Key Takeaways
- Marvel Rivals borrows a lot of elements from Overwatch, which results in a weaker gaming experience.
- The game’s visual design is great, but the gameplay is hampered by confusion and a lack of feedback.
- Marvel Rivals offers chaotic fun, but it lacks the depth and competitive balance found in games like Overwatch.
Booting up the beta for Marvel Rivals on PS5, we expected to see some comparisons to Overwatch. Since the game’s reveal, everyone has been quick to point out just how much it borrows from the biggest hero shooter. After two beta periods, no one is arguing that Marvel Rivals hasn’t cheated on Overwatch’s homework or copied it outright when it comes to game modes. However, the way Rivals carves out its own path ultimately makes it a weaker experience.
I certainly had fun while playing the beta, but the fun was sporadic and unpredictable. Marvel Rivals tries to draw players in with the name recognition of these iconic heroes, but the game itself doesn’t do enough to give players a reason to keep playing. If you want to enjoy Rivals as more of a mindless spectacle than a deep, well-rounded competitive game, there are fun times buried beneath the surface. For me, the chaos is too much to overlook.
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I don’t think he’s a hero.
Great style, poor presentation
Marvel Rivals
Third-person shooter
action
Multiplayer
- Developer
- NetEase Games
- ESRB
- Teen // Violence
If there’s one area of Marvel Rivals I’m not disappointed with, it’s the art style and character designs. The art direction gives the characters a light cartoon edge, mixing the flat colors and shapes of Pixar films. Each design stands out, including the alternate costumes, but there’s a sense of unity when you see Rocket Raccoon standing next to the Hulk.
Marvel Rivals is a visually nightmarish game, to the point of being unplayable at times.
But once you start playing, all that effort spent on character design goes to waste. Marvel Rivals is a visual nightmare, to the point of being unplayable at times. I understand the strategy of going 6v6 to appeal to despised Overwatch players, but having so many heroes in one space makes the battlefield completely unreadable. Standard projectiles, abilities, and ultimates from up to 12 heroes smear the screen with color and particles, leaving you with no opportunity to make any clever plays. All you can do is spam your abilities and attacks and hope you get a kill or two before you get eliminated.
There’s fun in the chaos, but it’s not the only thing. Eventually, I got tired of feeling like my performance was out of control, and I lost interest in playing again. I didn’t feel like I was making any meaningful improvements to my play or gaining a deeper understanding of the game. Perhaps a more strategic and deliberate meta will emerge over time, but for now, there doesn’t seem to be much point in putting a lot of thought into my play other than taking aim and dealing as much damage as possible.
I never felt like I’d made any meaningful improvements to my game or gained a deeper understanding of the game.
Rivals’ biggest flaw is its game feel. It has a nice mix of melee and ranged characters, but both have awful feedback. The melee characters are the worst in this regard. There’s no tactile response when I swing my weapon or throw a punch. My attacks either miss completely or hit with precision, with no difference other than the enemy losing health. I just watch the animation and hope something happens. There are very few abilities or ultimates that feel satisfying when you hit. In a game where you’re supposed to be a superhero, this is a big problem.
Where Rivals falls flat is in its game type, which is a straight copy of a mode from Overwatch. While it works well enough, it feels like a wasted opportunity to bring something new to the table that’s fitting for Marvel characters. The map features destructible elements, but this doesn’t add to any strategic advantage and only adds to the visual clutter when the action gets going. If you’re looking for an Overwatch replacement, the last thing you want to do is go back to the exact same game mode on a slightly different map.
Marvel Rivals is a fun game if you just want to smash your favorite superheroes into each other like action figures. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I don’t see it sticking around for long once the novelty wears off. Overwatch has been popular for so long because it was deep enough to feel fair and competitive while still capturing people’s attention with unique characters and heroes. Rivals seems to be missing that second ingredient at the moment. Combine that with a lot of visual noise and weak-feeling heroes, and you end up with too few chaotically fun moments.
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