After only a couple of levels brawling through Marvel Cosmic Invasion, I'm soaking in the wonderful vibes of '90s Marvel – an electric era of cartoons from the comic book publisher. Just as developer Tribute Games pulled off with the electric Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, this new beat 'em up manages to evoke nostalgia for that era of sunny, colorful cartoon beat 'em up action without actually being tied down by it. Even so, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a throwback that has plenty of ideas of its own.
Going hands-on for myself, this vibe comes through even in the character selection. With Wolverine and Storm sporting designs reminiscent of the '90s X-Men cartoon, and both Spider-Man and Venom doing the same for the web-slinger's '90s adventures, it's like a homecoming to my childhood. But, then they're joined by characters who – while they existed in the comics in that period – weren't part of that cartoon universe, like Nova and Rocket Raccoon. It's almost like getting to see a version of that animated age that never ended, but instead continued forward to run alongside the MCU. In any case, there's no way I can resist a Spider-Man and Rocket Raccoon team-up.
