Skip to main content

Marvel’s Midnight Suns dev confirms romance options were never in the game

Magik after opening a portal for the first time in Marvel's Midnight Suns.
2K

When Marvel’s Midnight Suns was released in 2022, some were disappointed that players were unable to romance any of the superhero characters in the game. While players have wondered whether or not that was Marvel or Firaxis’ decision, Midnight Suns‘ Creative Director Jake Solomon has now affirmed to Digital Trends in an interview that he truly never considered romance for the game.

I’ve seen people say romance was a part of this, but it never was. I never even brought it up to Marvel because I couldn’t find a way,” Solomon told Digital Trends as part of a wider discussion about his work on XCOM and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, as well as the formation of Midsummer Studios. “I think the best way for romance to work is for the characters to respond to what the main character wants, right? I think it has to be like that, so it’s hard to mess with these really defined characters. They have these defined sexualities, and it would be hard to fulfill fantasies for all players in terms of what it is they want to do.”

Recommended Videos

Solomon elaborated on this decision further in the latest episode of The MinnMax Show podcast, giving the example of a lot of players wanting to romance Magik, even though Solomon intended Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ version of Magik to be asexual. Essentially, out of respect for the pr-existing characters, the Marvel’s Midnight Suns developer didn’t want to mess with personal lives on a romantic level that much. That said, Marvel’s Midnight Suns still features a friendship system, and Solomon was OK with some of those conversations having a romantic tinge to them.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

“I always joked with our team that when you reach the top level of friendship, you are very, very close with this person,” Solomon told me. “I was OK with level 5 friendship conversations leaving players going, “Is this person … Are they?” I think that’s perfectly fine, but no, we never actually had romance as an option.”

Marvel’s Midnight Suns is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It’s also part of PlayStation Plus Extra’s Game Catalog if you want to give it a shot there.

Tomas Franzese
As a Gaming Staff Writer at Digital Trends, Tomas Franzese reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
Marvel’s Midnight Suns: 6 tips and tricks to get started
Spider-Man lands in front of other heroes in Marvel's Midnight Suns.

We've had dozens upon dozens of Marvel games across the generations. From titles focused on single heroes, such as the fantastic Marvel's Spider-Man, to team efforts in series like Ultimate Alliance, there's no shortage of choices to get your superhero fix. While anyone can easily find the big-name heroes in these titles, there are some hero teams that don't usually get the spotlight, or even much attention at all, such as the Midnight Suns. That all changes with Marvel's Midnight Suns, but it's not just the unlikely heroes that will throw some people for a loop.

Unlike any superhero game before it, Marvel's Midnight Suns is a tactical RPG from the creators of the XCOM series. While it isn't quite as brutal as those games, it does share a similar gameplay loop of turn-based, strategic encounters instead of the usual action-focused affair. The inclusion of cards only further differentiates it from any other superhero game, but that doesn't mean you should avoid it. Marvel's Midnight Suns will take some getting used to if you're unfamiliar with tactics games, but these tips and tricks will make sure you always play your cards right.

Read more
Marvel’s Midnight Suns draws inspiration from Persona, Fire Emblem, and Heroclix
Spider-Man using his spider sense in his Midnight Suns outfit.

Marvel's Midnight Suns is a new tactical RPG title from 2K and Firaxis games, starring some iconic (and obscure) heroes from the Marvel Comics universe. Despite bearing some resemblance to XCOM, it's a bit of a genre mash-up. It has a deckbuilding component and even contains an interaction system that might remind you of Persona's social links.

Marvel's Midnight Suns | "Welcome to the Abbey" Official Trailer

Read more
Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ deck-building is better than you think
Dr. Strange, Iron Man, and Scarlet Witch defend and Sanctum Santorum in Marvel's Midnight Suns.

Marvel's Midnight Suns is not just XCOM with a Marvel Comics skin. It's a card/strategy game hybrid that has players collecting cards, equipping each character with decks, and using those special abilities as they pop up during a fight. That then begs the question: Does Marvel's Midnight Suns work as a card game? I'm dozens of hours deep into the game as part of the review process and can reveal that the answer is yes.
Dealt a good hand
Card games can be overwhelming to first-time players, as can strategy games, but Marvel's Midnight Suns keeps things pretty simple. To start, players will only ever have three heroes come on a mission with eight cards each, so they are bound to see almost all of their 24 cards during a multiturn match. Players can also redraw two cards a turn, allowing them to get out of a situation where they have a terrible hand. Even as you get more powerful and diverse abilities later in the game, that never changes, making it somewhat easier to strategize than in some other card-based games.

Players' hands start an encounter with six cards, with two more being dealt at the start of each turn. There are three types of cards: Attack, Skill, and Heroic. Attack cards, as the name suggests, will damage enemies and can have various other effects like Taunt or Knockback, which lets players change their position on the field. Protagonist The Hunter has multiple Attack cards that let her whip opponents around the field. On the other hand, Skill cards are often more support-based. They can buff the player, debuff enemies, or help set the player up in a more strategic position. For example, Magik can create a Portal in the environment that she can send enemies through with a Knockback ability.

Read more