Marvel Cosmic Invasion, from the creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, was bound to capture the hearts of retro game lovers. The game has already become a favorite among players, boasting an 85% positive rating on Steam. Find out its pros and cons in our review!
Classic in the flesh!
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a 2D side-scrolling beat ’em up. It’s a game in the spirit of classic 16-bit titles from SEGA and Dendy—a true homage to the golden age of gaming!
This is reflected in everything:
- pixel art graphics;
- detailed, “juicy” animations, where the characters have several cool forms – especially Venom, who literally transforms on the fly;
- a corresponding color palette that refers both to old games and to comics of those years – the colors there were very specific;
- The design of the world and the game logic are built in such a way that you need to be in line with your enemy in order to hit him.
Of course, there are some modern references, too. For example, in one level, you can see Jeff the Shark in the background—a character who appeared in comics in 2018 and became incredibly popular, largely thanks to the game Marvel Rivals.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion follows the assault of Annihilus, a villain from the Negative Zone—a universe composed of antimatter. His invasion touches down on every corner of the cosmos, from Earth to the worlds of the Kree, Asgard, and even the domain of Galactus, the devourer of worlds. The campaign consists of 16 missions, each of which can be completed in 7-10 minutes: we navigate through the locations, battle common enemies, and finally face a boss. There are no save points along the way—lost the boss, leaving him with one hit left, or overwhelmed by a horde of minions on the way? Start the level from the beginning!
The player takes control of various superheroes and travels from location to location, liberating territories from the enemy army—there are no twists or revelations. The plot is a very simple “golden era” comic book about heroes and even villains uniting against a common enemy.
All this creates a warm, cozy atmosphere that takes the player back to the days when games were just like this.
Even the game’s difficulty curve is strange. It’s supposed to increase from level to level, and at first, that’s exactly what happens. You can easily get past the bosses in the early levels without even noticing, while the later ones start to pose a challenge, which is fine. But towards the end, there are situations where the final enemies are much easier than the previous ones. You complete a mission on your first run, practically without any problems, and you wonder, “Am I that good now, or are they just giving me a break?”
Bosses themselves often fight unfairly: their attacks have auto-follow-ups and don’t allow for proper use of heroes’ abilities. This makes it difficult to dodge in time, as the boss can literally overtake you with an attack—especially if it’s a long-range one! You have to be doubly careful and attentive. Needless to say, this can be annoying—just like before.
But the most annoying thing is the villains’ shield—it’s essentially an extra health bar that needs to be taken down first. It would be fine if you only had to do this once, but they refresh it periodically, dragging out the fight! Incidentally, the problems with the difficulty curve are mostly related to shields—easy bosses simply don’t have them!
The final enemy, Annihilus, is a special case in this regard. While other enemies renew their shields two or three times per battle, this bastard does so almost immediately after the previous bar is depleted, allowing himself to be hit only a few times. His attacks are simpler and easier to master, but this quirk can make the fight drag on.
On the one hand, all this increases the player’s skill requirements, making the game more difficult. And therefore more interesting! It’s already short, and if you could complete it in a jiffy without any problems, it would be even more disappointing!
But on the other hand, these shields are nothing more than an artificial increase in combat difficulty. The developers could have easily made the final enemies in the levels more varied by adding more moves or additional combat phases—there are plenty of ways to effectively “drag out” a fight, and it’s not up to us to teach them!
So, we get a classic experience where battles could truly feel unfair and be quite frustrating. But when you defeat the villain on your fifth or seventh attempt, you begin to appreciate the journey!
There are a lot of heroes, but little leveling up – and that’s good!
Players have access to a roster of 15 characters: Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Storm, Wolverine, Nova, Cosmic Ghost Rider, Beta Ray Bill, She-Hulk, and Rocket Raccoon. Some heroes aren’t immediately available, but rather serve as bosses that, once defeated, join the team: Phoenix, Venom, Phyla-Vell, and Silver Surfer.
Before starting each mission, you’re given the opportunity to choose two characters to play the level with. The game recommends choosing two specific characters who are central to the level’s plot, but the player is free to choose whoever they want.
Some of the heroes can fly—all in keeping with comic book canon. This ability can and should be used in combat, as there are a lot of flying enemies, and defeating them with characters who can fly is much easier than trying to catch them mid-air.
In battle the player has:
- normal strike;
- Dodging/blocking is different for each hero, and those who know how to block can also parry attacks, including those of bosses, which, with sufficient skill, simplifies battles with them;
- Strong attack is also unique: Spider-Man and Venom attract enemies, Rocket Raccoon fires a powerful volley from a large cannon, and so on;
- a special long-range attack that uses a separate gauge that regenerates itself;
- a combined attack from two characters that deals a lot of damage, but consumes the concentration bar – it can be restored by picking up special items or damaging enemies;
- Superpower – A powerful area-of-effect attack that consumes half of your focus bar.
All of this can and should be combined, trying to avoid damage. There are also some interesting hero-specific abilities that are suited to specific opponents. Those who can control/attack with electricity can short-circuit robots, Venom synergizes well with symbiotes, and so on.
Characters can also be leveled up—experience is gained even when defeated. Leveling up is very limited: there are 10 levels, and each level improves only the characters’ passive stats: health, focus, and talents. Thankfully, there are no skill choices—at least someone didn’t turn a beat’em up into an RPG!
Additional levels
The game also features a co-op mode for up to four players. A significant part of the fun comes from the ability to play both locally, sitting in front of a friend, and online co-op with your friends. Combining modes is also possible. It’s important to remember, however, that the game automatically scales its difficulty with each new player—the more players, the more health enemies and bosses gain and the more damage they deal.
In addition to the regular campaign, Marvel Cosmic Invasion also features an arcade mode. And no, it doesn’t make things any easier—quite the opposite. In it, you have to complete the entire game in one go, and every loss will send you back to the very beginning.
There are also small levels, the completion of which unlocks various additional bonuses, such as the colors of the heroes’ equipment or music.
Technically, the project has no issues whatsoever—which is unsurprising, given its retro style. But the price tag is clearly over the top: asking 1,500 rubles for a game you can finish in three hours is just too much! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge once shocked me with its 880 rubles price tag, but this one is a complete disaster! Fortunately, the game is available on Game Pass.
Diagnosis
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a small, cozy project made with love for the classic era of 16-bit games and old comics. The graphics, gameplay, animations, and atmosphere are all appropriate.
The game’s plot is very simple and not particularly memorable, and it only takes 3-4 hours to complete—not counting the time it takes to replay levels, which you’ll have to do regularly.
Instead of a story, the project delights with its gameplay: a rich selection of diverse heroes, 15 of them; a decent set of skills—some of which are very reminiscent of those in Marvel Rivals—which are sometimes interesting to combine; and the ability to play as two characters at once.
The difficulty fluctuates constantly: some bosses present a serious challenge, forcing you to explore every aspect of the combat system, while others can be cleared on the first try without breaking a sweat. And this doesn’t depend on the stage of the game or the lore—Thanos, for example, is very easy to defeat!
And on top of that, the gameplay’s brilliance is polished by the ability to play co-op with friends, making the game significantly more fun and replayable. However, you’ll have to pay for it—the game costs a whopping 1,500 rubles! The only saving grace is that it’s available on Xbox Game Pass.
Pro
- Classic 16-bit style: graphics and animations
- A rich set of heroes
- Deep combat gameplay
- Possibility of playing in co-op
Contra
- Strange difficulty balance
- High price tag
