Let’s get this out of the way right at the top: yes, Marvel Rivals is Overwatch but with Marvel characters. Instead of the likes of Tracer and Soldier 76, players will be picking from a roster of at least 21 Marvel heroes to lock in on 6v6 PVP battles. NetEase‘s newest title wears the inspiration on it’s sleeve, with a lot of the move sets feeling familiar in one way or another, and maps that inherit the design philosophy behind Blizzard’s popular shooter. If the above is enough to keep someone away from the game, that’s a mistake. Marvel Rivals takes that foundation and turns it into it’s own thing. It’s a really fun, addictive, and tight hero shooter, one that could take the throne as the reigning king. Actually playing Marvel Rivals made me forget about Overwatch entirely, which is the biggest compliment I could give it.
Marvel Rivals takes the beloved heroes and pits them in 6V6 PVP objective-based battles. The expected modes are all here. Convoy has you moving something across the map, whether it’s a spider-bot or a chariot led by mythical goats that scream when they reach a new checkpoint (yes, I still laugh every time). One team focuses on moving the object, while the other team defends. Other modes include Convergence, control battles where each team fights to occupy multiple spaces longer than the challengers, and Domination, a king of the hill, first to 3 fights. It’s standard fare for a hero shooter, but works well and has enough Marvel personality to make them feel unique in their presentation.
Get BWT in your inbox!
Get BWT in your inbox!
The heroes thus far are fantastic, as team compositions feel balanced and fair. Each hero falls into one of three roles. Duelist characters are the DPS dealers, hitting high amounts of damage quickly, but not having a ton of health. Strategists are the healers, focusing more on keeping the team alive and peppering in damage when possible. Vanguard heroes are the tanks, keeping the rest of the team safe with more health and shields.
One of the most surprising parts of the beta is how much I’ve seen of each hero. With 21 characters currently in the roster, and Thor and Jeff the Land Shark launching in just a few days, every one feels worthwhile. Playing Concord‘s beta recently felt like I was playing the same handful of characters in every match, while I’ve seen every one of Marvel Rivals roster more than a few times. Every single hero feels like they inhabit their own space meaningfully. They chatter and quip at each other, making the relationships between them feel lived in. It doesn’t hurt that actually playing the game is a ton of fun.
Marvel Rivals feels confident out of the gate, with each character offering something different. Each character has a difficulty rating, allowing newer players to easily identify which characters are easier to use and understand (we’ve also put together a list to help with that). Each character has different attacks, passive abilities, specials, team-ups, and ultimate abilities.
For example, Star Lord is a Duelist DPS character that wields his iconic dual pistols. He’s quick, using a special dodge to avoid damage and create distance from his opponents while also reloading his guns. His other special has his warp around a space, shredding anyone caught in the wake of it. His ultimate lets him fly, allowing him to get a high vantage point and lock on to enemies to deal a ton of damage quickly. He’s a ton of fun to use, fast and agile while being a constant pain for the opposing team.
Hulk, on the other hand, is a Vanguard-class character. You’ll start the match as Bruce Banner, armed with a pistol and grenades, but hulking out is always the first move. Bruce goes down fast, while Hulk has a ton of health, deals a lot of damage, and grants shields to the player and nearby allies. His ultimate grants him a further damage boost and new abilities. When Hulk goes down, Bruce pops back out, trying to stay alive long enough to bring Hulk back out.
Balancing each team out between the roles is essential, as a team full of Duelists will find themselves getting knocked back quickly. Each character, similarly, feels properly scaled and balanced, allowing players to use whoever their favorite hero may be, and be effective. Spider-Man is my favorite superhero, and despite him rocking a 5 star difficulty, I’ve been able to kick some serious ass with him all while learning to be a better and more annoying threat for the other team. Scarlet Witch and Adam Warlock are my other two current favorites, with Witch dealing a ton of damage quickly and Warlock being a really effective healer.
The shooting and abilities feel fantastic, using the third-person camera to create some really cool move kits. It feels satisfying when the team synchronizes, each playing their role effectively to clutch victory. The movement similarly feels fluid and agile. Iron Man is quick and flies around effortlessly, Venom swings and crawls, and Hulk bounds around, sometimes through walls. Each character feels true to their comic counterpart and feels great to use.
The team-ups are one of the most interesting parts of Marvel Rivals. If certain characters are chosen, bonus abilities or passives are unlocked. Having Venom and any combination of Spider-Man and Peni Parker unlocks Symbiote Bond, giving the two latter characters symbiotic explosions that deal a ton of damage and pushback foes. Magneto and Scarlet Witch unlock Metallic Chaos, using Wanda’s chaos magic to boost Magneto’s damage output. There are a number of these combinations, further deepening hero selection and team synergy to maximize output.
Marvel Rivals has a ton of personality in it’s presentation and level design. Splash screens animate and move into one another, with the simple act of loading into games feeling dynamic and loud in the best way. The levels are well designed, with easy readability and verticality. Marvel Rivals also boasts a level of destruction. It’s never not awesome seeing Venom bust through a wall to get closer to an objective even faster, leaving a hole for smaller allies to follow suit. The levels are gorgeous and have distinct personalities, taking players across different locations in both Yggsgard and Tokyo 2099.
The biggest remaining questions with Marvel Rivals are entirely related to it’s content road map and monetization. Live service is entirely dependent on a steady stream of fresh ways to engage, whether it’s new maps, new heroes, events, or new modes. It’s road map has yet to be seen, but that’s not concerning given it’s launch is next year. If NetEase can hit a balanced and constant offering of content to keep players fed, Marvel Rivals could really be huge.
Monetization, on the other hand, is hard to judge at this point. At the time of writing, it’s unclear what approach NetEase will take. Will new heroes cost money or a large amount of grinding to unlock? The battle pass in it’s current iteration feels tuned right. After playing for about 6 hours over the span of a few days, and completing every daily/challenge available, I’ve made it to level 6. The daily challenges are quick to rip through, while the bigger challenges feel attainable over the span of a few days, each awarding two types of currency.
The purple currency furthers the battle pass, and so far, I’ve unlocked a handful of blue credits, nameplates, and sprays. The major unlock so far was a new skin for Rocket Raccoon. The Galactic Quest, an event battle pass, goes up to level 30 and features 5 skins, a number of the above, and a few surprises along the way. The blue currency unlocks new skins in the store, along with an item that allows the player to rename themselves. The skins cost either 1200 or 2000, and I’ve so far got about 3400 worth of credits, letting me buy 2-3 skins.
This current set up feels appropriate and fair, rewarding the player for just playing the game and knocking out challenges. Each character has specific challenges that unlock new sprays, blue currency, or profile icons, incentivizing players to play each character. Whether it will exist in it’s current state, or be tweaked to lower rewards while increasing cost, remains to be seen. Hopefully NetEase can keep the balance as is at launch.
So far, Marvel Rivals has really impressed me. It’s a ton of fun, both for solo players and parties, the gameplay is tight and addictive, and it’s awesome being able to play as my favorite Marvel heroes. The presentation and level design are well done and, so far, the rewards economy feels properly tuned. The beta feels confident, and if Marvel Rivals can stick the landing at launch, this could really be the next big thing.
Marvel Rivals launches in 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
