What is the first great crossover to come to mind in Marvel Comics history? Civil War? House of M? Infinity Wars? Personally, it always comes back to the Annihilation Saga. Relatively less prominent heroes like Guardians of the Galaxy, Silver Surfer, Beta-Ray Bill, Nova, and more team up to overcome the Annihilation Wave. It’s truly one of the best-written and most well-developed superhero stories ever.
Of course, as posited by Marvel, what if Earth’s mightiest heroes joined in on the fight, assembled as all heck? We saw glimpses of this in “What If?”, and for the first time, Tribute Games has brought that incredible conflict into the best possible format: A classic 2D beat ’em up.
This isn’t a straight-up adaptation, though, and while it does feature some “meanwhiles” and “asides,” Marvel Cosmic Invasion is more than just a well-paced action-packed side-scroller. It’s an honest love letter to these heroes, packed with a great combat system and an excellent presentation.
“Because before each mission, you’ll be asked to choose two related heroes. For example, Wolverine and Storm will venture to Genosha to free the Mutants held captive, battling Sentinels and eventually facing Master Mould. Meanwhile – the first of many – Cap and Tony board a SHIELD helicarrier to help fend off an attack from AIM…”
As noted before, Annihilus, previously confined to the Negative Zone, is free and wreaking havoc across the universe. How he’s able to amass so many forces or even bring enemies like the Sentinels and AIM under his sway is eventually answered. From the outset, your job is to face the Annihilation Wave head-on, starting in New York. You’ll choose two heroes from the roster, and while limited at first, you’ll unlock more over time.
Don’t worry, though – the selection is robust enough, starting with Captain America, Iron-Man, Storm, Wolverine, Black Panther, Beta Ray Bill, Rocket Raccoon, She-Hulk, Cosmic Ghost Rider (and yes, that is Frank Castle), Nova, and, of course, Spider-Man. Story Mode is linear in points but branches off in others – you’ll need to complete each node to advance further. It also allows the battle to venture to multiple fronts and tackle different side plots.
Because before each mission, you’ll be asked to choose two related heroes. For example, Wolverine and Storm will venture to Genosha to free the Mutants held captive, battling Sentinels and eventually facing Master Mould. Meanwhile – the first of many – Cap and Tony board a SHIELD helicarrier to help fend off an attack from AIM, eventually going up against the Taskmaster. And while it more closely aligns with the intended narrative, you’re not really missing out on anything by selecting different heroes. Rocket and Cosmic Ghost Rider have no ties to either of the mentioned missions, but if you want to send them in, go right ahead.
There is one caveat: Those specific heroes are required to complete optional challenges, like tossing enemies into pits as Captain America on the helicarrier or ripping ten enemies apart with Wolverine’s Feral throw. A general challenge, like defeating 15 enemies with turrets, is also available and can be completed by any hero, and there are also Cosmic Cubes to collect. Overall, I like this approach – since these challenges are all optional anyway, you can double back later to mop up any remaining.
“While it can take a bit of finagling to execute the combos you want, the combat is delightfully easy to pick up and accompanied by a sumptuous variety of playstyles. Wolverine can lunge at foes and stab, stab, stab or toss them into each other; Spider-Man can pull them close…”
Which brings us to combat, and what a glorious brawl it can be. Cosmic Invasion’s gimmick is the Cosmic Swap system, where you switch between the two selected heroes. This can be combined in truly wicked ways or even to attack in one direction while you focus on another. Launch an enemy into the air with Wolverine and call in She-Hulk to drop an earth-shaking elbow from the top rope.
The same goes for doubling up your damage potential, as they can serve as assists, so long as you have the Focus meter, but the latter also serves as a resource for Ultimate attacks, which cuts down on assist spamming. Sometimes, you’ll want to call in another hero to break from enemy grabs – a clever way, alongside flying-focused enemies, to prompt you to switch, though a strange glitch seemingly causes the grabbed character to lose way more health than they should until you tag out.
While it can take a bit of finagling to execute the combos you want, the combat is delightfully easy to pick up and accompanied by a sumptuous variety of playstyles. Wolverine can lunge at foes and stab, stab, stab or toss them into each other; Spider-Man can pull them close; Beta Ray Bill throws out Stormbreaker and keeps it spinning in place for as long as charges remain; Phyla-Vell’s combos can inflict a damage-over-time debuff; and so on. It’s responsive and, most importantly, captures that arcade feel.
Each character feels worth trying out, though I couldn’t help but feel like some are tuned better than others. Phyla-Vell’s damage-over-time strike is already very good, but she’s also a flyer with a projectile that she can teleport to for a follow-up strike? Then there’s Captain America, who can parry melee attacks and projectiles while also getting unlimited shield tosses. Wolverine, Silver Surfer, Iron Man and Cosmic Ghost Rider have some pretty solid kits as well, but they seemingly represent the clear favorites of the bunch.
“Otherwise, the bosses in general range from pretty balanced to mildly frustrating. Without delving into spoilers, some feel like the right kind of difficulty and damage spike, teaching you to watch out for their patterns and punishing you accordingly.”
Granted, that is one of the big appeals of Cosmic Invasion – maybe there’s an even more broken team-up to discover. But a few elements of specific kits felt a little awkward, specifically Spider-Man and Venom. Why not combine their swinging motions and mid-air attacks into one? At the very least, it would feel more intuitive. Then there’s Phoenix’s psionic grab, which feels like it needs a little extra effort to connect.
As for the stages themselves, they’re pretty balanced in terms of length and unique gimmicks, for the most part. Every single one offers something interesting, whether it’s avoiding slowing puddles or taking on different enemy types, and the art direction is simply fantastic. It rarely feels like they’re dragging on, though there’s at least one level that’s longer than most. Which is fine, but I found the final level to also be deserving of that additional length, especially in the final battle.
Otherwise, the bosses in general range from pretty balanced to mildly frustrating. Without delving into spoilers, some feel like the right kind of difficulty and damage spike, teaching you to watch out for their patterns and punishing you accordingly. But then others have invulnerability states that require activating or destroying certain devices to be able to deal damage.
These fights aren’t completely dragged down by the same, but they’re not exactly my favorites. There’s more to like than not, however, and even if the enemy variety does start to wane near the end – a level 2 version of some starting enemies is one thing, but level 3 is slightly pushing it – Cosmic Invasion offers a well-paced blend of stages that hit all the right nostalgia notes and warrant replaying.
“It may have some slight blemishes here and there, but if you’ve been looking for something to complement Absolum and deliver a more traditional retro arcade experience, this is it.”
If you don’t care for challenges or any of the cutscenes, hop into Arcade Mode for a more traditional beat ’em up experience with one stage following another. You can also spend any Cosmic Cubes earned to unlock new Corp Files, detailing different characters – heroes, villains and enemies – alongside new outfit colors and each stage’s music.
Speaking of which, I’ve spoken about how gorgeous the environments look, and the same applies to the characters themselves, which animate gorgeously. And as incredible as they look and move, they pale in comparison to the music. From the main menu theme to the heroically immense trawl through New York, all the way up to the final battle with its epic overtones, it’s simply one belter after another, and it deserves so much appreciation.
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is one of the finest beat ’em ups in years, and that’s saying something, even with the pedigree of those involved. It may have some slight blemishes here and there, but if you’ve been looking for something to complement Absolum and deliver a more traditional retro arcade experience, this is it.
This game was reviewed on PC.
