Marvel Cosmic Invasion looks and feels like a game you’d play at an arcade bar, in the best way possible.
Between Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and the upcoming Scott Pilgrim EX, beat-’em-up game developer Tribute Games is quickly carving out a niche for itself in a genre that desperately needs more meat on its bones. Its latest game, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, throws fan-favourite Marvel Comics characters into an arcade-style side-scrolling beat ‘em up with beautiful pixel art and snappy combat.
This should come as no surprise to anyone who played Shredder’s Revenge, but Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a fantastic retro adventure that feels like it belongs on an arcade machine in a pizza bar; one that boasts a colourful roster of hero kits to play around with, and a campy Bronze Age-like comic book storyline to enjoy.
Suit up as your favourite Marvel heroes
If you’re planning to pick up Marvel Cosmic Invasion just to finally bear witness to a playable adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Annihilation storyline, you might want to re-calibrate your expectations. Annihilus has rarely popped up in the world of video games in such a major role, so seeing him get the spotlight as the biggest of big bads was an exciting prospect for me. Alas, his story only serves as a sheer backdrop to the game's mayhem-filled action.
While Annihilus does shine as the game’s leading antagonist (voiced by Matthew Mercer, no less), this story is packaged as an arcade campaign first and foremost. That means players only get very brief cinematics with statically-animated superheroes before each level starts up. These exposition dumps are written as cheesily as possible, in an ostensible callback to beat-’em-ups of yore like Streets of Rage or even X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse.
The plot follows an intergalactic invasion led by the supervillain Annihilus, which players witness from the eyes of popular Marvel superheroes struggling to control the chaos that has begun to brew on planet Earth. The roughly four-hour campaign will see you visit iconic Marvel locations ranging from the Savage Land to Birnin Zana, ripped right out of the comics. Whatever comicbook appeal that might have been lost in the story’s minimalistic approach is certainly made up for by its detail-oriented level design.
As a comicbook fan, it was an absolute treat exploring familiar locations with classic Marvel Comics-leaning designs, brimming with Easter eggs referencing popular characters and events in the universe’s labyrinthian history. At one point, I even spotted Jeff the Land Shark in a cage next to the Man Thing. Poor guy. However, all of this novelty will be lost to newcomers who can’t quite pin down some of the game’s deeper cuts, as the game doesn’t do much to expand on the comics’ lore. The game’s end credits might as well include a Wikipedia link to Marvel Comics, the way it refuses to elaborate on its more obscure characters and locations.
The meagre scope of the main story is understandable, but I do wish that the game’s roster had packed in a few iconic Marvel villains on top of its existing heroes. There isn’t a single bad guy in the game’s playable roster (besides Venom), with most of these evildoers being relegated to bossfights to bookmark each of the game’s levels. Still, there might have been ways to tie in popular baddies like Magneto, Doctor Doom, or Mystique into the story while giving players access to an even more diverse range of character kits.
It's fun to beat up bad guys
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a side-scrolling 2D brawler, though a few of its levels tend to also throw in unexpected environmental changes that might force you to mix things up. For example, a brief sojourn to Birnin Zana might suddenly turn into a bare-knuckle slugfest atop a moving train, complete with stage hazards and flying enemies. The game throws in these little twists and turns at a satisfying rhythm, keeping the campaign from getting stale.
This is a two-player tag-team beat-’em-up, which means that players can constantly tap in one of two chosen Marvel heroes for each level. Fighters can be tagged in for counters or special moves, but they can also unleash a super-powered focus attack or execute parries to hold their own in battle. Each fighter comes with their own combo strings and fighting style, which can make it a lot of fun to bounce around the roster and find your favourites.
For example, flying heroes like Iron Man and Storm can be useful to deal with the many flying bugs players will encounter over the course of the campaign. Captain America makes a decent brawler with a ranged shield throw, while Black Panther is an incredibly fast fighter who can tear through mobs of enemies with ease. By far my favourite of the bunch is She-Hulk, who takes on a wrestler-like moveset here with suplexes, diving elbow drops, and body slams. To say that she’s far removed from her comic book counterpart would be an understatement, but boy is she fun to play anyway.
As is side-scrolling tradition, each of the game’s levels also feature collectibles for players to find, and an Arcade mode for those who want to dig further into its combat system outside of the main story. There’s a thin, almost to the point of being unnecessary, RPG layer drawn over the story, wherein players can upgrade their characters’ stats by playing as them repeatedly in the story. The campaign is too short for that system to really shine, and it isn’t enticing enough to keep players going back for repeat playthroughs on its own.
Verdict
Marvel Cosmic Invasion will whet the appetite of beat-’em-up enthusiasts, especially if they happen to be Marvel fans as well. The game’s diverse roster features a satisfying spread of different combos and Focus abilities that synergise well with each other, offering innumerable ways for players to create their own fun in co-op multiplayer. Even in solo mode, however, it’s a lot of fun to bring characters like Storm and Cosmic Ghost Rider into the field just to ruin Annihilus’ day.
The game’s gorgeous pixel art speaks for itself, but its dynamic levels, addictive combat, and miscellany of clever comic book references also make for a damn fun time at the arcade; or in my case, the Nintendo Switch 2 with a CRT filter on. Close enough, I suppose?
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is out now on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Linux, and PC for US$29.99. We received a copy of the game for this review.
