Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a new beat’em up game that brings classic characters from various Marvel superhero series together. With the game releasing later in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, the project by developer Tribute Games and publisher Dotemu is already shaping up to be a vibrant and fun experience.

Marvel Superheroes Join the Fray

While the final game will offer fifteen playable options, the early alpha had only nine of the classic Marvel characters available. They were Captain America, Nova, Storm, Venom, Wolverine, Phyla-Vell, Spider-Man, Rocket Raccoon and She-Hulk. The recently revealed Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill were not part of this build.

Characters can feel significantly different from each other and their movesets have specific elements to be faithful to their original depictions. For instance, Phyla-Vell, Nova and Storm can stay in the air indefinitely, making them great options when dealing with flying enemies. Meanwhile, She-Hulk’s strength makes her pack a significant punch, and she can even throw enemies around the stage, an ability she shares with Venom.

Wolverine can pull off quick combos with his claws and Racket Raccoon can use tricky gadgets to cause damage from a range. Spider-Man can throw webs at enemies and Captain America can also use his shield like a boomerang to reach enemies from afar. These are but simple examples, but every character has a compelling list of options to keep in mind.

The first thing to do was pick up two characters to use. Players can alternate between them at any time and summoning their ally to help doesn’t have any cost. Having both characters attack simultaneously was as simple as pressing attack buttons during the transition, so it felt like the kind of exploitable mechanic that only makes using it more fun.

By attacking consecutively and not taking damage, players can build up a combo, which seems to influence the final score for the stage. With enemies that can only attack from up close, those that can hit from afar and even the airborne ones, it’s important to gauge danger and prioritize enemies accordingly. Besides the ground moves, attacks may change significantly for aerial performance.

Each character also has a special move that costs energy and some of them have restrictions to how much they can be used, like Rocket Raccoon’s grenades or Spider-Man’s webs. With two characters at your disposal, it felt like even without the full roster available, there were already a ton of ways to combine them and make teams that either cover each other’s weaknesses or are just personal favorites, even if they would have similar roles.

From New York Streets to the Helicarrier

There were two stages in the early build. The first one was New York City’s downtown area, which is devastated by the attacks of bug-like creatures sent by Annihilus. The place has various nods to Spider-Man, like Daily Bugle ads here and there. As we advance through the stage, we get to see Beetle in the background trying to use the commotion to his advantage.

The second one takes us to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Helicarrier. For some reason, they have taken MODOK and the player goes around the place fighting various agents with different weapons. Some of them can shoot projectiles, others may use a flamethrower or create an area with an electrical discharge.

In both areas, we get to see the story evolve as we move forward and specific characters comment about what’s going on through voiced lines. Eventually, after dealing with all the waves, we get to fight a boss at the end of the stage. These characters have a larger life gauge, more detailed patterns and it isn’t as easy to stun them as the average enemy.

In the first area, there was a moment in which a swarm showed up, and the player had a warning to alert them about the oncoming attack. Meanwhile, the second stage had holes that the player could throw enemies through, but needed to be careful about not falling into them. There was also an elevator sequence in which the borders had this dangerous element to it.

Characters can feel significantly different from each other and their movesets have specific elements to be faithful to their original depictions.

At a later point, the player gets to move to the top area of the airship, which has gun turrets fixed to specific points. It’s possible to use them to fire on the enemies that show up from two different points, so players should alternate between two guns at different positions to make full use of this item.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion already shows a promising start as a vibrant beat’em up. Having the chance to use two heroes at once and a varied pool of moves can make it a really dynamic experience. The first two stages also show a solid grasp of enemy hordes positioning and how details can go a long way to make each area feel unique.