There are moments when you’re walking through the mall and stumble upon a newly opened arcade. Curiously you walk inside to see what awesome games they may have. But then reality sets in, only a handful of machines are worth your time, while the rest barely scratch that nostalgic itch at all. It makes you wonder: where did the good times go? Back when Street Fighter, Time Crisis, Gauntlet, and countless others that you spent all entire day playing and waiting on your parents to finish shopping.
That magic has been missing for me for years until now. Tribute Games and Dotemu have teamed up to create Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and MP1st got some hands-on time with the demo, I can honestly say it brought that childhood joy back once more.
Back to the Roots, With a Cosmic Twist
Tribute Games and Dotemu, who already know their way around retro revivals (TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge should be enough proof ), have teamed up with Marvel Games to deliver an arcade-style brawler that plays like a love letter to the golden age. The game drops you into a galaxy-spanning conflict where Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave threaten all life. It’s a bold setting that lets the game jump from New York City streets to cosmic battlefields in the Negative Zone.
The roster is already stacked: Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America, Storm, Nova, Rocket, Phyla-Vell, She-Hulk and my favorite character Venom, with more teased in the full game (15 total from what I read). Each character animated with gorgeous pixel art that looks like a Saturday morning cartoon hopped into an arcade cabinet. It’s impossible not to appreciate how much care went into making every punch, swing, slash, and a bit of comedic relief that feel like it belongs to the Marvel universe.
Gameplay That Demands You Earn It
If you’re thinking this will be a casual button-masher, well, think again. The game leans hard into old-school difficulty, where losing health makes you wince because you know recovery items are rare. Falling off a platform? That’ll cost you a chunk of health too, just like those brutal arcade games of the past. It’s unforgiving at times, but I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t remind you of the time where you had to put more quarters in to continue the game. Of course, no quarters needed and the game is lenient in allowing you to continue after you fallen, but that is the Arcade version and not the Campaign. However, the game is not so difficult, as I got through the first chapter easily, and almost beat the second chapter boss.
The demo doesn’t hold your hand. There’s no traditional tutorial, only a “How to Play” menu with the control layout. The controls themselves are straightforward: punch, jump, block, swap, and specials. Blocking is straightforward in the game and will help you get through those annoying enemies. A well-timed block nullifies most incoming damage, while a perfect block not only protects you, but also restores some focus and can stop certain enemies’ attacks or combos. Mastering that timing is a skill you’ll want to develop fast, because enemies don’t pull punches.
Combat inputs are responsive, which makes experimenting with combos satisfying, but I did feel it could use a bit more tuning. Sometimes, chaining moves feels a little stiff compared to the fluid animations. That said, the tag-team “Cosmic Swap” system breathes new life into encounters. You pick two characters before a stage and can swap between them to execute some moves. Mixing abilities this way creates unique strategies and or combos like pairing Spider-Man’s mobility with Wolverine’s raw power, for instance, can turn tricky fights in your favor.
Marvel Assemble
Another mechanic that stood out is character progression. The more you play with a specific hero, the more they level up, giving you a better chance against the increasingly tough stages. It’s a smart touch that adds replay value, especially since I kept rotating between characters just to see how their styles evolved over time.
On the multiplayer side, the demo only let me try solo and two-character swapping, but the full release promises up to four-player co-op, both local and online. As well as drop-in/drop-out adaptive system for quick casual sessions, which feels perfect for this kind of game. I can already picture a group of friends crowding around the couch, arguing over who gets to be who, while someone reluctantly picks up Rocket cause he got a missile launcher.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is looking to be an ideal game for many Marvel fans (both comic book and movie universe), and we can’t wait to see what more heroes they will add and other features they might include.
Stay tuned for more announcements and news as it is set to launch on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S sometime this year.
