Tribute Games has worked on some truly amazing games over the years, but it is the studio’s beat em ups that are most beloved. When the developers were still working at Ubisoft Montreal, they worked on the incredible TMNT game for the GBA and of course Scott Pilgrim Vs The World The Game. As Tribute Games, the studio worked with Dotemu to release TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, and is working on a Scott Pilgrim sequel, but there is another title that has fans excited. Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a new beat ’em up that adapts the Marvel storyline “Annihilation” as if it took place in the 90s, and a demo has recently been made available.
Playing the demo of Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a massive treat as a fan of 90s Marvel, the Annihilation comics, and beat em ups. Many are comparing Marvel Cosmic Invasion to Konami’s X-Men arcade game and there are some similarities for sure and some shoutouts, but the best comparison is to Capcom’s classic Marvel games, including the Vs series, The Punisher, and the console beat em ups. Character movement is very clearly referencing aspects of those games, particularly in how Captain America and Spider-Man move, while Wolverine also takes some influence from the aforementioned X-Men game from Konami.
One thing that surprised me was how unique each character felt from the available roster. Not every revealed character is available in the demo, but of the ones that are, each has a unique way they handle and also unique mannerisms portrayed in their animations. Some characters like Wolverine and Venom even have unique interactions with each other as well, which goes to show the level of detail Tribute Games has put in Marvel Cosmic Invasion.
The combat in Marvel Cosmic Invasion is nothing short of spectacular and improves on Shredder’s Revenge in every respect. Everything feels natural and flows perfectly, and the game really lets you get a good feeling for what you can do. One thing that is important to note though, is that the demo for Marvel Cosmic Invasion has the first two stages, but only in arcade mode, and not the story mode. This works out fine though, as a beat ’em up is all about the action.
Visually, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is stunning with a brilliant art style that looks like it came out of Marvel in the 90s, with multiple smaller references to comics, such as ads appearing in the background for Secret Hospital, a soap opera Mary Jane Watson appeared in during the Spider-Man comics in that period, and Nova having his 90s look. I am very eager to see how the rest of the characters play, especially Beta Ray Bill, Silver Surfer and Cosmic Ghost Rider. Not to mention that the stages in the demo have made me very excited for what the rest of the game will be like and what the story mode has to offer.
If you are a comic book fan or a beat ’em up fan, you need to check out Marvel Cosmic Invasion. This is a game for fans, by fans and the full experience will no doubt blow us all away. Hopefully we get a full release date soon.
