Marvel is on a roll with their new game announcements. After teasers and rumors, Marvel Games revealed Marvel Rivalsa 6v6 hero shooting game that combines the best of Marvel action games like Ultimate Alliance with the tactical multiplayer elements of Supervision and Valuing.
In Marvel Rivals, players will assemble the Avengers, X-Men, Guardians, and a motley crew of heroes and villains across the Marvel multiverse. At launch, the roster will consist of 16 characters, including Black Panther, Storm and Magneto, with developer NetEase promising new heroes with each season update. You can check the complete list of characters. here.
The game is in development for PC, will be free-to-play, and features destructible environments that players can use to alter the battlefield in their favor. Characters will have special moves and ultimate attacks like any shooting hero. Seeing Loki (my favorite) shapeshift into Black Panther and start scratching people gave me my first “Oh, we might be onto something here” moment. But the most interesting element of Rivals are team skills.
In Rivals, two heroes can team up and combine their powers to unleash a devastating duo attack. In the trailer, Hulk can use his gamma ray powers to charge Iron Man's laser attacks. Rocket Raccoon can ride Groot as Voltron of the forest creatures just like they do in the movies. Hero shooters always need something special to make them stand out. The prospect of playing your favorite Marvel characters while also being able to mash their powers like kids playing with action figures is a heady deal. Although Colossus and Wolverine aren't on the list yet, if they are ever added (and let's be honest, they are going to) your team-building ability had better be a Fastball special, or NetEase will hear from my lawyers. They're just the rules.
To be honest, I'm pretty burned out on hero shooters and the Marvel universe in general. But between the trailer, the fact that it's being developed for PC, and the certainly interesting team attacks, Marvel Rivals It looks like it will be interesting enough to try. There is no release window yet, but there is a closed alpha in May and players interested in participating in the beta can sign up. here.
