Marvel Cosmic Invasion

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a real treat for fans of the famous comic publisher, but also for everyone who grew up during the era of side-scrolling beat 'em up games. Beat 'em up games easily found their place in history during the 70s, mid-80s, and even the early 90s when Street Fighter II appeared, as well as the unforgettable Konami hit X-Men, which remains a favorite arcade title not only for fans of this well-known team but also for those who simply love video games. Marvel Cosmic Invasion takes the well-known formula and adapts it for a modern audience.

Fists and Lasers

Along with the full version of the game, our editorial team also received access to the first additional content for Marvel Cosmic Invasion, which introduced two new heroes: Benjamin "The Thing" Grimm (a member of the Fantastic Four) and Scott "Cyclops" Summers (leader and member of the X-Men). The Thing is exactly what you would expect from someone who knows him—a bit of a tough guy capable of dealing a lot of damage, while Cyclops is more reserved for those who like to stay at the back of the screen and help other players clear the screen with iconic lasers.

Multiple Universes, One Story

The story closely follows that of the comic series from 2006 titled Annihilation, which focused less on heroes and villains living on Earth and more on characters living in space (Annihilus, Galactus, Silver Surfer, and Thanos). Cosmic Invasion begins with the character Nova training on his board when he is interrupted by a notification of an attack launched from the Negative Zone by Annihilus and his army called the Annihilation Wave. After that, the game takes us with Nova to New York where we meet Spider-Man, who helps us fight against the new forces and save a character named Beetle. The rescue mission is successful, and we are sent to the next parts of the story, of which there are a total of sixteen, including locations such as: Hellicarrier, Savage Land, Wakanda, Asgard, Negative Zone, and many others. Throughout the story, additional playable characters are unlocked: Phyla-Vell, Venom, Phoenix (Jean Grey), and Silver Surfer. Each level also contains an item called the Cosmic Cube, which is used in the Cosmic Matrix to unlock costumes, music, or documents that reveal essential information about each character.

Visual Explosion

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a true explosion of colors, and it is evident that the team put a lot of effort into bringing to life the graphic style we are used to seeing in some of the most famous arcade titles. I also really like the fact that the costumes are based on other Marvel titles (Rivals, Contest of Champions, Snap...). The environment is also full of diverse colors, as well as various units working for Annihilus.

I didn't have any major issues with the camera, not even during multiplayer battles when things become a bit harder to follow. It runs quite smoothly, and there is no noticeable deviation; it follows every step your character takes. It is also important to highlight that I didn't experience any frame rate drops or any significant lag while using the controller. The game even warns you upon first launch to just sit back and grab the controller, as it says that's the best way to experience it.

It is certainly worth praising the music both in the menus and in the levels. Each of them has a separate musical background, so you don't have to worry about hearing the same theme playing continuously. The music for Cosmic Invasion was composed by Portuguese-American composer Tiago Lopes, better known by his stage name Tee Lopes, who also composed music for Sonic Mania and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredders Revenge (another title from Dotemu and Tribute Games).

Boss battles

During the single-player mode, boss battles can be a bit tougher, but when you're in multiplayer, they become very easy, and if your character is at a high level, you can defeat them in two to three hits. There are a total of 11 boss battles, including characters I mentioned earlier (Phoneix and others), while the other characters include well-known faces such as M.O.D.O.K., Taskmaster, Hela, Galactus, and Thanos.

Who will feel at home?

Fans of the Marvel universe who are familiar with the locations and characters that regularly appear in comics and less in other types of media will certainly appreciate this game and get the most out of it. Those who may only know the bigger faces and characters from the movie world will also find something for themselves, as Captain America, Iron-Man, Venom, and many others are present. Those who were younger during the arcade era and who have had the chance to enjoy several titles targeting nostalgia in recent years will also enjoy it.

Upcoming additional content

The next part of the additional content will be released this fall and will include a new gameplay mode and new playable characters that will be revealed soon.

Conclusion

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a title that every comic book fan should play and can be the perfect game for those who love multiplayer titles or grew up in the era of beat 'em up games. I am also excited to see which characters will be added in the upcoming additional content so that full teams can be formed. The game is available for PC, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X/S at a price of 30 euros.

A copy of the PC version for review purposes was provided by the publisher Dotemu