It’s been a surprisingly busy year for the Beat ‘em Up genre. A genre of years-gone-by seen more as a novelty than a real contender in the industry, at least ever since gaming was something done primarily in arcades.
However, Dotemu has been working tirelessly to change that perspective in recent years, and doing a damn fine job.
With sublime smash hits like TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge and the recent smash hit Absolum, they have almost single-handedly brought arcade Beat’Em-Ups back into the cultural Zeitgeist. However, if you really want to cement that position and wow the crowd, Marvel is one hell of a friend to have in your corner.
Looking to give Stan Lee’s band of superheroes the same treatment as the turtles in a half shell, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is an ambitious project, but as Dotemu has shown time and time again, they can be trusted to pull off just about anything.
Marvel At Все This Marvel
As someone that has grown up through quite a few of the various generations of gaming, perhaps it’s a little easier for me to see than fledgling gamers that consider the likes of Minecraft retro. But, even a gaming pup could see that this retro meets modern fighter is a looker.
Cosmic Invasion is a love letter to all things Marvel in many ways, but it’s equally a love letter to the side-scrolling fighter medium, as the game toes the line between modern flair and retro visuals expertly.
The detail present in each level’s background, every animation that takes place on screen in the blink of an eye, and even the comic-book-esque stills that set the scene for each stage are polished and refined as ever.
Yet, there’s always that distinctive old school feel that makes you feel like an arcade rat, one wrong move away from a ‘game over’ screen and needing to part ways with another quarter.
Every stage is distinct, every character feels fully realised from their camp and kitchy voice acting, to their relationships with fellow heroes, and because of the comic-book caper nature of the action, the B-movie-esque tone to the action feels appropriate.
In short, it’s a game that nails presentation right down to the finest detail, with a clear love and respect for the source material. But above all, it’s a modern epic made with the fans of arcade classics in mind.
Tag Me In Coach
One of the biggest issues I’ve always had with Beat-em-up games is that they are almost always made with co-op in mind. Meaning that the single player aspect is not only diluted, but also a lot harder. Well, that, and the fact that my wife refuses to button-mash alongside me.
So, when I laid hands on this one at Gamescom for the first time and learned that this game would have a tag-team gimmick to the action, allowing you to take control of two characters simultaneously, it certainly piqued my interest. Which was only further titillated by my hands-on experience.
With the finished article in front of me, I can report that it is the star of the show where gameplay is concerned, as it feels as if you’re playing a co-op experience, but you’ve inexplicably grown extra limbs and are playing on both controllers. A skill I am yet to physically master akin to Earth 91200 Spidey.
With the tap of a button you can switch from performing a hack and slash barrage as Wolverine, to performing a deadly laser light show as Ironman. Either popping in for a brief support cameo as a means of crowd control, or tagging in like a pro wrestler that’s been dying to get into the action for the whole match.
It’s a great feature as it not only gives players a natural means of breaking free of cycles where you take endless damage with no means of reply. It also gives you room to experiment.
The natural synergies that exist between all of these characters are a joy to play around with, and eventually, you’ll find a pair of superheroes that come together like a perfect fine wine pairing. With the food being knuckle sandwiches, and the vintage of choice being a full bodied blend of whoopass.
But that isn’t to say that some of them don’t mix like water and oil. Take Spiderman and Venom for example. Two great options in their own right, but ultimately two sides of the same coin, leaving you limited in terms of attacks and tactics.
Plus, to heap on an extra sprinkling of negative, the tag feature did seem a little temperamental at times, never quite giving me full control of a brief cameo and a full switch. Some may say skill issue, and maybe they’re right, but I just couldn’t seem to always make that tag consistently.
That said, it’s a truly amazing feature that elevates what is, generally speaking, a pretty predictable and well-rehearsed gaming format. It’s far from a shallow gimmick, it’s a game changer.
Full On Fan Service
With games such as these, I don’t think there is anything wrong with letting gameplay take precedence above all. The visceral violence, the complex combos and the dopamine rush that comes from triggering your ultimate attack just when you need it should have the spotlight.
However, when you have the blessing and the burden of representing the Goliath that is Marvel, you really have to do each hero, and indeed, the MCU as a whole justice. Which leaves you at a crossroads. You either try to build a gripping narrative worthy of acclaim, or you dine out on fan service. It’s very clear that Dotemu chose the latter here.
Don’t mistake this as criticism though, I think this was the right thing to do. It just bears mentioning that the overall campaign and the story packed within are nothing to write home about. As far as cosmos threatening sieges go, this one is pretty forgettable.
Where the game’s campaign shines is through its level design, where players will have challenges to complete, genuine environmental variety for each stage, and oodles of references, to the point that I know that hundreds soared right over my head as a loving, but admittedly fair weather Marvel enthusiast.
It’s one for the heads. The fans out there with mint condition issues in cellophane slips. But equally, there’s enough of a story there for anyone just looking for a little motivation to button mash and dish out some haymakers, too. You’re not going to get that Infinity War payoff, but you’ll be too caught up watching your combo counter to care.
Космическая инфляция
I was doing my best to not mention Absolum in this review, mainly because I feel that the Hades-adjacent Beat-em-up has set a new bar for all that comes after. However, I do feel I need to compare and contrast here, as there does feel like there is a little artificial, almost Roguelike railroading that happens throughout this epic.
Due to no difficulty settings to speak of, you would think the game would rely on a pretty steady difficulty curve to build to a grand finale. However, in reality, things get tough pretty quickly, and the way to address this issue is to either be a natural at games such as this, or grind.
You see, each character has a set XP bar, and with each level you get new passives, HP buffs and focus bonuses, all of which making your following runs a little easier.
There’s a positive and negative to take from this. The positive is that replay value is high within this game, as it encourages you to try out many different character combos, which only serves to highlight how excellent the game’s combat, and indeed it’s character design is.
But, on a more cynical note, it only serves to inflate your playtime on what is already a very short campaign, which you can complete in about five hours if you skip some levels and hustle.
It’s something I wasn’t super keen on, as when I did end up completing a level, I never truly knew if the win was earned, or if I had just levelled up enough that my rookie skills were finally deemed acceptable. A minor issue perhaps for some, but one that really took the sense of satisfaction out of beating bosses and blitzing through levels.
Review Code provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PS5.
Каллум Маршалл
Итоги обзора
Review Summary 8 10 0 1 “Marvel Cosmic Invasion is another modern meets retro classic under the Dotemu umbrella. It offers classic comic-book violence with an arcade feel, and a bucketload of fan service for Marvel fans to look out for as they attempt to save the cosmos. However, above all, the hero tag-team feature feels like a revolution, making even single player runs feel like co-op chaos, which is also an option if you fancy it. It lacks a truly spectacular narrative, and could do with bespoke difficulty settings, but all in all, this is a superb Beat-em-up that does Stan Lee’s band of freaks proud.” “Marvel Cosmic Invasion is another modern meets retro classic under the Dotemu umbrella. It offers classic comic-book violence with an arcade feel, and a bucketload of fan service for Marvel fans to look out for as they attempt to save the cosmos. However, above all, the hero tag-team feature feels like a revolution, making even single player runs feel like co-op chaos, which is also an option if you fancy it. It lacks a truly spectacular narrative, and could do with bespoke difficulty settings, but all in all, this is a superb Beat-em-up that does Stan Lee’s band of freaks proud.” 8/10 Total Score
Хорошо
- Outstanding retro meets modern visuals
- Oodles of fan service
- Satisfying combat & Tag Team feature
Плохой
- Short and forgettable campaign
- Some character duos don’t work incredibly well
- Tag feature can be a little temperamental
Космическое вторжение Marvel
