Marvel’s Avengers
Earth’s mightiest heroes aren’t looking so super
PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
We were hoping to bring you a review of Crystal Dynamics’ superhero adventure this month. Alas, early code was not forthcoming – and, after spending time with the beta, we think we know why. Marvel’s Avengers isn’t exactly a disaster (it’s had too much money thrown at it to fail entirely), but like Bruce Banner and The Hulk it feels like two competing personalities in the same body, grappling for attention. The main difference is that Banner’s intelligence and Hulk’s strength are both suited to specific circumstances; whichever way you slice it, this game feels like a costly compromise.
As a modern singleplayer blockbuster, it mostly looks the part, those uncanny nonlikenesses aside. Its opening salvo, a series of set-pieces on and around a collapsing Golden Gate Bridge, grants you a glimpse of five of the main cast, with Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America and Black Widow each getting to showcase their powers before control is passed onto the next via a seamless cinematic. It’s effectively an expensive tutorial spliced into a story prologue, pitting you against a series of cannon-fodder enemies before a boss battle punctuated by QTEs. While Iron Man zips through the air and shoots from his palms, each of the other sections feels like a routine thirdperson brawler enlivened slightly by heroic abilities. Hulk and Thor (whose throw-andretrieve Mjölnir attack is ripped straight from God Of War) are naturally heavier and more powerful than the agile Black Widow. Cap’s vibranium shield makes him the most versatile fighter, whether he’s using it to bash grunts at close quarters or flinging it around the room – which makes it all the more disappointing when he’s promptly written out of the story.
Even at this early stage, there’s a sluggishness to the action. In endeavouring to drive home the force of your attacks, Crystal Dynamics has made it feel like you’re fighting in the middle of an earthquake; the Bay Area may be a disaster zone, but we’re not sure the shudder that accompanies even standard light attacks is necessary. We wade into mobs, listlessly jabbing Square and Triangle as we watch generic goons fall at our feet, waiting for our specials to charge up if only so we can cut down more at once. It’s not a million miles away from how you’d imagine a western-developed Dynasty Warriors to play, albeit with enemy numbers stretching to tens rather than hundreds. When it comes to the opening’s climactic fight, as Natasha Romanoff uses fists, feet and twin pistols against antagonist Taskmaster, the two exchanging unpleasantries in button-mashing cinematic interludes, we can’t help but feel we’re controlling a poor man’s Bayonetta.
Things pick up slightly with the arrival of Kamala Khan, also known as Ms. Marvel, an
Avengers fangirl who’s one of a number of civilians to gain superpowers of their own after the opening ‘A-Day’ catastrophe. The next mission has her team up with Bruce Banner, who quickly Hulks out when the two stumble upon a facility filled with robotic enemies. Khan’s rubbery limbs let her grapple across gaps (akin to a certain webslinger in his own PlayStation adventure, if a little more clumsily), while her outsized fists give her decent range as a melee fighter, as well as making for a more entertaining comic spectacle. There’s a hint of the MCU’s wit in the downtime she spends with Troy Baker’s Banner, too. We might not share her disbelief at getting to share centre stage with her heroes, but her guileless enthusiasm as much as her pugilistic skills makes her such an appealing addition to the team.
There is, however, a trade-off. With opponents at a higher level than before, and several equipped with shields that can easily withstand a standard combo from the front, Hulk’s destructive powers feel some way short of Incredible. And here lies one of Marvel’s Avengers’ biggest problems: its need to balance missions for different superheroes leads to the stronger ones being artificially weakened. We can appreciate why supervillain Abomination might be able to withstand gamma-enhanced claps, stomps and grapple attacks, but surely we should not have to steadily chip away at the health bars of the rank and file with these fists.
If the objectives and pacing seem to have less in common with a narrative-led singleplayer campaign than a multiplayer loot game, that’s because Marvel’s Avengers desperately wants to be that, too. Between bouts of smashing things up, we boot open crates containing a wealth of items to boost our existing stats: melee, defence, ranged and heroic. The rarity of the gear you collect determines the number of times it can be boosted further with the right resources, of which there are already too many varieties.
There are two fundamental flaws with Crystal Dynamics’ loot game. First, it would seem to undermine the Avengers’ existing powers; sure, the likes of Black Widow and Hawkeye could always benefit from better kit, but do Hulk and Thor really need to be any stronger than they already are? Second, and more worryingly, you can’t actually see any of it. The numbers may be climbing, but there’s no visual evidence of anything you’ve equipped. In theory you can steadily personalise your favourite superhero from the skills menu, adapting their abilities to suit your playstyle. But there’s none of the sense of ownership you get from decking out your Destiny guardian, say, in a dazzlingly garish getup, nor of wielding a shiny new Legendary weapon.
Without any of that, we’re struggling to see the appeal of repeating the same missions on higher difficulties. It hardly helps that the perks are so underwhelming: those minor percentage boosts to speed up cooldown times or increase your ranged power might add up, but so far at least, none appears to have a substantial effect on how you play. Granted, it’s obvious why your equipment is invisible – but in that case it’s hard to fathom why Crystal Dynamics thinks you’d care a jot about your loadout beyond ensuring you optimise it before each mission. There will be special variants on each character, based on iconic costumes from Marvel’s 80-year history. Since they’ve been tailored to fit the game’s pseudo-realistic art style, they look far less distinctive than the original designs. And, inevitably, many will be behind a paywall.
These are not all unfixable problems. There is a certain lizard-brain pleasure to the combat on lower difficulties, and the chance to chat with friends while fighting together as Earth’s mightiest heroes is not without appeal. And while it may take time to adjust to these offbrand versions of the characters millions have been seeing on the silver screen for the past 12 years, the licence will no doubt ensure this has widespread family appeal in the short term. Just as the MCU took time to hit its stride, Marvel’s Avengers will likely have the patience of its publisher as it expands over the coming months. But Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix will need to think hard about how to cement its long-term future, lest a fickle online audience prematurely bring about its endgame.
We’re struggling to see the appeal of repeating the same missions on higher difficulties