MARVEL Cosmic Invasion Review

Once again, Tribute Games and Dotemu have teamed up, collaborating with Marvel Games to create an all-new beat-'em-up-style title. Tribute Games has worked on Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, and Panzer Paladin, which I have for the Nintendo Switch. I love many of the games Dotemu has published, like Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, Streets of Rage 4, and Metal Slug Tactics. I have been excited for this game ever since I saw the first trailer for it, so I cannot wait to try this one out.

After the high-energy, superhero-packed intro cinematic, we are thrown into the fray. Marvel heroes and enemies work together, fighting in a cosmic battle against Annihilius and his insect forces as they try to take over the galaxy. Cosmic Invasion can be enjoyed solo or with up to four players locally or online with cross-play. There is a story mode and an arcade mode available to play; there is also the Vault, which has the Hero Lab where you can see each character, how much XP they have, the team level, and how much they need to gain a new perk, such as Extra HP, Focus Upgrade, Passive Skill, and eventually New Palette.

The Cosmic Matrix lets you insert cubes you earn from playing to unlock Nova Corps files on the various heroes in the game. You can view these in the Corps Files area and see info on each, like their real name, group affiliations, powers, and first appearance — for example, Steve Rogers first appeared as Captain America in Captain America #1 in 1940. You can also unlock ten different arcade mode modifiers, alternate music tracks, and new colour palettes for the costumes.

Before playing the two main two modes, you play a tutorial that teaches you how to attack, use special moves, and team up to perform moves together. You will be using Nova and Phylla-Vell for this fighting demo. No matter which character you are playing as, they all move with the left thumbstick or D-pad; the left face button is used for your melee attack, hold it down to charge the move. Unique attacks are performed with the top face button, which costs charges to use; to parry or block, you use the right face button, and the bottom face button is jump. The left shoulder button swaps between the two characters, and the right is for a strong passive attack. Each hero has their own special combos and unique moves. It may seem overwhelming at first, but the controls are very responsive, and it takes no time to get used to this scheme and figure out what works best for you.

You can select from Captain America, Nova, Storm, Wolverine, Spider-Man, She-Hulk, Rocket Raccoon, Cosmic Ghost Rider, Iron Man, Black Panther, and Beta Ray Bill. There are four other mystery slots for heroes to unlock as you play. There is also the option to swap the outfit colour using the shoulder buttons to four different variations, which is handy for when multiple people select heroes with similar colour schemes, making it harder to keep track of them when you have four players on the screen at once. As you progress in the story and complete missions, you will unlock the other four characters, whose identities you already know if you have seen any trailers for the game or played the demo. Phoenix, Phylla-Vell, Venom, and Silver Surfer are all waiting for you to unlock them.

The story in Campaign Mode is narrated by Uatu, one of the Watchers located in space who observes the activities of Earth and its solar system. If you have watched Marvel’s What If...?, you will be familiar with this character. Each mission has extra challenges to complete that will level up your selected heroes. Successfully completing these is not required, but the characters needed to fulfil the request have glowing outlines. 

The story follows two particular characters, so the dialogue is based around them, even if you have chosen someone different to play as. For instance, in the Genosha stage, Storm and Wolverine are the main characters speaking; I was playing as Black Panther and Rocket, so it felt a little odd.

After completing a stage, you see how long it took you, the number of enemies you defeated, your max combo, and your final score. Before the next stage, Cosmic Invasion lets you select the path you follow. This does not actually alter where you go; it simply selects which mission you want to complete first. No matter what you choose, you will need to finish all the different areas.

Arcade Mode can be played solo or with up to four players locally or with cross-play online. You will be able to play all the levels you have completed in Campaign Mode, but here you are trying to get a high score, not power up the heroes. You do not swap characters between stages like in Campaign Mode; you stick with the same two heroes until you get a game over or reach the end. This makes it feel a lot more like an arcade, especially since you also have limited lives and continues, along with no saves.

The look of MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is amazing; it is vibrant and full of pixelated sprites, just like the classic 2D beat-‘em-ups from the arcades. There are a variety of different stages that you visit for all the different characters in the Marvel universe; one minute you are in front of the Daily Bugle in New York, then in Genosha or the Savage Land from X-Men, and then off to space and the Negative Zone. It never feels repetitive; there is always something new to explore and little references that fans of Marvel or any of these series will love. All the while, there is a high-energy soundtrack that is a perfect fit for the crazy amount of non-stop action in this game.

This game is a love letter to Marvel fans and gamers who love side-scrolling beat-'em-up action. MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is a challenging title that had me replaying stages several times to complete all the bonus tasks, level up my team, and unlock everything in the Cosmic Matrix. There were a few times when I had other players jump in to help when I came across a boss fight, like the battle against Thanos, which was tricky to beat on my own. I love how easily others can drop in and out!

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is a game you need to check out; whether you are playing on your own or with others, it is fantastic. There is so much to do and unlock, and it will take a long time to find everything. Tribute Games has done a great job with this title, and I think any superhero fan will love it.