A Noob’s Opinion on Marvel Rivals
I’ve never played a hero shooter
When the news of NetEase Games developing Marvel Rivals' came out, I was initially skeptical.
I’ve never played a hero shooter, but I’ve heard tons of bad things about these types of games from their own communities, so I couldn’t help but think that this will be another game designed to squeeze money from players.
Because of this, I didn’t give much attention to it.
That was until I saw some of the character designs and I just have to say I love the art style they chose. They nailed that “comic book aesthetic”.
Just look at their launch trailer.
Marvel Rivals Launch Trailer
However, what convinced me to play the game was that there were a bunch of streamers and gaming content creators who got early access to it saying nothing but praise.
Given the current environment around hero shooters and live service games, this was a big surprise.
Hearing all those positive opinions, the idea of playing as some of my favorite Marvel heroes, and having a cool-looking game was enough to convince me to try it.
AND BOY I’M GLAD I DID!
It has been an amazing experience so far.
The characters feel straight out of the comics, the abilities are not too hard to understand, the maps are easy to navigate, the interactions between different characters give us drops of lore, and it is a third-person shooter meaning that if I buy a skin I’ll actually get to see it.
(I never understood why people bought character skins in first-person shooters when you can’t even see the character you are playing but to each their own.)
However, there are two things that I like the most.
1. They listen to player feedback
The first one is that the developers actually seem to listen to player feedback. Heck, during my first two weeks in Marvel Rivals, they even sent me 3 surveys to ask what I thought about the game.
They asked questions related to:
- How the characters feel
- How the maps feel
- The learning curve of characters
- Bugs & crashes
- Things I like & dislike
- Suggestions to improve
These are the ones I currently remember, but it still is nice to see a gaming company that cares to listen to their players and community to make it as fun as possible.
You can learn what they have done so far here:
2. The Battle Pass DOES NOT EXPIRE
The second one is that you won’t lose access to the Battle Pass after you buy it.
This is a big deal because most free-to-play games have battle passes that expire after some time even if you paid to access it. They do this to generate FOMO and force players to grind the game for hours every day as if they didn’t have other things to do with their lives.
It’s a disgusting tactic in my opinion so I’m glad they don’t have it.
Instead, you buy it and you keep access to it so you can join and play anytime you want to get the resources you need to get cosmetics in the Battle Pass.
These thoughts are not just mine though because it seems that many players who played other hero shooters like Overwatch 2 and Paladins, are starting to migrate to Marvel Rivals.
Will they stay permanently? I don’t know, but I find it impressive still.
I say that because despite how much Overwatch 2 players seemed to hate the game they still played it almost as if they had some hope that things would get better, but then Marvel Rivals appeared and decided to leave for a better alternative.
We can see their current player numbers here.
Of course, numbers might decrease after a while but they are still incredible.
They even recently announced that they have 20 billion players.
I have never seen this much success from any other hero shooter.
I hope this becomes a wake-up call for other gaming companies so they finally understand how that this is how you make a game that even complete noobs like me can enjoy.
I even got my first MVP!
Final Thoughts
Marvel Rivals is a great game.
It’s fun to play, it’s simple to understand, it’s beautiful to look at, and is a breath of fresh air in a space where live service games tend to be seen as slop.
I know this game has gotten some hate because the characters look pretty and the game mode is pretty much the same as Overwatch 2, but to be honest, the haters just need to chill out, leave the internet for a week or two, and touch some grass.
It’s just a game…is not a big deal.
Play it to see if you enjoy it and if not, just go back to play something you like. That’s what games are for.
Anyway, that’s all for today
