Overwatch and its reboot, Overwatch 2, has enjoyed its successful role as the one true hero shooter that survived the fight for being an online multiplayer shooter game. Team Fortress 2 was the only real competitor Overwatch had. However, with the finale of the comic series finally being released (and living up to the hype, but that’s a story for another time), many fans are content with letting the game move on. Many other hero shooters kept on coming out, but they soon died within a year, maybe even 2 or 3 if they’re lucky. Add in how the game was getting everyone angry with it dumping the PVE story mode alongside making changes to the gameplay that make it a step down from the original, and people have been clamoring for a new game to challenge its hold on the genre. Marvel Rivals is the latest in this attempt to take down the current champion, and it’s looking like it’ll be the one that gives Overwatch 2 the biggest threat yet, and for good reasons with the game already having a huge player base. However, the biggest reason this game is Overwatch 2’s biggest challenger is that the game itself is already a fun and thrilling time.
The story goes that there’s a meeting with two different versions of Doctor Doom. One is the current dictator Doctor Doom, and the other is the benevolent future Doctor Doom from 2099. There’s some conflict between these two moralities, and these fights led to the multiverse getting their timelines messed up in something called the Timestream Entanglement. Now with all the heroes and villains of the Marvel worlds colliding, they have to team up with various team-ups as parts of diverse groups to try and stop the Dooms from ruling all of reality. Meanwhile, these matches are all commentated on by the daughter of Galactus, Galacta.
Creating a new hero shooter to go toe-to-toe with Overwatch is always a delicate procedure, but Marvel Rivals is making good strides to do so. Starting with the sound and visual design, both are top-notch for online team-based shooters. The playable characters are vast and unique with the stages also looking just as distinctive and awe-inducing. The characters can pop out and still be easily noticeable within these different and varying locations. The audio design is just as strong and punchy, giving off satisfying sound effects for every hit you connect with the opponent, encouraging players to keep improving.
Speaking of characters, we have 33 heroes and villains at launch: just five short of Overwatch 2’s impressive 38 roster. Each character has a different playstyle. Some characters are off in the background taking shots at their opponents, while others are better off close-ranged dealing damage with fisticuffs. Each character has unique abilities and stats, with three different classes. From Bruce Banner transforming into the Hulk and Captain America shielding fellow heroes with his shield for the Vanguards, Spider-Man swinging throughout the arena and wall-running to get behind enemy lines to fight them, and Squirrel Girl using her acorns and squirrels to launch at enemies for the Duelists, and Jeff the Land Shark’s healing bubbles and water gun and Rocket Raccoon’s sci-fi revival machines and repairing kits for the Strategists, each hero is not only a clear fit for every class but also distinct from every other hero within their class.
Each character also has their ultimate ability where after enough time and damage, with these moves being supremely powerful. Most of these abilities are heavy damaging attacks within a set area, helping show off just how powerful these heroes can be. Healers have their brand of ultimate abilities, usually being able to help heal and boost the power of heroes. However, some abilities do need to be nerfed, especially Jeff. Being able to swallow an entire team and just intentionally go off the ledge to kill everyone just feels like it’s begging to get nerfed.
The different maps also have their modes that come with each map. Some maps will have you guiding an object to the end or stop the enemy team from doing this, others will have you fighting the other team to take control of a center map, and others will be a mix where a team needs to attack and defend multiple checkpoints. There’s also a temporary mode where you play as Jeff to spray the stage with your team’s color, a la Splatoon. While the modes are limited for now, more modes and maps are slated for release with seasonal updates, which is reassuring to know that they still have plans for the game and aren’t just going to dump it and run.
A nice bonus to all the fighting is the interactions the heroes have with each other as well as the maps they’re on. From the expected like the Guardians Of The Galaxy bouncing off each other, to the more interesting situations like Venom and Spider-Man beating each other on the battlefield and commenting on it. Each character also has some special dialogue for each map. You’ll get some heroes talking about how they need to return a statue to its rightful place, and other times speaking about having to help Spider-Zero stop the Master Weaver. All of these lore interactions help add to the game’s character and help it stand out.
The moment-to-moment gameplay of getting into the heat of combat is thrilling and exciting. With the movement abilities of each character, you’re able to move all around the map, putting yourself into multiple vantage points to attack others. Personally, Spider-Man and Venom have shown to be able to do this the best, thanks to their web-slinging allowing them to swing into battle, get some hits or even a kill or two in, and fly out from danger. The physics of swinging on the web is just as fun as it is in the Sony Spider-Man games, making playing as him feel rather like putting on an old comfortable glove, and this level of care is in the rest of the characters.
Doctor Strange has one of the most impressive cases of movement-based abilities here. Like in his source material, he can create portals to and from locations. These portals here cannot only have players go in and out of wherever Doctor Strange placed them, but attacks can even carry through these portals. While Portal has done this before, and even with online mode, that’s just for single-player and 2-player multiplayer modes. The fact this can be done effortlessly with no lag is absolutely impressive.
Of course, an online multiplayer game being released for free does need some way to earn money, and the way they do it here is more tasteful than other ways. We still have the standard battle pass system and shop, but the prices are cheaper, with the battle pass being $5 to start Season 0, but will jump to $10 in new seasons. The shop with the customizable skins you can get for your heroes can be bought for cheaper with how the game’s battle passes allow you to get currency for the item shop to unlock new skins and bundles. $20 was enough to get the battle pass and the bonus 20% acquiring rate from the battle pass and a couple of different skins. While it could get worse later on, for right now, the pricing is on the more generous side of Free to Plays with optional purchases.
Overall, Marvel Rivals is finally the challenger Overwatch 2 needs to have. The gameplay is kinetic and satisfying to learn and pull off, the characters all stand out in their ways, and the extra details added to each location and characters helps flesh out the game. The standard multiplayer online game problems still pop up, like the need to rebalance and nerf some characters, alongside the fact the map and mode roster could always grow and concerns about potential monetization practices going forward. As it stands right now, for a free online team-based shooter, Marvel Rivals is well ahead of the rest of the class and may stick around as a mainstay.
