Over the weekend, journalists got some hands-on time with a beta of Marvel’s Avengers, the online game from Square Enix, and the initial impressions have begun to pour in. While some were impressed by the story and the varied feel of each hero, many cited concerns about the combat’s repetitiveness.
Marvel’s Avengers, first announced at E3 in 2019, is a third-person action-adventure game that allows players to step into the role of iconic closed betas for Marvel's Avengers, with access being granted based on a number of factors, including if players pre-ordered the game and which system they're playing on.
The overall tone of the beta impressions that were released this week has been one of concern. On the one hand, journalists appreciated that playing as the Hulk feels different than playing as Iron Man, who both also feel different than Black Widow. Every character in Marvel's Avengers levels up individually, allowing players to either pick one character to focus on or to spend time swapping between heroes. Kamala Khan (aka Ms. Marvel) in particular seems to have won over several critics with her fluid moveset and infectious enthusiasm.
What Critics Are Saying About Marvel's Avengers
But the praise for the characters and the initial story was quickly dampened by complaints that every enemy encounter felt the same, and that the combat became old very quick. Combined with a grindy loot system that felt overwhelming, Marvel's Avengers didn't leave a great impression with those who had access to this beta. A few journalists, however, believe that this game has the potential to grow and find a home with the right audience, particularly among those who embrace both the Marvel IP and loot-driven game play. Here are some highlights:
Screen Rant - Christopher J. Teuton
Unfortunately, the repetitive and homogeneous nature of the rest of the experience becomes evident rather early, and its hard to see anyone who isn't already a super-fan of these characters enjoying playing Marvel's Avengers for years to come, which is clearly what the developers are intending.
IGN - Mark Medina
The combat is mostly fun and flashy, though sometimes a little too frantic. But while some folks may be hungry for a fully fleshed out campaign with interesting characters and varied missions, others may be looking for a looter-shooter- style grind- fest with friends. After playing the beta, I’m currently a bit concerned Marvel’s Avengers may not be able to satisfy either craving.
Kotaku - Mike Fahey
Traveling between waypoints with a full team of Avengers is a pretty cool feeling. Adjusting the camera while swinging along as Kamala to see the Hulk bounding and Iron Man flying after you is nifty. Getting to an objective and beating on hordes of samey robots, not nearly as nifty.
Game Informer - Matt Miller
Unfortunately, I can’t escape a sense of plodding sameness and tedium at the center of the action. Avengers frequently reminds me of the brawling comic-book movie games of the late 2000s, in which button-mashy battles, canned animations, and too-often repeated quips failed to elicit laughter or engagement.
Polygon - Ryan Gilliam
After 10 hours in the beta, I walked away excited for Marvel’s Avengers’ Sept. 4 release date. But RPG systems can be hard to grasp in a single beta weekend. Never forget that BioWare’s Anthem demoed very well in its limited beta, despite being an unmitigated disaster at launch. While I have hope Marvel’s Avengers won’t be a repeat of Anthem, I’ve been fooled by RPG betas before — even if the Avengers beta has more varied content than Anthem’s ever did.
It's clear that Marvel's Avengers has a long way to go to win over critics. Many fully gave the caveat that they only had ten hours with a game that could take much longer to get a handle on, particularly with multiple characters and movesets to master. Still, the biggest takeaway was a sense that this game all too easily devolves into tedium, and that any fun in Marvel's Avengers is going to be derived from playing with friends, rather than from the satisfaction of tackling a particularly engaging enemy.
