Sorry Rivals, But Marvel Cosmic Invasion Is Exactly What I Want In A New Marvel Game

MARVEL Cosmic Invasions was just announced in March's Nintendo Direct, and it might outdo Marvel Rivalsfor me. Once again, publisher Dotemu has set its sights on a popular IP with widespread success in the arcade era, and unsurprisingly, one of the belt-scrolling beat 'em up variety. Dotemu and developer Tribute Games have been on a roll in this relatively niche space, consistently bringing the old genre back into the spotlight and reminding players why these games had such a dominant presence years prior.

The upcoming beat 'em up is particularly exciting, not only because of X-Men's remake-deserving arcade run, but also because of the vast depths of Marvel IP. Cosmic Invasions has already pulled out some interesting selections for its playable roster, and, hopefully, it can effectively translate its character choices into fun beat 'em up designs and movesets. Based on this studio duo's track record, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is bound to be a purely fun experience and a perfect space for Marvel fans to enjoy the franchise outside the competitive PvP of Rivals.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion Has A Fun Classic Art Style

Arcade Dreams

Similar to Tribute Game's previous work on the excellent TMNT Shredder's Revenge, Cosmic Invasions is coming along with an arcade-inspired pixel artstyle. The art style is a nod to the classic beat 'em ups of old, which once ate quarters in arcades without dispute. The art style pays clear homage to the memorable superhero designs of the 90s. Storm's outfit, for instance, looks right out of the 1991 X-Men comic run with its large X-engraved shoulder pads and billowing cape.

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Beyond the beat 'em up genre, this art style was also perfectly utilized in the iconic design of Marvel Vs Capcom 2, with Storm sharing a nearly identical costume between the two games. It's been proven: Marvel characters do well within a pixel art style, which allows them, and especially the more over-the-top superhero designs of old, to pop with color, style, and flair. There are enough modern takes on these characters to go around, so it's nice to see more classic renditions in a clean, modern pixel style.

Why I'm More Excited For Cosmic Invasion Than Marvel Rivals

Dotemu And Tribute Games Don't Miss

I appreciate Marvel Rivals, and based on its player charts, many seem to agree. I'd argue that some of the tremendous success of the game has to do with its take on the Marvel Universe. The designs in Rivals are distinct and, generally, expertly done. Yet, the Marvel franchise was in a much different place during the 90s and early 2000s: when X-Men dominated in the game and cartoon sector, when Marvel characters were less ubiquitous as a whole, and before the current live-action approach.

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Seeing designs that harken back to that generation is not just nostalgic but also a breath of fresh air in the otherwise saturated Marvel IP. It seems, nowadays, that new Marvel projects more often refer back to the MCU for inspiration, as opposed to the comic source. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing — Rivals' comic and MCU-infused designs are excellent — a little variety never hurts a franchise. That variety extends to the genre too, with Marvel departing from one of its original successes for far too long.

Cosmic Invasion Looks Fun, But Not Overly Competitive

A More Relaxing Experience

Wolverine fighting sentinels in a trailer shot for Marvel Cosmic Invasion

At the end of the day, Cosmic Invasion looks like fun. Beat 'em ups are the type of game anyone can pick up and play. The roots of the genre are still heavily tied to its arcade origins, which often held wacky designs, creative — though sometimes unfair — level design, and a somewhat hidden gameplay depth. There's something immensely satisfying about belt-scrolling beat 'em ups: progressing level after level, cranking up combo scores, and dispatching enemies in ever more efficient ways.

Both Shredder's Revenge and Cosmic Invasion show Tribute Game's inspiration in some of the best beat 'em ups ever made.

Of course, not everyone is interested in maximizing a level's score, or progressing through different difficulty tiers. Part of the fun of beat 'em ups, though, is that in the encouraged, cooperative experience, every player can enjoy themselves, regardless of skill level. There's really no sense of competitiveness in the genre, but rather, a shared goal of progressing through each increasingly difficult stage and boss.

Comic book art: Daredevil swings through the streets. — Daredevil swings through the streets in Chip Szdarsky's comic

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When Daredevil gets added to Marvel Rivals (which he most certainly one day will), I think he'd be great as either a DPS or Strategist. I think he should have a passive radius where he can "see" opponents through walls and obstacles within a certain radius, and I think he should have some sort of mobility with his billy clubs, not unlike Spider-Man's webslinging (though perhaps not as strong or frequent). It would also be cool if his ultimate ability was throwing his batons so they ricochet and hit multiple targets.

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What's more, Cosmic Invasion's roster size is nearly unmatched in the genre. While TMNT is forced to have a similar cast of characters across the franchise's games, who knows which characters Cosmic Invasion is going to pull from to fill out this impressive roster. Hopefully, this number of characters still allows them to maintain the depth and gameplay variety that is essential to the genre. It's easy to look past that concern, however, when Tribute Games hasn't failed yet and when MARVEL Cosmic Invasion has done nothing but impress so far.