Marvel's Midnight Suns does a lot right throughout its campaign, especially in solving X-Men: Destiny's problem with player-created characters. X-Men: Destiny forced players into the role of three newly created characters who had minimial customization, with icons like Magneto and Wolverine reduced to NPCs rather than playable heroes. Customization options for Destiny's protagonists were also lacking, with many bemoaning why they were forced to play as original creations and not as Marvel's iconic mutants. Said protagonists also failed to impact the story in a memorable way.
Developed by Firaxis Games, known for its popular turn-based strategy titles, Marvel's Midnight Suns tasks players with fighting off the evil demon Lilith. To do that, the player becomes The Hunter, and with help from the Avengers, Midnight Suns, X-Men, and Spider-Man, attempt to fight off the demon invasion. Marvel's Midnight Suns uses card-based gameplay mixed with RPG aspects that can drastically alter how easy or difficult the game is. Outside both combat and RPG mechanics, players can also focus on researching and engineering battle items and more vital abilities that will help in combat.
Decisions In Marvel's Midnight Suns Leave An Impact
Marvel's Midnight Suns solves X-Men: Destiny's player impact problem by letting them grow or tear apart friendships. When the RPG sections are in play, the player is locked into The Hunter and can choose to increase the roster's friendship levels in Midnight Suns. Key story moments also pop up as players progress through the story, which can heavily affect how multiple characters see them. These choices impact how characters see The Hunter differently, which could make the Abbey sections of the game vary from friendly banter to more snarky and rude remarks.
Marvel's Midnight Suns Blends RPG & Turn-Based Combat
Though the RPG system in Midnight Suns is relatively simple, it blends into the game well while still having the impact X-Men: Destiny lacked, as the players' actions can drastically affect how combat plays out. A hero who is friends with The Hunter is stronger and has more ives to take advantage of. In contrast, a hero who dislikes The Hunter will be weaker in the late game and could hold a team back significantly. Marvel's Midnight Suns' card-based combat mixed with RPG mechanics can seem complex but becomes relatively simple, compared to other Firaxis games, with some practice.
Midnight Suns is by no means a generational RPG, but it utilizes what it does right to the fullest. The player may not have the most impact on how the story progresses, but the effect they can have on character relationships is huge and is still an upgrade from X-Men: Destiny, while The Hunter character feels like a more organic part of the Marvel mythos. Marvel's Midnight Suns may not be an RPG on the level of Mass Effect or Fallout, but it is a step in the right direction compared to X-Men: Destiny.
Source: Marvel's Midnight Suns/YouTube
