes you learn something new for every character you try out, meaning you need to put in a bit more effort, even if you want to be a casual player.
“Each character has different abilities in Marvel Rivals, and rather than a set standard for controls and only the abilities changing, both the abilities and the buttons that control them change as well.”
If you are a Marvel fan in any capacity, you will be spoiled for choice in Marvel Rivals. There were so many characters to choose from that I spent my hour of playtime swapping between them to see how each felt. You can even switch characters mid-fight, so if something isn’t working out for you, you don’t need to wait until you start a new match to adjust. The only real caveat here is you can’t play someone that another person on your team is playing, and it is kind of first-come-first-served.
Whether or not some characters will be obviously the meta is unknown at this time, though I can speculate that it will be the case. As it was when I played WoW and I’m sure it is when people jump into Overwatch 2, some abilities or other perks will likely outweigh others. Loki has some pretty intense heals paired with damage, so he could be hard to take down if you let him get that heal off.
In my first hour with Marvel Rivals, I was able to get my hands on plenty of popular Marvel characters. Mantis felt like a support character, doing mild damage but healing their party. Punisher felt slow, but had a turret he could set up and take down walls and the other team with. Bruce Banner had a skill to turn him into the Hulk.
Some of the characters could even work together. As Rocket, I had a skill to climb onto someone else’s shoulders when they played Groot. It was as hilarious as it was handy to get to higher ground. There will be good and bad for each character, like sacrificing speed for powerful damage or losing damage abilities in order to heal.
Other characters included Star Lord, Peni Parker, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Namoc, Magic, Hela, Magneto and Spider-Man (who felt the best to play, in my opinion). These Marvel characters all look great on screen and are voice-acted, too. Throughout each match, you’ll hear little quips and hints from the characters in Marvel Rivals. For the most part, these were pretty good but occasionally could get repetitive.
“If you are a Marvel fan in any capacity, you will be spoiled for choice in Marvel Rivals.”
I was able to explore a few of the different game modes, but didn’t fully grasp the general gameplay loop while learning about the characters. Some games lasted more than one round, with our teams needing to capture various areas like the Royal Palace and Bifrost Garden. Another saw us protecting a carriage as it moved through an area, and another began with us finding a vehicle and then protecting it while it moved. They all feel similar, if I’m honest.
Something else of note: when jumping into certain modes, there would be a suggestion for a type of character. Dualist, Vanguard and Strategist are your DPS, Tank and Healer, respectively, and modes would give you hints on what you may need to succeed, with the choice being up to you ultimately. There were also Season Bonuses for some characters, which I assume will change each season. Some that I saw included a 15% Damage Bonus, +200 Max HP, and a 5% Healing Bonus. I think this will be great for getting people to try out new combinations of characters and classes.
Marvel Rivals looks like it is a game that could…rival…other co-op shooters. If there is a variety of game modes, and NetEase continues to add new Marvel Characters, there is no reason why this game could not succeed. My biggest recommendation is to give yourself time to familiarize yourself with how each individual character plays, as that will be the ultimate path to success while playing Marvel Rivals.
Marvel Rivals has a TBD release date, but it is rumoured to be released in early 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. A closed beta will launch in July for all platforms.
