Marvel Rivals review

It seems an odd time for a game like Marvel Rivals to blast onto the hero shooter scene. Gone are the days when everyone was shouting about Overwatch 2 or Apex Legends, after all. Although, arguably so are the days when everyone was shouting about Marvel with a positive inflection. The recent offerings from the MCU both on the large and small screen have been met with middling feedback, while Overwatch isn’t exactly on fire, and Apex essentially lost the fight against Fortnite long before Eminem was sampled as a minigun sound effect.

So how exactly is Marvel Rivals expecting to regenerate interest in its genre and its property? Well, for one, it’s not concerned with the MCU. While it takes some elements of character design and costumes from the cinematic universe, many of the skins and even characters are lifted from the comics instead. Heroes and villains like Psylocke, Cloak & Dagger, and Adam Warlock have been seen on the screen in recent years but rarely centre stage or for long.

Where Rivals stands out is in its use of synergy, creating a mechanic from classic Marvel Team-ups that enhance the efficiency, damage or survivability of the huge roster. With such a massive line-up available at launch, there are lots of opportunities for such synergies, too. Seeing Rocket Raccoon and the Punisher team up to increase their ammo reserves makes for a more meaningful match up than simply pairing a healer like Jeff the Land Shark with a glass cannon like Black Panther. These match-ups even extend to animations on the odd occasion, such as Rocket hitching a ride on Groot’s shoulder, which is a nice touch and really speaks to the characters in a way I wasn’t expecting.

There’s not much here in the way of story, and there doesn’t need to be. I’m actually happy they didn’t try to tortuously force context into our superhero smackdown. It speaks to a general lack of filler or time-wasting, as Marvel Rivals presents a massive selection of heroes, tons of skins to unlock, and a great variety of colourful environments, many with arena-wide events that affect the way you get around.

The variety of characters is also refreshing. While they do adhere to three broad archetypes, there’s so much diversity in their movesets that it really makes you want to try everyone. Vanguard characters like Magneto, Captain America, and Venom exist to essentially fill the tank role, soaking up damage while your other characters get stuck in with DPS and support. Duellists fill the former role, with Winter Soldier, Iron Fist, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man laying down the consistent damage. Finally, Strategists like Mantis, Adam Warlock, and Luna Snow provide buffs and healing to keep your team alive.

It makes for a more immediate, fast-paced experience, not relying on stun-locking and choke points, but rather sustained offence to complete objectives. A noticeable lack of game modes is the current sticking point, but it’s really refreshing to see a free-to-play hero shooter launch with so many characters, not relying on paywalls or a microtransaction shop. If more modes and apps are added in time, Marvel Rivals could well have the legs to go the distance.

Interesting characters like Peni Parker, Jeff the Land Shark, and Cloak & Dagger keep things feeling fresh, while favourites like Scarlet Witch, Iron Man, and Storm can fly, affording you a different tactical angel altogether. Most maps simply aren’t equipped for Spider-Man’s swinging and wall-climbing, though, as it feels too fast and inaccurate. If you can master it, you might have a significant advantage, but I’m yet to see any player make the web-slinger a formidable opponent.

Even without a huge amount of experience with hero shooters, I’m having a ball with Marvel Rivals. Some characters feel a little overpowered (hello, Scarlett Witch’s ultimate), whereas I find characters like Black Widow super easy to play as they turn the game into a fairly zany third-person shooter and I can find my comfort zone again. You’re arguably missing out if you don’t try everyone at least once though.

On top of the slick gameplay and varied powersets, Marvel Rivals looks and sounds fantastic. Environments are bright and detailed, with destructible elements and the aforementioned grand events, while the characters are gorgeous. Each is animated with heaps of personality and charisma, even if some of the incidental call-outs start to grate after a while. Besides this though, the voice acting is pretty solid throughout, and the music is superb.

Marvel Rivals has come out of the gate swinging. Offering a ton of variety at least on the surface, it does need more modes to make use of some of the more diverse abilities and to keep things interesting. There are very few poor characters, and the smooth, responsive gameplay combines well with the sharp, eye-catching aesthetic to deliver a fresh blast of adrenaline to the hero shooter genre.