Tribute Games gave us one of the best side-scrolling beat-em-ups of recent years with TMNT Shredder’s Revenge. Not only was the combat exquisite, it tapped into the wider world of Kevin Eastman’s IP and offered such joy through its nostalgia. Now the team is back, drawing on the might of Marvel. I was fortunate enough to play through a couple of levels of Marvel Cosmic Invasion. If you thought the developers got it right with the turtles, they’ve absolutely smashed it out the park with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
One of my favourite ever crossover comic book arcs is 2006’s Annihilation. Not only was the story excellent, we got to see Annihilus in all his glory. Marvel Cosmic Invasion is bringing the interdimensional insectoid despot back. The fate of the universe hangs in the balance as heroes both Earth-born and cosmic unite to stop the Annihilation Wave once more. Not every hero was available to play as in the preview, but I got a great idea of how Tribute Games is utilising such a diverse roster of characters.
For one, combat feels so fluid. You have grounded warriors such as Wolverine who rips enemies to shreds with his adamantium claws. Captain America uses his strength and agility to attack close range as well as hardness the power of his shield. Perhaps my favourite character from the preview was Spider-Man (shock horror!). Not only can he fire his webs, he can also swing through the air to both evade attacks as well as kick enemies from above. There’s plenty of diversity in the roster, and getting to play as two at the same time is awesome.
The ability to switch between two characters is easy. Not only that, calling them into action and have them perform certain attacks is a cool idea. When playing with friends, there’re so many opportunities to mix up the frantic action. Despite so much going on, I always felt in control of what I was doing. Whether striking, jumping, using my special attack, Marvel Cosmic Invasion allowed me to harness each ability with ease. Not only does it play exceptionally well, it looks gorgeous thanks to the detailed pixilation and liberal use of colour.
The two levels I got to experience were both very different. Fighting in the streets of New York against waves of bugs was amazing. Some are grounded and use melee attacks; others fly through the air and fire at range; then there are those that utilise elemental abilities to take you out. On the helicarrier, I fought of A.I.M. agents who used similar abilities, but still had their own trick up their sleeve. Each of the two levels had their own bosses. I don’t want to give much away, but it is definitely worth mentioning the level of detail put into their attack patterns.
On the helicarrier, I faced Taskmaster as Venom and Spider-Man. For those who might not know, Taskmaster is able to mimic his opponents movesets and attacks. When I saw him swing through the air on a web, I was impressed a lot. These small details show just how much attention to the source material Tribute Games is putting in. Not satisfied with simply making the game super fun to play and creating gorgeous levels, they add these faithful nods to the comics through everything you see on screen.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is already incredible. The gameplay is superb and feels even deeper than Shredder’s Revenge. Although I got to play as some of the more obvious heroes, trying at Nova and Phyla-Vell showed be that the developers knows exactly what it’s doing with this. It’s so colourful, and knowing I’m going to be able to go to places like the Negative Zone makes me happy. It feels like it’s made with love, as well as a deep respect for the history of Marvel, and I cannot wait to play through the entire game upon release.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is coming to PC and consoles in 2025.
