Marvel Cosmic Invasion review: "Excellent '90s-tinged superhero brawling across a punchy campaign falls just short of arcade bliss"

It's funny, despite Marvel Comics being all about superheroes punching waves of baddies, the brand has never really been a staple of the beat 'em up genre – especially when Marvel Cosmic Invasion makes it feel like such an obvious intergalactic slam dunk. Sparse attempts have been made, especially in the '90s, with Capcom's Punisher and Konami's X-Men remaining relatively iconic. When it comes to retro style revivals and some of the best beat 'em ups ever, I think Tribute Games – the developer of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge., The studio's crack at the Marvel universe with Marvel Cosmic Invasion has a distinctly '90s tinge, and even if it doesn't quite hit the turtles' highs, it's definitely Marvel's best contribution to the genre.

Big bug boy Annihilus has risen and sent his titular cosmic invasion to the ends of the Marvel universe, insectoid swarms giving way to even bigger and buggier villains to terrorize anyone without mandibles (and even some with). . As beat 'em up stories go, it's pretty standard stuff, but Annihilus has also sent mini mind control bugs to the world that conveniently allow for you to battle basically every notable villain in the Marvel canon as you explore classic locations like Asgard, New York City, and Wakanda. Unfortunately, it suffers the same fate as many Marvel properties where the quips come fast and furious. Mixed with some disappointing choices for the core combat, it feels like a game just shy of beat 'em up royalty.

New age of heroes

When it comes to scuffles, Marvel Cosmic Invasion does take inspiration from all of the classic brawlers you'd expect, but takes it to the next level with its massive 15-character roster. Each hero comes with their own unique moveset, consisting of a regular attack, a unique special (such as Cap throwing his shield or Spider-Man shooting webs), and a super move to deal with large groups at a moment's notice. There are also characters with the ability to fly, which makes fighting aerial enemies way less of a chore than it is in other brawlers, something that was very appreciated during my playthrough.

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But where the combat really shines is where it takes inspiration from another classic Marvel series: Marvel vs. Capcom. Each player gets to select two characters at once, which opens up a world of combo possibilities. 15 characters is a lot for a brawler as it is, but when you factor this in, that makes for (counts on hands) a lot of combinations. You're able to switch characters at will, meaning you can start your combo with Venom, pass to Nova, and go back to Venom if you'd like. But you're also able to do MvC-style assists, which have your secondary fighter come in and perform one of their own moves while you're mid-combo. It makes for an incredibly satisfying system that pays homage to one of the great parts of Marvel history.

Still, scraps aren't quite perfect – thanks in part to how some of these skills feel doled out between the roster that make it easy to feel like something might be missing in your tag-team skill set. First off, there's no universal grab, with it being reserved as a special move for the likes of Wolverine and She-Hulk. Personally this made She-Hulk my favorite character to play due to being able to integrate this, but it feels like a missed opportunity to whittle down close-quarters combat options for so many others – why can't Captain America grapple with a goon one-on-one? It's an odd beat 'em up staple to leave on the table for so many characters, and can make it feel looser than the likes of TMNT: Shredder's Revenge or Streets of Rage in a way that can feel a bit messy.

The largest sin in my eyes, however, is the lack of progression with your heroes. While there is a level-up system, it's not like TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, where you gained access to new skills and attacks by leveling up; instead, it's a static system that's the same for every character with HP and Focus upgrades, with an odd passive skill that really doesn't shake things up at all. It's somewhat understandable with the larger character roster, but it really doesn't make me feel the desire to replay the game.

Clash of Super Heroes

Some of those wrinkles with the spread of character powers and progression might be because there are two ways to play through Marvel Cosmic Invasion. Campaign has you play through each of the level one at a time, selecting characters between each, and allowing you to tackle stage-specific extra challenges. Arcade, meanwhile, is the traditional beat 'em experience, allowing you to take your selected dynamic duo through the game like you would on an arcade cabinet or cartridge-based console back in the day.

It's great to have the option, but Marvel Cosmic Invasion does feel balanced towards the former Campaign choice, and can feel a bit flat to tackle front to back as an arcade experience – switching stage to stage mitigates frustrations with ability frustration a tad.

The campaign consists of 16 levels (although thanks to split paths you can make it through in 12 – with Arcade forcing you to pick one option at each split) and has you face off with the mightiest villains of the Marvel universe in the quest to stop Annihilus. You can play as any character duo you like in any level; however, each level has an intended duo, with the dialogue and level challenges based around these. It's a good way to get a feel for every character on the roster without forcing you to play as one you didn't like (sorry Oscar, I don't like Spider-Man and Rocket).

I'm aware some people's mileage may vary with Marvel humor, but while I love the plot and most of the characters, the quips become a bit much for me. Galactus knows I love her, but She-Hulk – the designated fourth-wall breaker this time around – definitely grates with this style of quip after a while. Especially on 'The Flying Menagerie,' where she has around three separate quips about the cameos seen on the level. Again, I'm sure some will be fine with this, but as a card-carrying MCU liker who can get behind most Marvel humor, the sheer gag repetition here is tiring.

However, massive props have to be given to Tribute Games for its non-safe choices across the included heroes and, especially, villains. The first boss you come up against is Beetle. While you'll see the usual A-listers like Thanos and Galactus, there's also the likes of Klaw and Sauron (of "I don't want to cure cancer. I want to turn people into dinosaurs" fame). Likewise, it's great to see more obscure b-listers such as Beta Ray Bill and Phyla-Vell make the playable roster, though it could've gone further here. Still, as much as I want Howard the Duck or Elf With a Gun, I probably would've kept playing as She-Hulk and Wolverine anyway.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion gets almost everything right. Each of the 15 characters feels wholly unique, the levels are mostly winners with great set pieces, environments and bosses to get you through, and the combat system is among the best in the genre thanks to its Marvel vs. Capcom-esque tag-team mechanics. But, the lack of any real progression for the characters as they level up feels like a missed opportunity that will really hurt its Arcade replayability for me. Even so, this is a big recommendation for both Marvel and beat 'em up fans for its excellent Campaign alone, but I can't help but feel the ol' Parker luck has made this a fall just short of the potential to be an all-timer.

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