Marvel Rivals is fun with potential, just needs some polish

I’ve been playing Overwatch since 2016; I’m one of those people who’ve played the game since Day One. Even though I’m not as enthused about Overwatch 2, I have more than 700 hours in a game that launched at the end of 2022. So, you can clearly see that I’m a fan of hero shooters. I’ve tried others as well, like Apex, Lawbreakers, Concord, Gigantic, and most recently Valorant, since it got a console release.

Now, with all this experience in hero shooters, when my gaming editor asked if I wanted a PC code for Marvel Rivals, I jumped at the chance to fly through the air as Storm or trick my enemies as Loki.

I played Marvel Rivals on the ROG Ally X, which didn’t cause any slowdowns or issues, but I boosted quality over performance because I like pretty-looking games.

The title is currently in beta, so I won’t give it a full review; I’ll share my initial thoughts on the game and whether you should download it when it becomes available.

First, I’m a huge Marvel fan, and while I’m surprised by some of the choices, I’m acquainted with each character in the title. So, it’s fun to see characters like Magik and Luna Snow get their time to shine. Another fun touch to this title is the character’s interactions with each other. For instance, Jeff the Land Shark has the most adorable character interactions with Star-Lord, who calls the shark cuter than Rocket. Magneto and Wanda also talk about their father/daughter relationship.

Speaking of Jeff the Land Shark, he and Thor joined during the Closed Beta partway through, which was fun. I hope that Marvel Rivals keeps adding new characters, similar to Marvel Snap, which often adds new characters.

As for the game itself, Rivals is interesting and fun but a little confusing. I enjoy flying around the map as the Scarlet Witch or Storm and killing other Marvel heroes and villains with various unique abilities. For instance, Adam Warlock can revive his allies and bond them together, splitting the damage they take. Storm can turn into giant hurricanes, sucking up and damaging enemies. Depending on whether she’s channelling thunder or wind, they can even boost her allies’ movement speed or damage.

One of Rivals’ unique aspects is how characters interact with one another in battle. For instance, Rocket Racoon can ride on Groot’s shoulders and take less damage or supply a device that gives the Punisher infinite ammo and faster firing. Jeff the Land Shark can also ride Groot, strange enough. Hela, on the other hand, can instantly resurrect a Loki waiting to respawn or give the Loki more armour if he’s still alive.

While this is all cool, it can get a bit convoluted. Storm and Wanda both fly, but different button inputs are required. Some of the button inputs needed to be more streamlined, and a lot is always happening. For instance, Dr. Strange has about six abilities, Rocket has three abilities but has an alternate fire option, two passives, and two team-ups. Magik has four abilities, but one of her abilities requires a second button input for a secondary attack. Still, the secondary input shares the same button with her regular and alt fire. For some reason, you can play both Banner and the Hulk. Transforming also grants him many different abilities, but one is a leap. Don’t get me started on trying to figure out everything Spider-Man can do.

I’ve played a bunch of hero shooters, and it’s cool to see Marvel Rivals try to shake things up, but at times, it can be overwhelming. To add to that, Rivals is a third-person shooter, which wouldn’t be bad if it weren’t for all the characters and abilities on the screen adding to the clutter. While Overwatch has a lot going on, the title is a first-player game, which helps take away from screen clutter.

Despite these complaints, this title is a fun hero shooter better than some of the others that failed, i.e. Lawbreakers. As long as NetEase focuses on Rivals, I think it will have a long road ahead. We’ll have to wait for the full release and play around with the title before sharing any definite thoughts.

Marvel Rivals will be free to play when it launches, so if you’re interested in it, you should definitely give it a chance.