Sam DeLongMarvel Cosmic Invasion is like a hug to retro beat ’em up fans… all wrapped in a colorful and creative Marvel fighting game candy wrapper. — its dripping with love and fan service to 90s Marvel fans. The action begins with the alien insect lord Annihilus brings his bug army to invade Earth.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion Is A Modern Beat ‘Em Up Classic
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a tried and true Marvel comics game — harkening back to a pre-MCU era, its character designs are ripped from the pages of 90s Marvel lore. The pixel art style is reminiscent of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, and your Marvel heroes fit the aesthetic perfectly. A lot of the designs are based around the character models from the Marvel vs. Capcom franchise, with many of the characters shouting familiar one-liners, like Captain America’s “Rising Star!”Some fan favorite voice actors return to voice their characters, like Cal Dodd voicing Wolverine and Josh Keaton returning to the role of Spider- Man.
An Evolved, Yet Basic Combat System
The beat ’em up action in Marvel Cosmic Invasion is an evolution of the beat ’em ups that came before it — the action is tight, addictive, and snappy. The Marvel heroes now have character-specific combos, finishers and special moves. You will start the game with 12 heroes to choose from, assembling your team of two. You can switch between them on the fly, even launching an assist attack when you switch. Characters like Captain America can now parry and deflect, making for some strategic choices to break up the usual button mashing. Since you have such a large roster of characters, the replay value is pretty epic, especially in arcade mode.
Special Moves And Light RPG Elements
The optional challenges from Shredder’s Revenge are also back, and there are character-specific ones that are based around the theme of a level; Storm, for instance, can free her fellow mutants while storming a Sentinel Factory. Your roster of heroes also level up as you play. You will unlock new moves, more HP, and special move charges. These leveled-up heroes carry over into the Arcade Mode. In between stages, you will also see still image cutscenes, similar to old school arcade beat ’em ups of old.
As Spidey and company chase the path of Annilus army, who will globe and galaxy hop across some iconic Marvel Comics locations — from the Daily Bugle, to the Savage Land, and so on. It’s a clever way to visit a hodgepodge of spots all around the Marvel Universe, while fan service references and nods to classic Marvel lore are sprinkled throughout. It wouldn’t be a beat ’em up without an epic boss fight at the end of the level, and Marvel Cosmic Invasion does not disappoint. You will face off against familiar villians, like Beetle, Taskmaster, and Sauron, all of them rocking their original comic book character designs. The boss fights are offer some cool set pieces in many levels, with some clever use scale and verticality that really pushes the boundaries of what you can do in a traditional 2D sidescroller. That being said, there is an occasional hit detection issue, particularly against airborne foes. Projectile attacks can miss, even when they are clearly right in front of you.
Plenty Of Characters, Not A Lot Of Depth
While this Marvel-infused brings a lot to the table, it also doesn’t do enough to really separate itself among other beat ’em ups. The levels are fun and full of fan service, but they also don’t do anything to break up the formula. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge had flying levels and the occasional vehicle sequence, but here it’s business as usual. It’s basic, but the sheer number of unlockable characters will likely make Marvel fans overlook the under-designed levels. However, even with signature moves and plenty of characters, many of the heroes play pretty much the same. Nova’s energy blast, for example, does the same amount of damage as Iron Man’s — it’s the same attack, just dressed up with a different animation.
Its A Treat For Comic Book Fans
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a fantastic 2D beat ’em that cleverly leans into its bright and colorful comic book roots, that any Marvel fan of even finds a way to pay tribute to its 2D Fighting games in the process. It has the most evolved beat ’em up gameplay yet, with modern touches and a charming and large roster of characters that keep the action fresh. While some design choices do hold it back slightly, a clear love of the source material make this pixel art beat em up, an easy recommended must play.