After several matches in Marvel Rivals, I finally feel comfortable with Captain America's kit. It helped that I started seeing him as a sturdy damage dealer instead of the tank he's technically classified as, and figuring out how to use his throwable shield properly didn't hurt, either. I decide to take a risk and use the captain's mobility skill – where he leaps into the air, rushes forward, and crashes down – to rush in and claim the control zone before the match timer hits zero. I forget for a moment that I'm not playing Overwatch 2, and Captain America isn't Winston. Instead of tightly controlled movement, I get unpredictable momentum, no say in where Mr America goes, and instant death as he sails in the wrong direction into the entire opposing team.
This is Marvel Rivals, NetEase's first attempt at a hero shooter of the kind Blizzard popularized with Overwatch, in brief. It's enticing in its complexity and frustrating in its messiness, with an oversized roster that, at its worst, feels hastily slapped together. There's real potential here, and some of Marvel Rivals' playable heroes and villains have exceptional skillsets that redefine what the genre can be. It's just buried under a heap of balance problems, blatant mimicry, and half-finished ideas.
