Marvel Rivals Nails Something Few Hero Shooters Get Right

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home December 8, 2024 9 Views 8 Min Read
Marvel Rivals Nails Something Few Hero Shooters Get Right



With eight maps at launch, three game types, a bevy of amazing cosmetics, and a bombastic premise that perfectly suits a comic-inspired hero shooter, Marvel Rivals has made quite the impression on launch day. But the biggest highlight of Marvel Rivals‘ launch is undoubtedly the game’s extensive roster, letting players take control of 33 iconic Marvel heroes and villains.




Though some have been criticized for borrowing a little too heavily from the competition, Marvel Rivals‘ 33 characters are all worthwhile additions to the roster, with each one bringing a wealth of fun and useful abilities to the table. Thanks to Marvel Rivals‘ post-launch plans, this roster is going to get even better with age, but even now, Marvel Rivals is already achieving something few hero shooters can; it has genuinely fun melee heroes.

Official art of the launch roster for Marvel Rivals split by the Mr. Fantastic render from Ultimate Alliance 3

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Marvel Rivals’ Melee Heroes Are a Real Highlight

Melee Plays a Much Larger Role in Marvel Rivals Than In Other Hero Shooters

Marvel Rivals‘ current roster is home to at least seven heroes whose movesets could be considered melee-focused. Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Magik, Black Panther, Iron Fist, and Wolverine all have primary fire attacks and abilities that revolve around close-quarters combat, or at least heavily encourage it. Having so many melee-focused in Marvel Rivals at launch gives the hero shooter two clear advantages.


The first advantage is that it offers hero shooter fans a playstyle that they rarely get to experience in the genre. Overwatch 2 – arguably the leading hero shooter in the current market – has just two heroes whose movesets could be regarded as truly melee-focused. While characters like Junker Queen and Doomfist have melee abilities, only Brigitte and Reinhardt have a melee-focused primary fire and ability set. Marvel Rivals having six melee-focused heroes off the bat gives hero shooter veterans quite a bit of variety in a playstyle they’re already not too used to.

The second advantage is that this infrequently-seen playstyle results in some rather unique combat scenarios and strategies that simply aren’t present in Marvel Rivals‘ competition. For instance, there’s a meta starting to form right now around Iron Fist and Wolverine, and the best ways to stop them from unleashing devastating close-quarters strikes. While it might be frustrating to deal with Iron Fist and Wolverine’s unrelenting barrages, that new obstacle is invigorating for long-time hero shooter fans who desire a new kind of gameplay challenge.


Marvel Rivals Should Maintain Its Balance of Melee-Focused Heroes

Launch is only the beginning for Marvel Rivals. Developer NetEase has already confirmed that Marvel Rivals will receive new heroes in its coming seasons, alongside new maps, modes, cosmetics, and battle passes. It’s currently unclear how many new characters will be added with each Marvel Rivals season, or when the next new hero will drop. But when they do start to roll out, it’d be great to see Marvel Rivals try its best to maintain its balance of melee-focused and ranged heroes.

There are still plenty of beloved Marvel characters who could join Marvel Rivals‘ team of melee heroes as well. X-Men brawlers like Colossus or Juggernaut would be great to see in Marvel Rivals as new tanks. Daredevil is an obvious melee-focused inclusion that still needs to happen. Even some lesser-known Marvel characters like Hercules would be a worthwhile addition if it meant Marvel Rivals kept its current balance of melee and ranged heroes.

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