Marvel Rivals is putting the hero in hero shooter with literal superheroes. Unlike traditional hero shooters like Overwatch, this time, you will be playing from a third-person perspective to get a better look at your hero in battle. Any new multiplayer game will come with a ton of questions, especially if superheroes are involved. There is a small plot, but the main focus will no doubt be on pure PvP action. If you’re in the market for a new team-based hero shooter, let’s unmask as many details as we can on Marvel Rivals to figure out if it could be your next obsession.
Release date
Marvel Rivals will launch on December 6, 2024.
Platforms
Marvel Rivals is confirmed to be on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S at launch, but it could still be announced for other platforms.
Trailers
The announcement trailer is a montage of footage and gameplay of various characters in Marvel Rivals. We get an idea of the flow of gameplay, what heroes we can expect to see, and what unique mechanics and systems will be brought to the table.
The “plot” for the game is that Doctor Doom has teamed up with another version of himself from 2099 and has forced all the Marvel universes to collide in the Timestream Entanglement. It’s essentially just a loose justification for why all these heroes and villains are fighting it out in various iconic Marvel locations.
Besides the release date, the Official Launch Date trailer for Marvel Rivals showed off two new heroes coming to the game: the Winter Soldier and Captain America. The rest of the trailer focused on showing off their unique powers and abilities during a match.
Gameplay
This is a 6v6 hero shooter, only played from a third-person perspective. The UI is very reminiscent of Overwatch, with health and shields at the bottom and a number of special abilities at the bottom right. Depending on the character, they will be mainly melee-focused or have ranged attacks. Only two game modes are confirmed so far: Control and Escort. These are takes on the king of the hill and payload-style game types, respectively.
Environmental destruction was shown off, which could create interesting changes to the flow of maps.
There are also team-up attacks in which two characters partner up to unleash devastating attacks. One example shown was Hulk infusing Iron Man so he could shoot a massive energy beam or Rocket Racoon hopping on Groot’s back to attack as one.
Roster
The roster of Marvel Rivals will grow over time, but it is confirmed that all heroes currently in the game and added later will be free. Here are all the confirmed characters for Marvel Rivals so far:
- Adam Warlock
- Black Panther
- Bruce Banner/Hulk
- Dr. Strange
- Groot
- Hela
- Iron Man
- Jeff The Land Shark
- Loki
- Luna Snow
- Magik
- Magneto
- Mantis
- Namor
- Peni Parker
- Rocket Raccoon
- Scarlet Witch
- Spider-Man
- Storm
- Star-Lord
- The Punisher
- Thor
- Venom
- Captain America (upcoming)
- Winter Soldier (upcoming)
- Doctor Doom (upcoming)
Preorder
Marvel Rivals is coming this December, but there’s no need to preorder since it is free to play. If any special additions are announced that give you bonus currencies or cosmetics, we will keep you updated.
