I don’t think we’ll ever be certain, but I am pretty sure I can guess exactly how Marvel Rivals was initially created. Someone walked into an executive’s office with a simple elevator pitch that went a little something like this: “Yo dawg, I heard you like Marvel so we put Marvel in your Overwatch so you have Marvel while you play Overwatch.” Sure, there may have been less X to the Z Xzibit, but I think I prefer this version.
In all seriousness, though, Marvel Rivals really is kind of an Overwatch clone. There are probably some major differences, such as how Overwatch 2 was developed with a PvE mode in mind– oh wait. Well, maybe not that one, and stalwart Overwatch players likely will find gaping holes in my comparison, but as someone who only played Overwatch a handful of times and did not fall in love with it, I say these games might as well be the same with a skin swap. Except for the fact that *jazz hands* it’s a third-person shooter instead of a first-person one.
Yes, the gameplay is Overwatch, but Team-Ups are cool.
I might be laying on the Overwatch comparisons pretty thick, but it’s for a good reason. There’s a lot of similarities! And I’ve played my fair share of different team shooters with different styles of gameplay. Like a hungry boy perusing the Costco samplers, I’m a team shooter grazer – it’s just that they tend to bounce off me. It’s a me thing, not a you thing. Also, I’m not that great at them, and that doesn’t make me happy. Lucky for me, I can continue my grazing habits as NetEase was kind enough to provide me access to the recent closed beta test.
So let’s dig down a little bit into what Marvel Rivals offers players. This is a six-person, team-based shooter. There’s a ton of heroes to choose from, so Marvel fans should find someone they love. Teams can be built from any combo of heroes or villains, so you aren’t forced into the good-guys only team or the bad-guys team; you can mix and match. Combat is very skill-driven, so player knowledge about hero abilities is critical. When you see Scarlet Witch begin to float high up in the sky with an “!” above her head, it’s time to run away or focus fire because it’s going to hurt otherwise.
With that said, the first thing that came to my mind was how amazing the game looks. I was seriously impressed. I’m not a graphics snob – hell, I primarily play retro games offline – but watching the little movies and the hero animations really gets me pumped up. I’m just not used to playing games that look this good.
For this closed beta, I got a chance to view a couple of different game modes on offer. The options are super robust, but they certainly provide enough for anyone to get a handle on the game. The tutorial is optional, which is a good thing. I played it, of course. I always play tutorials. You learn the normal movement stuff, but the important bits are what makes Marvel Rivals unique and stand out. It’s a very short and snappy course that walks you through a couple of game mechanics. A+ for that one.
The first interesting feature is the destructible environment. It’s very reminiscent of The Finals in that if there’s a platform you want to fall through (or you want the other team to fall through), then you just need to shoot it up and blow it away. There’s even a hotkey that will switch the UI into a destruction mode so that you can quickly see what can be blown up and what cannot. This is where it sadly differs from The Finals. In The Finals, just about everything is fully destructible. Almost every wall, ceiling, floor, and tree can be destroyed. Still, it’s a cool feature, even if it’s not quite as good as The Finals.
The other one I really liked was the Team-Up power. Despite having the ability to play any hero there are potential bonus powers you can use if your team composition is right. There’s a tab from the lobby screen where you can see who teams up with whom. It’s really great whenever you actually pull it off and certainly encourages proper team composition. And I believe that’s where the game will have its best moments, where players feel their team comp really matters and can pop off a combo at just the right time to turn the tide of a fight.
Next, saddling up to the tutorial is the practice area. A well-made practice area always helps out a noob like me. NetEase included the ability to test out not only hero powers against various mobs but also a method for spawning other heroes for testing the Team-Up abilities.
Now, back to the game modes. We have only a couple so far, but we’re just in a closed beta, so I wouldn’t expect NetEase to turn on the lights in every room. It’s enough that we’re able to get a feel for the combat in a real match. One of the modes was just a straight up Deathmatch where players constantly respawn and battle until one team hits 40 kills or the time runs out. You’ll die pretty quickly if there’s more than a couple folks focus-firing on you, but at least there’s no headshot instant-kills here. While this isn’t the best mode for really experiencing the gameplay or team aspects, it is a fun way to kill a few minutes quickly – something I always look for.
The other mode was designed for more structured team play. The queue would go through a carousel of objective modes, which I tend not to love as I much prefer playing exactly the game I want to play rather than something random. But I’ll give it another pass for it being a beta. I think the two modes I saw were escorting a vehicle and fighting over objective points – standard stuff.
Heroes with unique skills make every hero interesting.
While the gameplay is solid and comfortable, the real star (and honestly the reason anyone is going to play this) is the Marvel characters themselves. At last count I think we’ve already got 23 to choose from, which is pretty great. While I know a decent amount of Marvel lore, I was surprised by how many characters I don’t actually know.
You have most of the ones you expect – like Spiderman, Black Panther, and Ironman – but I don’t really know who Magik is. Some of the picks are deeper cuts for casual Marvel fans, so you should check out the roster as I bet you’ll find someone you like in there.
Each hero plays extremely uniquely. While I recognized some of the moves from Overwatch like the shield wall, I’m just not experienced enough to know them all. Still, the difference between a character like Star-Lord and Groot or even Magik was pretty staggering. So if you don’t like one hero’s moveset, just try another.
Additionally, the heroes are more or less keyed into class roles: Strategist, Vanguard, and Duelist, which play out as support, tank, and DPS respectively, more or less. Fortunately, unlike Multiversus, here the archetypes are actually on point, so even as a beginner you’ll know which grouping to choose from based on the type of gamer you are.
NetEase didn’t have a whole lot in the way of cosmetics to show off just yet, but you can see the devs have got it all planned out. From costumes to MVP cinematics, emotes, and spray art, it’s all there and queued up (and it’s appealing, too). Marvel Rivals also has dailies, missions, and the always-popular battle passes to keep you busy as well. And if you’re the achievement-hunting type, there’s hero specific achievements too.
Even for a closed beta, there was plenty to do, and I can only imagine there will be even more come release. Honestly, the game played and felt release-ready to me. So if you’re a team shooter fan who’s been waiting for the next AAA quality game to drop, look no further.
Every other week, Massively OP’s Sam Kash delivers Fight or Kite, our trip through the state of PvP across the MMORPG industry. Whether he’s sitting in a queue or rolling with the zerg, Sam’s all about the adrenaline rush of a good battle. Because when you boil it down, the whole reason we PvP (other than to pwn noobs) is to have fun fighting a new and unpredictable enemy!
