Assemble your group chat because a brand new Marvel game has just dropped, and it’s an absolute blast.
Marvel Rivals has just launched today, and the game is already sprawling with players. I’ve played a few matches today and have had a grand ol’ time.
The game is a simple 6v6 team-based shooter in which you pick one of several heroes from Marvel’s roster to battle an enemy team. If you’re a fan of other hero shooters like Overwatch, Deadlock, or even Fortnite, this game should be right up your alley. If you’ve got a fave Marvel hero from the movies, you’ll definitely get to live out your power fantasies here while playing as them.
It’s also just an incredibly pretty game. It’s art style leans heavily into the comic book aesthetic as well, and it’s so colourful and pretty that it makes the nerd child in me very happy.
So, let’s dive on in and explain what you’ll be doing in the game and what it makes worth playing right now.
How to play Marvel Rivals
The standard gameplay loop of Marvel Rivals doesn’t change too much. You and a team of five other players will run at six other players, and whoever can click heads fast enough will win. However, the game has a variety of different maps, game modes and heroes to keep things fresh.
There are three different game modes which will randomly cycle through as you queue up. The first is “Domination”, which is your standard “capture the point” game. Whichever team captures the most points by the end of the game wins. Another game mode is “Convoy,” where one team has to escort a slow-moving convoy to a destination on the map, and the opposing team will try to stop you from progressing. The final game mode is called “Convergence”, where a team is given either offense or defense. Your team wins if you can capture all three points within the time limit.
What makes it special
If you’ve played Overwatch before, these modes should seem really similar to you, as they’re pretty much the same. The biggest difference from Overwatch, though, is that this game is a third-person shooter, so you get to see your character’s pretty costumes. The other big difference is that different heroes have team abilities to help make each other stronger.
For example, Jeff the Land Shark and Rocket Racoon can ride on Groot’s shoulders if they’re all on the same team. If you have Star-Lord, Mantis and Adam Warlock together, they’ll get to revive shortly after dying. It’s a really neat way to show off that Marvel team combo, and to reward you for thinking strategically with your comp. But, if you just want to run Spider-Man every game, you’re so valid for that.
Something also worth shouting out is how Marvel Rivals is monetising the game. Like Fortnite (and most games these days), Marvel Rivals has a battle pass system. What I love here, though, is that NetEase has made the really cool player-friendly choice not to let them expire. This means if you buy a battle pass and life gets in the way, meaning you can’t finish it in time, that’s alright. Once you buy a battle pass, you’ll get to keep unlocking the rewards until you finish it.
A brief moment to fanboy over the roster
I’ve grown up with Marvel video games my whole life, and the best part about them was getting to play Iron Man or Wolverine, but also the lesser-known characters at the time. Marvel Rivals is the exact same, letting you play as some of your faves from the movies and hidden gems from the comics.
The game has already launched with over 30 heroes to play from, each filling out specific roles in the game. You have your tanky heroes like Magneto, Venom, and The Hulk, who soak up a ton of damage for the team. Or if you’d rather go in guns blazing, there are plenty of damage-focused heroes available as well, like Spider-Man, Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon. Finally, there are support characters that keep the team alive and also dish out some damage.
My favourite so far is Jeff the Land Shark, who runs around and spits on people, which can heal your team or shred enemies. He also does this really cute backstroke when you move backwards with him, and it’s so adorable I want to cry.
Overall impressions
I think Marvel Rivals is a really solid game that does enough to stand on its own. While the live-service genre is really overcrowded right now (RIP Concord and XDefiant), I think Marvel Rivals will stay afloat for a long while. It looks gorgeous, has a solid monetisation scheme, and getting headshots activates the monkey neurons in all the right ways.
If you love Marvel, or just want a new game to pick up with friends, Marvel Rivals gets my stamp of approval. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go full goblin mode and lock in for the weekend.
You can download Marvel Rivals for free on Steam, PlayStation Store and Xbox right now.
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