Hero Roster Wallpaper. Photo credit: DinocoZero via deviantart.com
Marvel Rivals is Amazing!
In an industry plagued by unfun games vying for our limited time Marvel Rivals stands out as a paragon of what online gaming should be. It is clear from the moment you boot up the game just how much love and care has gone into this product. No ads for battle passes, no cluttered Hulu-esque UI elements, no uninspired AI slop. Instead you’re greeted with an explosion of beautiful artwork, all the information you need to know to get started, and a game full of passion for both the entire Marvel™ roster and gamers themselves. We should all celebrate what an amazing job Netease has done here and if you haven’t yet, you should 1000% check it out.
No Fish Out of Water
My Personal Fav
Marvel Rivals really captures the feeling of all of our favorite heroes. Each character is beautifully realized in a way that somehow manages to capture the original spirit of these characters while still making something new and exciting. Hats off to the artists here for the incredible job they’ve done to fully realize each and every character in the game.
Before Rivals release I had no idea who Jeff the Landshark was but his cuteness captured my heart and I am now Jeff’s number one fan. But he’s more than just a cute face. His character kit is surprisingly well rounded and yet doesn’t feel out of place for the character. He’s just one small example of how the designs and the kits work in synergy to make a truly unforgettable experience.
“From the second players enter Marvel Rivals, they can expect an experience that feels like a love letter to the Marvel Universe.”
— Max Borman, Contributor for GameRant.com
Some of the Hero Roster in Marvel Rivals. Image credit: Hakkında
Beauty is More than Just Skin Deep
Even though this game really is beautiful, none of this would matter if the game wasn’t insanely fun. And this is the true success of Rivals. Characters like Venom and Jeff the Landshark are simple and intuitive to learn and offer a great starting point for those who are new to hero shooters whereas others like Doctor Strange or Cloak and Dagger have a steeper learning curve but offer some of the most powerful and versatile kits in the game. What’s even more incredible is how the player base has rallied behind these powerful characters instead of crying for nerfs and calling out to developers for changes only a few short weeks after launch. It shows a totally different design philosophy from what we’ve grown used to in the era of skill based and engagement optimized matchmaking: FUN IS KING. Powerful characters are fun and should be championed because after all if everything is broken, nothing is broken. Queues are short, games are less toxic, every round is new and exciting, and above all Marvel Rivals makes me want to play more. Not because I need to finish the battle pass or because I need to unlock a new camo, but because I simply enjoy playing what NetEase has made. And that is the ultimate victory.
Marvel Rivals Cover.
The Lessons the Industry Needs to Learn Sooner Rather than Later
I feel like I’ve finally breathed fresh air after being choked by the smog that is the modern day online gaming space. Rivals is fun, flashy, not overly monetized, and reflects a change that needs to make its way across the industry. Player experience needs to come first. Twitch has become flooded with players leaving Overwatch, Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and other games in order to hop on Rivals. People are posting on Twitter (Will never call it X) all day about how much fun they are having and the new things they are learning about the game everyday. Only a couple weeks into the game NetEase is giving away a free skin and the purchasable battle pass has been confirmed to never expire. It is clear NetEase is listening to what players have been wanting for so long and they have delivered in a big way. Activision Blizzard, Sony, Ubisoft, and others across the industry need to take note of what listening to your players can do for a game or else we are bound to see more failures in the years to come that will mirror the collapses we’ve seen this past year with XDefiant, Suicide Squad, and Concord.
