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Cosmic level variety and unique hero abilities
'Nuff said!
In Marvel Cosmic Invasion, developed by Tribute Games and published by Dotemu, there is an obvious emphasis on “Cosmic”. For a beat ‘em up, the game has a grandiosity that is unexpected. In every facet of the game’s design, its level design, combat, score, and story, the design team has packed so much more than expected, going above and beyond. All of this is packed into a surprisingly nostalgic experience that feels like a blast from the past.
To give background on why your friendly neighborhood Marvel heroes and not so friendly Marvel villains are fighting together to save the cosmos, the story begins with the heroes finding out that Annihilus is invading many different planets in the universe and his minions are possessing heroes and villains to fight for him. This story is a great setup to explain why the adventure takes place across such a vast universe. As the story progresses, the game motivates you to progress by giving certain heroes voiced dialogue before and during levels to explain why you are there.
One of the number one reasons that the game feels so true to the word “cosmic” is in its individual level design. Throughout the game, you progress through levels, all set in different locations in the Marvel universe. The diversity in locations is wonderful. It keeps you wanting to get to the next level. Some levels might have you traversing city streets, while others will have you crossing the Bifrost to make it to Asgard or fighting through the red and black gooey terrain of the symbiote homeworld, Klyntar. Every background is colorfully designed in a beautiful pixel art style that meshes well with character and enemy designs.
Speaking of characters and enemies, all of the playable characters have unique playstyles that give refreshing replayability to the game. One of the more exciting elements of different characters is their unique movement styles. If a character can fly, you can fly around the level with them. Characters like Venom and Spiderman have a swinging ability that allows for quick movement from one side of the screen to the other. This can be used to dodge enemy attacks or flank an enemy quickly. If you find that playing through a level with one set of heroes or villains isn’t working, you can change up to a set that feels better or easier. Set of characters? Yep! At the beginning of each level, you choose a pair of characters to play the level as. This gives a nice balance of gameplay style and leads to the dual character combat system.
In levels, the character that you are playing as can be switched out on the fly, which lets you try out different moves and styles in game. This is nice, but where the gameplay gets more interesting is the ability to have dual character attacks. By pressing 2 buttons at a time, you can call in your other hero to attack with you, leading to greater damage dealt. Each character also has an ultimate attack that feels true to the powers of that character and deals massive damage. As the game progresses, well timed regular attacks and ultimates need to be balanced with dual hero attacks to do enough damage to beat stronger bosses.
Boss battles are placed at the end of each level of waves of lower level enemies. The game’s progression feels well balanced and enemy encounters get progressively more complex and difficult throughout the campaign. Each boss encounter feels unique. Some fights require more speed and dodging, while others require more strategy to break down a boss’s defenses. Depending on the level, some boss fights will either lead to unlocking a new character to play as or unlocking other rewards in the menus.
Across the experience, the game is well scored for each encounter. Music feels retro and matches the pixel art aesthetic of the game, as well as the tempo of each combat encounter. Unique music creates different moods for each new environment in every level you play, which adds to the immersion of the story and world building.
There are so many unique extra touches that add to that same world building and a nostalgic energy that emanates from the experience. This is where it feels like Tribute Games went above and beyond. A moon level has the feel of low gravity. Some levels have breakable containers that allow you to let out creatures to take out enemies for you. Certain levels make you feel like you are moving on a platform through space or on a train across vast distances. These little touches add more and more to an experience that feels so nostalgic and arcade-like. From the moment the game is opened, it feels like a game from a different era. It evokes childhood memories of Marvel games and beat em ups of a bygone era. In the pixel art and each unique hero, it feels as if it pulls from games like Marvel vs Capcom. So much of the game’s charm comes from this nostalgic energy.
Tribute Games seems to understand how to reach into the past and the present and pull out the best of beat ‘em ups and mash them with fun more complex modern gameplay to create a well tuned experience that feels like the ultimate Marvel beat ‘em up. The gameplay is exciting and varied. Levels across the game feel fun, well built, and refreshing each time you replay them with a unique set of characters. If you thought Tribute Games cooked with TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, they cooked once again, possibly even more gourmet, with Marvel Cosmic Invasion.
Nintendojo was provided a copy of this game for review by a third party, though that does not affect our recommendation. For every review, Nintendojo uses a standard criteria.
