Marvel Rivals: Everything You Need to Know Before Playing 

Marvel Rivals is a new game developed by NetEase Games in collaboration with Marvel Games. Since it’s free-to-play and it got a lot of positive feedback from people who tested it, there is a high probability that it will be a massive success once it’s out. 

For people who were lucky enough to play it and other people who’ve seen others play it, they often compare it to Overwatch 2. So the question poses itself, is Marvel Rivals better than Overwatch 2? Is that a difficult task at all? And is this the end of OW2? I’ll answer all of those questions and more. Before we do that, here is everything we know about Marvel Rivals so far. 

Story

The fight of epic proportions between Doctor Doom and his future counterpart from the year 2099 has triggered a collision of countless universes in the Timestream Entanglement, spawning new worlds and an unprecedented crisis. 

Amid this chaos, superheroes and villains from across the multiverse must join forces and clash against each other to defeat both Doctor Dooms. In the end, the story doesn’t play a big role, because it’s a PVP type of game.  

Gameplay

Marvel Rivals will be a 6vs6 PVP game, with 23 playable characters. I’m assuming there will be even more characters once the game is fully out. The gameplay is best described as an Overwatch 2 with superheroes. 

There’s no other way around it, it’s the first thought that comes to everyone’s mind. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all up for it. So let’s go over some of the stuff we already know about the actual gameplay. 

Firstly, there will be two beautiful maps that you can play on: Yggsgard and Tokyo 2099. Each map has 2 sections that can be played on, so technically there’ll be 4 maps. They can be interacted with, in a sense you can punch a hole in the wall or even destroy some walls completely. Even with that in mind, there is enough cover for you to take if the situation requires it. 

I’ve mentioned earlier that there are 23 playable characters to choose from. They can be separated into 3 groups but I personally would put them in groups of tanks, high and low range fighters, and support. 

All of them have their respective passives, main attack (left click), secondary attack, special skill, dodge/movement (in most cases), and ultimate skill. It varies from hero to hero but you get the gist of it. 

There are rumors that more heroes and maps are coming our way but there wasn’t anything official mentioned yet. I mean of course there will be more, we’ll have to wait and see.

Graphics and Audio

Before making any judgments, I would like to state that the game hasn’t been released yet and there probably will be final polishing before full release. Even with that in mind, I’ve gotta admit that the game looks good, and the animations are spectacular. 

Though I’ve gotta admit, it does look too cluttered sometimes in huge fights and takes time adjusting and figuring out what the hell is happening. The audio part of the game seems polished nicely and the voice lines seem interesting. Knowing myself, they’re gonna get stuck in my head and I’ll be repeating them constantly.  

Answers and Speculation

As I said at the beginning of the article, there are some questions that need answering.. I don’t know if the company behind Overwatch ever checked the reviews of OW2 on Steam but it’s not looking great for them. They have over 280 thousand reviews with them being Overwhelmingly Negative. If you take that and then you add a fresh new game that everyone seems to love so far, their future seems bleak. 

As for the Marvel Rivals, I know it might be too early to make any predictions but it seems like they’re doing a great job so far. They’ve included their community through the whole process and listened to all the feedback so far. Which is more than can be said for some of the bigger names in the industry. Also, I’ve predicted that Marvel Rivals has great potential to be part of e-sport competitions and have the most hype tournaments.

Final Thoughts

Marvel Rivals has proven to be more than just another hero shooter. With its engaging 6v6 PvP battles, diverse character roster, and dynamic environments, it stands out in the crowded multiplayer arena. While it draws comparisons to Overwatch 2, it carves its own niche with unique team-up abilities and a rich Marvel universe backdrop.

For a comprehensive analysis, including gameplay mechanics, character breakdowns, and overall impressions, check out my detailed review here.