As 2024 drew to a close, something I found myself taking away from the year was that the hero shooter genre is currently in a near-catatonic state. At best, games like Overwatch 2 and Team Fortress 2 receive very few updates, and even when something substantial comes along the way, it isn’t enough to reignite interest. At worst, we’re left with games that are either mediocre or awful to such an extent that it almost destroys the developers responsible. While this understandably might cast doubt on the genre’s future, we don’t have to wait long for a game that could turn it around. It’s already here, in the form of NetEase’s Marvel Rivals.
In theory, Marvel Rivals bears some clear similarities to other entries in the genre. There are several heroes with unique abilities, playstyles, and classes. Those classes boil down to either Tank, Damage, or Support. However, Marvel Rivals has quickly established itself as its own unique entity. This is due to its aesthetics, the use of Marvel characters, the design principles, and the gameplay.
As such, after just a month of playtime, I am already impressed with Marvel Rivals. I have fallen in love with this game, and thanks to how good the formula is, I can safely say that this is one of the best hero shooters released in recent years.
Across the Marvel Universe
Hero shooters live and die off of their roster. Either you’ll have characters that are instantly recognizable from their silhouette or ones you’ll forget about the moment you power down for the night. Thankfully, Marvel Rivals has a fantastic and familiar roster of characters from one of the most popular franchises of the last few years: the Marvel Universe.
Marvel has taken over the world since the beginning of the 21st century. Whether through its films, TV shows, video game adaptations, or original comic books, Marvel has gone from a relatively niche franchise to a juggernaut known around the world. Most of Marvel Rivals‘ characters are immediately recognizable to fans, regardless if they’ve read hundreds of comic books or if they’ve only watched a few films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
All the pillars of the series are present and accounted for: Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, Thor, Hulk, Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Venom, Loki, Black Widow, Hawkeye, etc. There are also several recent hits like Punisher, Moon Knight, and a majority of the Guardians of the Galaxy. However, where Rivals shines is its ability to highlight obscure characters like Squirrel Girl, Cloak and Dagger, Psylocke, and even Jeff the Land Shark.
These characters are heightened by some absolutely phenomenal designs. While some deviate a bit too far from what makes them iconic and interesting, others are incredible and worthy of the original comics. Psylocke and Winter Soldier, in particular, have some of their best designs to date. The animations, too, are spectacular, and the MVP animations especially look stunning.
Another mainstay of hero shooters is the monetization of costumes. Many games will have costumes with relatively boring designs that cost upwards of 30 dollars. In fact, in some cases, a few of the characters in these games don’t even have costumes. This isn’t the case in Marvel Rivals: every character has at least one costume at launch. Each costume looks unique and is based on either a comic, a film, or a completely original design.
My only slight critique of these costumes is that they are a bit expensive. The average costume will set you back about $20, and you cannot earn the currency to buy these items by just playing the game. That said, it does make sense why this choice was made: Marvel Rivals is completely free-to-play, and some degree of monetization was to be expected. Fortnite utilizes a similar structure, and it works great for it.
Of course, all multiplayer shooters live or die, depending on the potential for future updates. A lot of games will start out promising but will dwindle out due to a lack of consistent attention from its developers. Only time will tell how Rivals will compare to its peers, but the potential is certainly there. Marvel has thousands of characters from which NetEase can pull and countless opportunities for synergy with the comics, the films, and more.
For instance, they can release Daredevil to coincide with the new Daredevil: Born Again series, or release a new costume for Wolverine alongside the Ultimate Wolverine comic run releasing soon. The possibilities are endless, and judging by several leaks for the past few weeks, NetEase is ready to take advantage of everything the Marvel Universe has to offer. I, for one, can’t wait to see who else gets added to the game. I’m personally hoping we get Ghost Rider as a DPS character.
Half of the appeal of a hero shooter comes from its characters and visuals. The other half comes from its gameplay. How does Marvel Rivals‘ gameplay hold up? Personally, I think it holds up fantastically, and I’d even go as far as to say that it’s one of the most fun multiplayer games I’ve played in the last few years.
Gameplay That Makes You Feel Super
It’s worth mentioning before I continue that I grew up loving a lot of hero shooters. Team Fortress 2 is still one of the most fun games I’ve ever played, and I adored Overwatch when it first came out. However, I slowly fell out of love with Overwatch because of its extreme approach to balancing.
Characters would release, players would be slightly frustrated because of how the new matchup would be difficult to understand, and then just a few weeks later, they would be nerfed to such a degree that they would be almost entirely unplayable. It was a miserable formula that ruined my love for the game, as all of my favorite characters quickly became useless. Other games with an emphasis on balance, such as some fighting games, have similar problems.
Keeping in mind that Marvel Rivals has only been out for a month so far, I still feel confident in saying that its gameplay doesn’t even remotely suffer from this issue. Meanwhile, Team Fortress 2 has only nine characters that are mostly equally balanced, Overwatch 2 has 42 characters that aren’t balanced at all, and Rivals has 33 characters that are all fun to play.
Let’s start by talking about how the average Marvel Rivals match looks. At the moment, there are two modes that are likely familiar to those who have played other entries in the genre: escorting a payload and capturing the point. You pick one of thirty-three characters, each falling into either Vanguard, Strategist, and Dualist, or tank, support, and damage-per-second (or DPS).
Maybe you’ll start out picking one character and then choose another if your teammates decide not to pick a support or tank character. One of the most common complaints of Rivals thus far is that there isn’t a role queue, but personally, I don’t see a major problem with this. The main reason is because every character is viable in some way.
When I first booted up Marvel Rivals, I spent thirty minutes to an hour fiddling with different characters in all three classes. Every character I tried has abilities that are borderline overpowered, that are capable of wiping entire teams or even resurrecting allies. For example, I briefly tried Winter Soldier and didn’t initially mesh with his playstyle until I found out that his super can be triggered over and over again after getting just one kill.
Each role has heroes that I find incredibly fun and satisfying to control. Whether it’s the strategist Luna Snow, the dualist Moon Knight, or the tank Peni Parker, each character feels unique. While some characters may feel like one-to-one recreations of those from other shooters, others have abilities that are unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. It makes me so curious to see how they’ll continue to adapt to other characters in the future.
The moment-to-moment gameplay is thrilling as well. All of the modes are fantastic, and they’re helped by the great visuals and maps. While I do wish there were some more mobility options for certain characters, as it takes a bit long to get to the point, the controls feel so satisfying. I found myself maining Winter Soldier for most of my playtime so far, and his gun, abilities, and ultimate are conveyed perfectly through the PlayStation 5‘s DualSense controller.
This also doesn’t take into consideration Rivals’ party piece: the team-up abilities. Every single character in Marvel Rivals has a synergy ability with another team member. For example, Hulk has an ability to throw Wolverine across the map in a “fastball special.” Jeff the Land Shark can also fire bolts of ice if Luna Snow is in proximity. It’s a great mechanic that differentiates Rivals from other entries in the genre.
Overall, Marvel Rivals‘ gameplay is exciting and simply fun at a time when games feel like they’re more focused on balance than enjoyment. Every character is enjoyable to use and control, and there were very few moments where I was frustrated by a character that was too overpowered. The modes and maps are great, and while I wish there were more, I suspect we’ll be getting more updates in the coming months. Marvel Rivals has infinite potential, and I can’t wait to see how NetEase capitalizes on it.
Limitless Possibilities
The Marvel universe continues to grow and expand with every week that goes by. With new comics releasing on Wednesdays, plus new shows and movies airing every few months, there’s never been a better time to be a fan of Marvel. However, it can sometimes feel bloated, overwhelming, even oversaturated.
This is a problem that also applies to the hero shooter genre. Since Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch, there have been constant games inspired by these titles that have dominated and consumed the market. You wouldn’t be blamed for never wanting to see a hero shooter or a piece of superhero media for a while, as we’ve been consistently inundated with entries from both since 2008. Marvel Rivals, however, is an example of how both genres still have new heights to reach.
Rivals has a fantastic base after just a month. The characters are unique and varied in both gameplay and design. The monetization, while a bit too expensive for most, is still more fair than several other entries in the genre. The maps are beautiful, the modes are fun, and the potential for more characters, modes, and maps will likely keep the game alive for years to come.
Clearly, players are taking notice of this. Already, over twenty million players have put time into Rivals. Further, there are now hundreds of pieces of fan art, fan-animations, and theories about what the future of the game holds. After just a few weeks, I’ve seen dozens of videos going over techniques players can use better to utilize the kit of the game’s many characters.
I can safely count myself as part of that fanbase, partly because of how invested I am in the Marvel Universe but also because of just how enjoyable my time has been with Marvel Rivals thus far. Sure, I still have problems, and the things I like about the game could easily be diluted by future updates that ruin everything I’ve just talked about, but the foundation is in place for a game that will likely appeal to people for a long time.
If Rivals comes to more platforms and continues to take advantage of over 85 years of history, then I do not doubt that millions more players will continue to join its already massive player base. I am undoubtedly curious to see what NetEase and Marvel’s plans for the future entail and what characters we’ll see get adapted to the formula they have created.
