We've played Marvel Rivals: Can it Take a Shot at the King of Hero Shooters?

When Netease Games first showed off Marvel Rivals, it was quickly compared to Overwatch and mocked for being so similar. I don't think anyone can deny that it is similar to Blizzard's success story and it is not surprising that players were quick to ridicule and smear Netease for this. At the same time, this is certainly not unusual. Fortnite copied a lot of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Foamstars looked exactly like Splatoon, and Rock Band was more or less the same game as Guitar Hero. After spending several hours with Marvel's most powerful heroes (and villains), it's easy to see that the criticism following the announcement was a little too harsh.

If you're familiar with Overwatch, you probably know exactly how Marvel Rivals works. Each team consists of six characters who, in different game modes, have to defeat their opponents in different ways. It might involve transporting a cart or taking over specific locations on a map. All this while spider webs, missiles, magic projectiles and (possibly?) a Hulk flying over the arena. It's a chaotic game to say the least, with a lot happening on the screen at once, while buildings can be destroyed to create an opening for one, or even both, teams.

The closed beta, which ran from 23 July to 5 August, featured 23 characters to try playing as. Hulk, The Punisher, Storm, Loki, Doctor Strange, Mantis, Rocket Raccoon, Hela, Black Panther, Groot, Magik, Luna Snow, Iron Man, Venom, Spider-Man, Magneto, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Peni Parker, Star-Lord, Namor, Adam Warlock and Jeff the Land Shark. It's an impressive gallery already and one that will expand as time goes on. All of these characters are divided into three different classes.

First of all, we have duelists who should mainly focus on killing the enemy team. The Punisher is an example of this class who is equipped from head to toe with ammunition to be emptied into the bodies of beloved Marvel characters. The second class is the vanguard and these are often built better physically and can thus take more damage. Venom, for example, can take huge amounts of damage and then regenerate its health when it starts to run low. Vanguards are excellent choices for protecting their fellow players but also being able to deal a pretty juicy punch to the opponents. Last out is the Strategist who should see an attack as their very last option. For these characters, it is more suitable to stay at the back of the line and heal their teammates instead. Adam Warlock, for example, can revive his comrades and heal his friends from a distance.

Apart from being able to demolish buildings, Netease Games introduces another novelty to the genre. Namely, some specific characters can strengthen each other. For example, Spider-Man, Peni Parker and Venom have all experienced an association with symbiotes, allowing them to benefit when all characters are part of the team. During the course of the match, they all unlock a new ability where explosive spikes of symbiote are shot from their bodies and can kill their opponents. Hela, Loki, and Thor are another combination that can quickly turn the game around, as Hela can revive her siblings after she kills a target (or give them extra health if they're still alive). As mentioned, not all characters have someone they can combine these abilities with yet, but we expect that to happen eventually.

So far there is no trace of greedy microtransactions but since the game is not out in full yet, we unfortunately expect in today's gaming climate that it will be so anyway. Everything that can be unlocked in the beta (which is still quite a lot) can be unlocked by playing. A battle pass is available from the start and can reward players with units (the game's currency), sprays, costumes, user icons and more. Almost every character also has an additional unlockable costume that can be acquired either through units or the beta battle pass. After less than two hours, we had already unlocked three costumes, which shows that it is not unreasonable amounts required to make it feel worthwhile.

Three game modes were available to choose from in the beta. Quick match, conquest and competititve. Quick match is a variation of the different game modes while conquest is the same as deathmatch. Competitive is definitely the best game mode of the three and is unlocked when you reach player level five. Suddenly, the game becomes less chaotic due to players not really knowing what they should or should not do in a specific situation. Competitive is the game mode for those who want to be challenged and evolve to climb the ranks and know exactly how good you are.

Graphically, Marvel Rivals is a really gorgeous game with exquisite character menus, as well as the environments in the matches. The voice actors also do a solid job, with Yuri Lowenthal, who voices Spider-Man in Marvel's Spider-Man, doing it again this time, and Josh Keaton, who did the voice of Iron Man in Marvel's Midnight Suns, doing it here too. The fact that the characters also comment on other characters in the game does not make it any worse.

Marvel Rivals has left a positive impression on us and we definitely think that this can challenge Overwatch, which has recently struggled to retain its players. What Netease Games needs to show more of in the future is a greater variety of maps as only three are playable in the beta. More game modes would also have been welcome as many are already familiar with them and would have appreciated something new and fresh.