Marvel Rivals

Marvel Rivals isn’t quite what we were hoping for. In a time when hero shooters are questioned and criticised, we can’t deny that the Marvel meets Overwatch pitch is intriguing. Taking your favourite heroes like Spider-Man and Doctor Strange and then pitting them against each other in 6v6 modes is a slam dunk on paper. Yet after our time with the closed PS5 beta, Marvel Rivals serves more as a sign of what others in the genre do right, rather than how it’s pushing things forward.

“Overwatch clone” is a term freely and lazily used to describe pretty much any hero shooter these days, but never has it been more apt than with Marvel Rivals. Similarities are to be expected of course – it’s only natural for a crowded sub-genre of shooter – but what we have here is honestly baffling. Musical cues, match commentators, hitmarkers and their accompanying sounds, and even map design are all eerily similar to what you’ll find in Blizzard’s touted shooter. Wherever you look or listen in Marvel Rivals, the Overwatch influence is there.

That extends to the roster of heroes, which is like NetEase Games took the afternoon assigning superhero personas to Overwatch’s roster. Star Lord is a mix of Tracer and Reaper, the Punisher is Soldier 76, Bruce Banner is D.Va... The list goes on. Surely then as something so closely influenced by a hallmark of the hero shooter genre, Marvel Rivals is a competent take in itself? That, we're not so sure on.

Marvel Rivals

After just a couple of rounds the fatigue of this take had already worn on us. Marvel Rivals may have the appeal of playing as your favourite heroes and villains from the Marvel universe, but the core gameplay loop is uninspired and lacks the tactile and premium feel of a game like Overwatch. In all honesty, there are times that Marvel Rivals feels like a direct port of a mobile release.

The one unique aspect of the core gameplay is the synergy system. Each hero will have an applicable team-up which will buff them, so it makes sense to partner up the likes of Groot and Rocket, or Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Bruce Banner, or Hela and Loki. However, this in itself introduces a wild balance issue, which would see a team destroyed in a matter of minutes, or wracking up 20+ kill streaks.

Marvel Rivals

To give the benefit of the doubt, we are in the early meta-less window of Marvel Rivals’ existence where everyone is figuring things out as they play. As the meta establishes itself, team-ups and counters will become all the more apparent. But in our first handful of hours, there was a lack of readability, even to the point of taking in damage with death often coming as a surprise.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Marvel Rivals is a nice looking game, and the character designs are all very cool. With awesome skins already available through the beta’s levelling system, and the potential for new heroes to be added to the roster, there are strong foundations for post-launch support. We can envisage Fantastic Four characters and maps being added into the fray once the inevitable movie hits cinemas in 2025.

Marvel Rivals

However, Marvel Rivals lacks a certain fun factor — at least in our opinion. Say what you will about Concord, but to us, that game feels good to play, and the core gameplay loop is always easy to engage with. After a handful of hours with Marvel Rivals, we're not eager for one more game, but are instead reinstalling Overwatch 2. If anything, this new hero shooter feels like it needs more time in the oven, because as it stands, it's copied over the basic principles of the genre, but it's forgotten all about the magic.

Have you been checking out the Marvel Rivals closed beta on PS5? Swing into the comments to let us know.