After a tumultuous 2023, Marvel ends 2024 reinvigorated and back on a strong footing. Deadpool and Wolverine it was a hit, too X-Men ’97, Echo, again Agatha Everything Goes it made for good television. After all that, the company had one more winner to release this year: NetEase-developed Marvel Rivals, superhero shooter both companies hope to compete with the popularity of Overwatch again Legends of the Apex. And along with its general presence, part of what’s interesting about this game is how beautiful and unique it looks, both on its own merits and compared to peers in its various habitats.
For more than a decade, triple-A games have relied on photorealistic graphics and art direction, including superhero games. The latest Spider-Man and Batman titles want you to feel like you’re playing a movie, so that means realistic reproductions of familiar characters and locations made in a way that makes them appear on your TV and look great when you share photos online. . So when Surprise Competitors first unveiled in March, it was a real surprise to see it not look real at all. It’s a colorful and fun game overall, taking visual inspiration from anime and heavy ink comics instead of the hyper-realism or Pixar-lite style previously seen in games that include Apex again Overwatch. looking at Competitors, you wouldn’t be wrong to see it and think that Marvel has gone and launched a show inspired by popularity Arcane. That TV comparison isn’t made lightly; The latest animation of Marvel chose to look familiar while still being different: whatever you think Spider-Verse movies, X-Men ’97, or the upcoming Spider-Man cartoon, you can’t tell they’re visually interchangeable.
Appearance is everything for superheroes, and how they look is one of the first talking points when they go to other mediums. This is part of what finally made Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers, where the original art style led to negative comparisons between the game’s title heroes and their MCU counterparts. Without the need for movie synergy hanging over it, Marvel Rivals may have the most freedom afforded of any big budget Marvel game to date. It doesn’t just look different, it has a wider array of heroes than other big games of the brand. I They don’t take revenge the game had the opportunity to include the foundations of the MCU and future heads, while Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite famously lacked any X-Men as Marvel didn’t want to give Fox too much promotion at the time.
But once Disney acquired Fox, Marvel began to loosen its focus on the MCU. Midnight Suns featured top-tier Avengers alongside rare B-list choices like Magik, Robbie Reyes’ Ghost Rider, and Nico Minoru. Marvel Rivals’ launch heroes includes a strong lineup of heavy hitters the public is familiar with, as well as many fan-favorite characters and rising stars like Jeff the Shark and Penny Parker. And with a really diverse selection of heroes on its hands, NetEase has some fun: everyone has a new, fresh look that makes them stand out, and what movie-themed suits are there for players to buy translate best to the game’s art. style. (In some cases, it makes those movie suits look even better than they did in the movie.) As was the case Overwatch back with its debut, people have taken the light Competitors list, which has caused a lot of fan art and interest to see what future characters will look like with this style.
There is an argument to be made that NetEase is selected Marvel Rivals‘ art style so players are interested in spending money on in-game currency or a battle pass to get things like skins, outro animations, and more. Cosmetics have been an important part of game monetization for years, with titles like this Fortnite it goes up every time a new licensed character drops and players start posting about how they look doing an emote or wearing in-game clothes. This is just the reality we are in, and one Competitors it has no problem getting any set of eyes on it. A game’s presentation can go a long way—just ask Atlus, whose beautiful menus are included A metaphor again A person are enough to make players sure that they will be in for a good time.
In view, Surprise Competitors it is always showing off, as if it has been waiting for the time to do so. Every character gets the spotlight The Borderlands-Stylish introduction if you select them from the main menu, and their MVP animations all end with a frozen frame meant to evoke the pages of a comic book spread or a very cool cover. Even if you wish a certain character could go to hell or be removed entirely, it’s hard not to like when you see the work that’s been done to make him look like the star of his journey. They are the stars, of course, and if they weren’t, they’d probably be very grateful for the show. As long as it’s been around, it’s already won by simply giving something new to see for Marvel fans and gamers who might not have been interested in superhero shooters in the first place.
Marvel Rivals is out now for PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X|S.
Looking for more io9 news? Check out when you can expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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