Marvel Rivals, a new team-based, 6v6 PVP shooter filled to the brim with Marvel characters, has been officially revealed following plenty of rumors and leaks. Developed by NetEase Games with collaboration from Marvel Games, the free-to-play PC game has everyone from Iron Man to Black Panther to Spider-Man to Storm.
If the terms "team-based, 6v6 PVP shooter" bundled together in that order immediately makes you think of, say, Overwatch, you're certainly probably not alone. The trailer for Marvel Rivals isn't going to dissuade you from thinking that either. But the developer seems fairly certain that mechanics such as destructible environments, unique powers and team-up abilities set it apart.
"I welcome comparisons because I think there's some really good things about a lot of these different games," says Thaddeus Sasser, game director on Marvel Rivals at NetEase Games, when we ask about inevitable comparisons to Overwatch. "One of the things we've tried to do is provide interesting and familiar mechanics with different twists on it, with a different pacing, with some innovation added to it."
"The core aspect of the experience is that team fight where two teams get in, they fight over an objective, and one team pushes the other off of the objective and captures that objective," he continues. "And that's a very fun core experience, but we've added our own unique twist, as you can imagine, with all the Marvel superheroes – so there are unique powers, the combinations of the ways the teams can be put together, and then some new interesting changes to the way the actual gameplay works in terms of the map design, how the players get to the point [...] I think it'll be an awesome, interesting new experience that's uniquely ours."
The most obvious difference when it comes to Marvel Rivals certainly seems to be the destructible environments. Though Sasser didn't get into specifics about just how much of any given map can be destroyed, he was explicit that not everything can be leveled. Dropping a map to a flat plain filled with rubble isn't exactly conducive to what the team is going for, but letting powerful heroes blast through certain bits like bridges plays into the overall power fantasy.
As for the game's current roster, the following 18 different characters are initially set to be available to play: Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Groot, Hulk, Iron Man, Loki, Luna Snow, Magik, Magneto, Mantis, Namor, Peni Parker, Rocket Raccoon, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Storm, and The Punisher. With more to come, of course.
"We've worked very closely in collaboration with Marvel to help pick our starting lineup and to think about the future as well," says Sasser. "There's a lot of different things we look for. We really look for some of the big fan favorites. Like who doesn't want to play as Iron Man? I know I do; Iron Man's awesome, right? But then maybe there's some other more niche characters maybe a lot of people don't know." Sasser points to Luna Snow and Mantis as examples of perhaps lesser-known characters.
"I think there's a lot of interesting characters that have unique powers. And one of the things we look for is fun, innovative, new gameplay," continues Sasser. "And the way this lineup works together is really important. Of course, it's a competitive team-based game, so you want characters that work well together, that tell a little bit of that fantasy story and give you that sense of, you know, a lot of these heroes work in teams, they work together. So you might see, for example, some of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Maybe you'll see Groot and Rocket and Star-Lord, for example, who can all work together. So you've got the sense of also some of the Marvel teams in this universe as well, and they'll have special powers and abilities they can use together as well."
Exactly how those various team-up abilities all work together is unclear just yet. The trailer features a couple, and Sasser seems to differentiate between passive team-up interactions and active ones. Rocket and Groot working together, with Rocket hopping onto Groot's back and then firing wildly, is more active while the Punisher can drop a zipline for teammates to use and Doctor Strange can open portals through which players can shoot.
Those interested likely won't have to wait long to learn more as Marvel Rivals is set to have an Alpha Test in May where the rubber will really meet the road. For now, however, we'll have to just watch the trailer over and over.
Marvel Rivals has no definitive release date as of yet, but you could always try some of our picks for the best free games to play while you wait.
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