Marvel Cosmic Invasion Review – It’s Marvel, Baby

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Tribute Games has a knack for reviving classic gaming experiences, and their latest game, Marvel Cosmic Invasion, is no exception. Following the success of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, which delighted fans with its retro style, Tribute delivers another excellent beat-’em-up. Marvel Cosmic Invasion features a strong lineup of Marvel superheroes and draws inspiration from past Marvel games, firmly establishing itself as one of the best retro-style brawlers available today.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion throws players into an epic space battle against Annihilus, who is trying to conquer the universe with an army of alien bugs. The game’s campaign takes you to over a dozen iconic Marvel locations like the Savage Land, Wakanda, and Genosha, facing off against a variety of villains before a final showdown with Annihilus. The campaign features 16 levels, each with a challenging boss. Arcade mode offers a faster experience, condensing the story into 12 levels, and sometimes lets you choose where to play.

Beating the game on Normal difficulty took around three hours. The levels are primarily side-scrolling, with occasional vertical sections or hazards, but generally stick to a classic side-scroller formula. After a while, seeing the same environments and enemies repeatedly can make the game feel a little repetitive and lacking depth. While there are collectibles and challenges in each level, and Arcade mode offers modifiers like tougher enemies or altered attack costs, the core design of each stage – the visuals, audio, and overall structure – remains constant throughout every playthrough.

Even though it has some quirks, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a fun game for fans of classic side-scrollers. I especially like that the developers didn’t just focus on the most popular Marvel characters and storylines. It’s cool to see lesser-known heroes like Beta Ray Bill and unique versions of characters like Cosmic Ghost Rider. The game introduces some intriguing mysteries – like the origins of a floating stage called Destromundo – and while it doesn’t explain everything, it definitely makes me want to learn more about the Marvel universe.

Exploring lesser-known characters like this is a great way to introduce them to people who aren’t hardcore Marvel fans. I didn’t read many comics growing up, but I still knew characters like Colossus, Doctor Doom, and Blackheart thanks to arcade games and fighting games, alongside the more popular heroes like Iron Man and Hulk. Marvel Cosmic Invasion does a similar thing, and it’s helped me learn more about the wider Marvel universe. It’s a fantastic feature that more video games should include, and I’m glad Tribute Games has done it.

Capcom’s fighting games clearly weren’t the only inspiration for Marvel Cosmic Invasion. The game borrows heavily from those titles, especially in its characters’ moves. Many playable characters, previously featured in games like Marvel Super Heroes or the Vs. series, reuse attacks from those earlier battles. For example, Wolverine’s attack—where he quickly slashes at an opponent while perched on them before throwing—is very similar to his move in Marvel Super Heroes. Iron Man’s powerful ultimate attack, the Beam Cannon, is essentially the same as his Proton Cannon from his Capcom games. Even some of the enemies are nods to the past, like a Sentinel that’s colored like the New York Knicks basketball team.

The game’s unique style extends to its fighting system, which allows you to seamlessly switch between two heroes during battles. For example, you can begin an attack as Iron Man, then instantly swap to She-Hulk to continue the combo, with Iron Man briefly disappearing. You’re free to bring Iron Man back into the fight later if you can. While combos end if you get hit, skillful dodging and parrying let you extend them with impressive moves – like parrying an attack and immediately switching heroes, which feels great every time.

The combat system is similar to the one in Marvel Vs. Capcom Infinite, but it works incredibly well in this side-scrolling game. You start with 11 characters and can unlock 4 more, creating endless possibilities for powerful combos. It’s so fun that it makes me want to jump into Arcade mode and experiment! This is especially true when playing solo. But the real magic happens with online co-op. For example, a friend playing as She-Hulk threw an enemy towards my Venom, letting me continue the combo while they dealt with other opponents. The online co-op worked smoothly, with only minor stuttering, so we could easily pull off these impressive team attacks.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion includes some basic RPG features, like characters getting stronger after each level. However, this system feels a little incomplete. All characters improve in the same way at each level—gaining more health, Focus, a special ability, or a new color option. It would have been better if players could customize these improvements for each character instead of everyone getting the same upgrades.

As a huge fan of classic superhero side-scrollers, I have to say Marvel Cosmic Invasion really nails that old-school feel! It’s a total love letter to those games. I found myself wanting to try different team combinations on each level, which keeps things interesting, though I admit the levels and enemies can get a little repetitive after a while. The collectibles and challenges are a fun addition, and as a Marvel enthusiast, I really appreciated all the references. Honestly, my only complaint is that it doesn’t have Colossus’s iconic yell from the arcade game – but trust me, you’ll be saying “whoa” a lot while playing this awesome retro adventure!

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2025-12-01 19:10