‘Marvel Cosmic Invasion’ Brings Saturday Morning Cartoon Vibes to a Modern Beat ‘Em Up

Back in the 16-bit era, few genres had as much of a grip on both arcades and consoles as the beat ‘em up. Halfway between a fighting game and a platformer, a good side-scrolling brawler generally offered more complex combat than a basic action game, with the dimensional depth of moving up and down in planar space. But most importantly, they invited everyone to join in and play with their friends — desperately pooling their lives (or pocket change) to stay in the game to see the credits roll.

Outside of series built entirely around the premise like Battletoads or Final Fight, beat ‘em ups became the ultimate way to bring popular IP to gaming; basically, any cartoon or comic that had a core group of recognizable characters was fair play. Konami ruled the scene with The Simpsons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time — both of which were coin-op classics that arrived in 1991. Marvel made their mark with the supersized deluxe cabinet for 1992’s X-Men, which allowed up to six players to squeeze together in movie theater lobbies and pizzerias for a greasy-fingered group beatdown.

And although the genre faded in the periphery for a while, beat ‘em ups have seen a resurgence in the nostalgia-driven modern era. Publisher Dotemu has cornered the market, reviving series like Streets of Rage and TMNT with all-timer entries in the pantheon, on top of delivering their own all-new franchise with this year’s Absolum.

But just in time for the holiday break, they’ve managed to sneak in one more winner with Marvel Cosmic Invasion (out now) — a space-themed jaunt through comic book history that might’ve been heralded as one of the greatest games ever made, had it arrived in the early Nineties.

The Simple Pleasures

Developed by Tribute Games, the team behind the fantastic TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge (2022), Marvel Cosmic Invasion lifts the same core tenets of that popular beat ‘em up, allowing up to four players to pick their heroes and fight together locally or online. The base story mode is the meat of the game, letting users take their time combing through 16 stages (including a tutorial), each with interstitial cut scenes doling out the plot, tackling level-specific challenges and replaying portions as they see fit.

Story mode is smartly designed to offer a little bit of wiggle room with how players can progress, with some branching paths that determine which stages they’ll tackle first (although all are required to beat) and plot and challenge-based setups that push certain heroes at particular levels to try everyone out. With 15 selectable characters at launch, there’s a ton of variety, and each one can be leveled up to grow in strength and stamina, also adding to the allure of revisiting areas repeatedly.

Arcade mode has all the same stages but condensed into a score-attack rush that’s a more traditional format for beat ‘em ups. Eschewing the paper-thin plot and character progression, it’s a purely action-focused way to play the game as it might’ve been back in the day. Unlike its peers Streets of Rage and Absolum, the levels in Cosmic Invasion are incredibly short, usually taking about 10 minutes to complete — assuming everyone can stay alive. Sitting on the couch with friends, it might not feel as much of an uphill gauntlet as other games, but the snack-sized stages are great for online play, where jumping in and out at intervals feels less like punishment for your teammates; but the quick run time tugs at the part of you that whispers “just one more” well into the night.

The controls are straightforward but provide a generous number of moves that prevent things from becoming stale. There are basic attacks and special abilities, mix-ups on the ground and in mid-air, and screen-clearing ultimate powers that can wipe out every enemy at once. There’s also a dodge-and-parry system which, while completely saturated in the current game design space, makes sense for this kind of experience — adding an additional layer of depth and strategy in what could be a mostly mindless experience.

But that’s basically it. Marvel Cosmic Invasion has no delusions about what type of game it is; there’s no mini-games or crazy handicaps to apply to change things up. There’s just a bunch of levels and baddies to tear through. Now get going.

The Kitchen Sink Approach

Despite its simplicity, Cosmic Invasion does advance the concept just enough to stand out in its field — and a huge part of that is its wise use of the Marvel IP. While most games of this genre might offer four, six, maybe even 10 characters after unlocking everything, Cosmic Invasion hits the ground running with 11 playable heroes from the onset, with four more to unlock through gameplay. However, the twist is that every user gets to pick two characters at once in both story and arcade mode.

The framework of using two heroes changes things up substantially, allowing players to call in their partner for single hit assists or swap them out entirely to extend combos or reserve their precious health meter. It also means that, when a full four-person squad is together, things can get chaotic. Imagine beating down on double digits worthy of enemies and everyone calling in their assists at the same time; that’s eight characters at once turning the visuals into candy-colored pixel vomit. It’s kind of hilarious, but can dramatically slow down the performance depending on each player’s online connection.

One of the best decisions made by the developers was to focus on the spacefaring aspect of Marvel comics which, despite getting some play in later MCU films, remains a blind spot for many casual fans. The roster includes some obvious favorites like Black Panther, Captain America, Iron Man, Rocket Raccoon, Spider-Man, and Wolverine — but the real treat here is embodying lesser-known fighters like the Thor-like Beta Ray Bill, Nova, and Phyla-Vell. There’s even a “cosmic” version of Ghost Rider with a little space helmet and machine gun, which is equally ridiculous and inspired.

Choosing this avenue means that Cosmic Invasion explores corners of the Marvel universe rarely seen in previous games, leaving the likes of Thanos relegated to mid-game bosses rather than the end all, be all — and classic villains like Magneto retired entirely. Inspired by many of the great stories from the Jack Kirby era, there’s a Saturday morning cartoon vibe that’s pitch perfect, especially for those already exhausted by Disney’s never-ending modern output.

It’s not entirely balanced; some fan-favorites like Spider-Man struggle to be heavy hitters despite their mobility, while others like Phoenix, Silver Surfer, and Phyla-Vel are absolute menaces. But there’s a real joy in seeing such a hodgepodge of heroes working in sync, with some select lines of dialogue reserved for specific pairings that keep things comedic. On that front, though, the voicework is a massive letdown. Despite having actors like Critical Role’s Matt Mercer involved, most of the line readings are dry and barely register at times. What could’ve accentuated the maximalist approach to the game’s design and aesthetic instead feels phoned in, like the barebones digitized voicework of the arcade days.RS Recommends: The Best Bluetooth Speakers Under $200We review the best portable speakers under $200, from Marshall to Bose, that wirelessly pair with Bluetooth to stream music and more.Presented By RS Recommends

Outside of the comics, one clear inspiration that pushes Cosmic Invasion’s gameplay from solid to stellar are mechanics and playstyles borrowed from fighting series Marvel vs. Capcom. Heroes who appear in that series (primarily the early entries) will have moves and combos that feel extremely familiar, but just different enough to avoid a Capcom lawsuit. Spider-Man, Wolverine, Cap and Storm — all of them have some version of the abilities from the classic franchise that feel fantastic when applied to the beat ‘em up. That’s not surprising, however, given that the two genres share much of the same DNA in their systems.

Although it only lasts a few short hours — maybe 20 or more if you’re really going for 100 percent completion — Marvel Cosmic Invasion is a late-year treat for players of all kinds. At a point where every game is just so damned long, it’s nice to have something that rewards the efforts of quick in-and-out session and doesn’t try to muddy the waters with more.

And while it could feel repetitive by nature, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is spry enough in its level design and more varied than almost any game of this kind, making it a consistent joy to play. Even after memorizing each stage and maxing out every characters stats, there’s an id-tickling pleasure derived from absolutely demolishing waves of sentinels and symbiotes while the screen flickers in technicolor rave mode that rarely gets old.

While the last two decades of IP explosion might have desensitized audiences to the spectacle this game provides, there’s plenty of original ideas and previously unused old ones that make this beat ‘em up worth the time. In the old days, there would’ve been long lines to play this one; today, it’s just a nice reprieve from everything else we have to think about.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion is out now for Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

From Rolling Stone US.