I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t too impressed when Marvel Rivals was first revealed by NetEase Games. While I thought the concept of a Marvel hero shooter was novel, the initial gameplay showcase quelled some of my enthusiasm for the idea. It wasn’t until recently that my interest in Rivals had piqued again, despite how tired the hero shooter format feels these days. After spending some time with the full release of Marvel Rivals, I’m so happy to say that I was wrong.
As is typical for the hero shooter subgenre, Marvel Rivals is pretty light on narrative. The gist of it is that two Doctor Doom variants have a hostile meeting that results in a timestream entanglement, creating new worlds while pulling heroes and villains from across the multiverse into conflict with one another. These battles all root back to these heroes and villains trying to defeat the Doom variants before they claim victory over the new worlds.
While this premise is ultimately what gives way to Marvel Rivals as a hero shooter, it’s two fold in that it allows NetEase to pull from countless corners of the Marvel universe. From characters and locales to easter eggs and deep-cut lore references. It’s even afforded them to bring Galacta into the fold – the daughter of Galactus who’s made very few appearances since her debut in 2010. Perhaps most exciting, is the level of freedom that NetEase has been afforded in visual design and aesthetic.
Marvel Rivals is a true labour of love. Not just in the way it’s presented, but in the way it pays homage to Marvel’s storied history while treading new ground with NetEases own designs and interpretations of these characters and locations. The individuality of these designs are indicative of NetEase’s desire to make their own footprint in this expansive intellectual property, and Marvel Rivals is all the better for it.
If you’ve played a hero shooter like Overwatch, you know what you’ll be getting into here with Marvel Rivals. It’s a six versus six multiplayer shooter with unique characters or heroes that fit into different roles. The key appeal of Marvel Rivals compared to something like Overwatch is the very fact that it’s Marvel to begin with. Combining these storied and immensely popular characters with the hero shooter subgenre is a concept ripe with potential.
It’s one that NetEase largely delivers on here. Each character feels distinct and true to their comic book and cinematic counterparts. Iron Man is a ranged glass cannon, emphasising smart positioning and efficient use of his abilities to come out on top. Hulk is very similar to Overwatch’s D.Va in that he moves between the immovable object that is the Hulk and a more meagre and squishy Bruce Banner. Every character is fun to play but they do feel largely derivative.
There’s very little here that’s truly new. Granted, it’s hard to find new player fantasies in hero shooters nowadays, but the few truly new archetypes that NetEase have designed here are their best characters. Heroes like Magik, Iron Fist, and Black Panther have complex kits that are easy to pick up and understand, but hard to master. Other characters feel like combinations of existing archetypes within other hero shooters. Mantis for example, is a sort of hybrid between Ana and Zenyatta from Overwatch, Star Lord lands somewhere between Tracer and Reaper. They’re undoubtedly fun to play and rewarding to master, but don’t feel like they offer much new.
Where Marvel Rivals does set itself apart, is in its Team Up mechanic. In true Marvel fashion, combining certain heroes will net them bonus active and passive abilities. Things like grouping up members of the Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy, pairing Spider-Man or Peni Parker with Venom. These abilities are very strong, game defining in some cases. They’re also a stroke of genius from a design perspective, really hooking into the identity of the teamwork and camaraderie that’s omnipresent in Marvel media.
This doesn’t just lead to new team building options, but also brings strength to certain characters where they may be lacking. It helps Marvel Rivals to feel quite balanced at launch, there are clear winners here and there will always be a meta for these kinds of games, but each hero is viable in their own right.
The only real issue with all of this is that it exacerbates an issue present in all competitive hero shooters – the solo player experience. Marvel Rivals becomes a different game when you play with friends or a team that communicates effectively. It can feel pretty tough to go up against a coordinated group as your own team struggles to hold a point or push the payload to its destination. It’s incredibly rewarding when it all clicks, but can be frustrating when it doesn’t – especially in ranked play.
Another area Marvel Rivals feels largely unoriginal is in its game mode offerings at launch. They’re all fine, but every single one has been seen before. Push the payload, capture the point, hold the zone, all very standard hero shooter modes that feel somewhat tired by today’s standards. It’s a bummer that there isn’t something more unique to Marvel Rivals in this regard, especially when it has some really great map design.
This is another area that Marvel Rivals makes the most of its IP and storied history to bring unique flavours and gameplay scenarios into the fold. Each map is based on certain locations from the Marvel universe. From a Hydra based tucked away in snowy Tundra to the godly Yggsgard, there’s a healthy variety of arenas at launch. What’s coolest about these battlefields is that they’re destructible, lending a sense of dynamism and evolution to each game as it progresses.
All of this is wrapped up in fantastic presentation and production values from NetEase. Rivals is an incredible showcase of Unreal Engine 5, especially the capabilities of Lumen GI. The high saturation colour palette and attention to detail in every environment is elevated by the quality of lighting provided by Lumen, and every map is a visual joy to take in. Much of the same can be said for the UI that surrounds Rivals. It’s easy to navigate, filled with charming touches, and creates a sense of style and aesthetic that clearly displays the care NetEase put into developing every aspect of this game.
This is all to say that this is only launch for Marvel Rivals. There are so many other things it does right, its monetisation is in a good spot as of right now, there’s long term goals to chase, new maps and heroes are inbound, and NetEase have dedicated themselves to ensuring Marvel Rivals has longevity and success for some time to come. This launch paints a promising picture of what we can expect for the future of Marvel Rivals and I implore you to check it out if you’ve ever been fond of hero shooters.
