Marvel Rivals Preview - Out for Overwatch's Crown

Marvel Rivals is a fitting name for the upcoming hero shooter by Netease, because I daresay this game will rival Overwatch 2. 

During Summer Game Fest, we got a chance to play a few rounds of Marvel Rivals. This is an objective-based hero shooter, but you should be familiar with a lot of the cast -- they are, after all, many of Marvel's all-stars as playable characters.

In fact, if you are at all familiar with Overwatch, you'll be right at home with Marvel Rivals. Both games share similar objectives and follow that same core philosophy when it comes to heroes and abilities, but there's enough here to be its own game.

A Hero for Everyone

The roster is, of course, split into three roles: vanguard (tank), duelist (DPS), and strategist (healer). Marvel Rivals does distinguish itself in that its from a third-person perspective not unlike Smite, but at its core, this is a hero shooter.

And this game is all about the heroes. I'm a big fan of the cast -- you have both recognizable characters as well as some that are more niche and less well-known. 

Spider-Man and Hulk are some of the most recognizable characters around, so it's nice to see Luna Snow, Namor, and some others as a contrast to this.

Heroes have a set of abilities, and the logic mostly follows that of Overwatch. Like you have an ability to aid in mobility, an ultimate, so on and so forth. Some of these are super bombastic and battles truly do feel like a bunch of super heroes clashing.

You'll even see the effect of battle on the environment. I caught a glimpse of a building taking substantial damage from all the chaos. Not to mention, Marvel Rivals' art style is excellent, colorful look as if plucked right out from the pages of a comic book.

My several games went about as well as I'd hoped. It was super quick to adapt and get used to the controls, and the characters I played all felt faithful to their character. 

Scarlet Witch, for instance, uses magic as her primary ability with this sort of siphon ability, and can launch magic missiles, too. Rocket makes heavy use of his technology and can heal enemies with alt-fire -- as a nice little detail, he can hop on the back of Groot.

Marvel Rivals is a shockingly good time. After being a little jaded by Overwatch 2, this seems like a perfectly suitable alternative, even if you aren't a huge Marvel fan.