Over the last handful of years the side-scrolling beat ’em up genre has seen a massive resurgence. One of the studios leading the way is Tribute Games, the studio behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. This time, however, the developer is back with a new take on the genre in Marvel Cosmic Invasion. As part of the Summer Game Fest Play Days event in Los Angeles earlier this month, I was able to get time with Marvel Cosmic Invasion for a hands-on preview to see what Tribute is bringing to the table this year.
Let’s swing into it.
It’s All About The Tag-Team Division
As any wrestling fan will should know, the key to a great product is a great tag-team division. And Marvel Cosmic Invasion has a great tag-team division. The game’s main selling point is it’s new tag-team combat mechanic called the “Cosmic Swap” system that allows you to quickly swap out with another character on your adventure. But it’s not all about just swapping in and out because you want to use a certain character. Instead, there’s a strategy to who you decide to choose and how you use them.
Before getting to the gameplay itself, a quick word on the story and the overall premise of the game. Marvel Cosmic Invasion sees Annihilus launch an attack across the galaxy. It’s up to you to fight your way across earth and beyond to stop the Annihilation Wave. It’s a story based off the Annihilation storyline from the mid-2000s.
With that out of the way, let’s get to what matters most to many: the gameplay.
In my playthrough I chose Spider-Man and Venom as my two characters. Immediately, you can find synergy between them. I would throw enemies into the air with Venom only to quickly switch to Spider-Man for a swinging kick. I’d then hit my opponent in the air with Spider-Man, switch to Venom and chomp away across the screen. The variety of combinations you can pull off, even if they don’t necessarily flow or make sense, adds a level of depth to the combat that’s rarely seen in a beat ’em up.
While I played, I also thought about playing with someone who just wants to go through and not worry about things like the swap system. Turns out, you can get away with that if you so choose. Rather than swapping in and out constantly, you can just choose to treat each character individually and go through until you either beat the level or die. Should your character die, you’ll automatically swap to your partner to continue the level.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion Has A Lot To Like
Aside from the tag-team fighting, I found the soundtrack to be fantastic, the artwork to be immaculate, and the general flow of the on-screen action to be near flawless. Even the difficulty changes as you progress felt fair and never overwhelming. Granted, it was just a single level, but it bodes well for how the rest of the game is shaping up. Tribute Games captured the comic book style they were going for, and every character that was available for the demo looked exactly as you’d hope. The animations and moves from both the playable characters and the enemies gave you the feeling that this is a studio that cares about what it was giving to fans.
The session I played had Taskmaster has the end-level boss. It was a battle that showcased just how much teamwork can matter in this game. Because of his shield, Taskmaster was able to block a lot of incoming attacks. It was up to your partner, if you’re playing co-op, or your guard-breaking abilities to keep him on his toes while not letting him copy your attacks. At times, it was tough but, again, it never felt unfair.
As far as the development goes, Tribute Games say the game is all but finished at this point. The only thing left are final polishes and making sure any bugs that have, or may, come up get addressed before a full launch. That launch, they said, will be announced in the coming months, but there is no worry of the game not releasing later this year.
So far, nine playable characters—Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Venom, Storm, Quasar, Nova, Rocket Raccoon, and She-Hulk—have been announced with six more reveals coming before release. When it releases, Marvel Cosmic Invasion will be available on PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Insider Gaming will have a full review of the game later this year.
Are you looking forward to Marvel Cosmic Invasion? Let us know down below, and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming forums.
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Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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