MARVEL Cosmic Invasion Review

Between Dotemu and Tribute Games, I’ve been properly looked after with games in recent years; Streets of Rage 4 was an excellent return for the series, and TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge was yet more tight, fast paced scrolling fighting. And now, with MARVEL Cosmic Invasion, they’ve only gone and done it again. This is a game that is incredibly fun to play, feels great to control, and offers plenty of fan service to those who know their Marvel.

Now, I personally can’t really speak to the latter part as I’m at best a casual follower of Marvel, though I have it on good authority from MVP Graham that there are plenty of cool references and takes on characters here in that regard.

What I can talk to is the gameplay, and Tribute Games have absolutely knocked it out of the park with MARVEL Cosmic Invasion. Combat is fast, fluid and snappy, and no matter who we play as from the 16-strong roster it remains accessible yet robust in action.

Each of the characters have a distinct feel to them, from Spiderman’s fast combos and swing ability to She-Hulk’s more lumbering but powerful style. Wolverine will be an early favourite I’m sure as he balances both speed and power, and comes equipped with a fantastic grapple attack that clears rooms quickly. 

Attacks take the form of punches and kicks of course, but there’s more to MARVEL Cosmic Invasion than that. Simple input combos let us dive forward to attack, or deliver more powerful blows, as does charging attacks or jumping. It’s easy enough to handle in the midst of the action, though not every character has the same inputs available. Some maye have a combo of A+X that lets them attack flying foes, whereas others can simply fly themselves and so don’t need it. 

The impact these attacks have on screen is nothing short of glorious. Enemies bounce around as we juggle combos, excellent audio effects really sell the feeling of smacking them upside the head, and when the screen is full of enemies and we’re causing utter carnage it hits dopamine distribution just right.

What makes it even cooler is that we can select two fighters to take into a level per player. This is more than simply switching out between them though, and is absolutely one of my favourite parts of the game.

At any point, pressing LT will let us switch to our other character. Each has their own life bar and special meter to build, so swapping out as they are about to fall is the most obvious move. It’s also the case that some may be better at tackling certain enemies than others; Storm can handle groups of flying enemies better than Captain America, though he might be better at crowd control on the ground. 

But the really cool part is that we can use them at the same time briefly. Holding LT in the middle of attacking brings in our partner to attack for a moment, with this depending on what button we press (X for main attack, Y for ranged, or RB for special). They appear right beside us, attack, then disappear, with us maintaining control of the original character the entire time.

This opens up combo options as tough enemies get an absolute pasting, or we bring them in to clear a group while we continue pummeling a bigger foe. It’s so seamless, instant, and easy to pull off that it soon becomes second nature, and if there’s only one of you fighting it feels almost wrong. There is a slight cooldown but this is a matter of a second or two, and so it is the case that we’re more often than not duel wielding Marvel superheroes. Which, even for a non-Marvel fan, is pretty damn cool.

With two players this is even better, and I can’t wait for the group to get hold of this in Game Pass as with up to four players – either online or local – things are going to get manic indeed.

Levels are short and linear, but excellently designed with various interactable things like pits to knock enemies into, or train line signs to dodge. There are three bonus objectives to complete on each one that requires a certain pairing of heroes, though these are optional challenges that unlock bonus content and palette swaps. 

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion looks and sounds brilliant too, leaning more into the comic and 90’s era shows for designs and voices. Wolverine sounds more like his Xmen version that Hugh Jackman, and it’s all the better for it. The chunky, well animated sprites are a joy to behold, recalling the glory of 90’s arcade greats like MvC, albeit with a bit more modern flair. 

It is not always an easy game mind you. After stomping through the opening stages, I have found myself hitting several levels that required multiple tries, and one that I had to call in MPV Graham to help me with. Characters do level up upon completing a level, though it’s all buffs that are out of our hands, no skill tree in sight. This will make repeat runs a bit easier I imagine, and is certainly a nice touch to give players more of a fighting chance.

Conclusion

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is yet another fantastic brawler, with excellent combat complimented by the dual character switching and combos, some brilliant A/V work, and plenty of reason to play it through multiple times. Some difficulty spikes ruin the flow a little, but get some buddies in and you’re in for a real treat with MARVEL Cosmic Invasion.