Well, it doesn't get much better than that headline. I didn't get into any of the betas for Marvel Rivals, though we were supposed to do a Gaming Nexus plays, but all kinds of busy work was in the way. Needless to say that this was my first time playing Marvel Rivals, for launch, and I have some...thoughts.
The great news is that yes, all 33 heroes are available. The game is free to play, so you don't even need a battle pass. If you do get one, it's one and done. You never have to pay for a battle pass again. Everything here for purchase is cosmetic, from the banners, to the animated intros. You don't have to spend a dime on this game. The opening chapter is called Doom's Rise, and yes...it's about the multiverse. The game is available for Steam and Epic Game Store, Xbox Series, and the Playstation 5. Season 0 is a month long, and also launches with 8 maps for Quick Match and competitive, and even practice modes for all around, and per character.
Twitch Drops, and even a Iron Man costume is available now, and NetEase promises more through out the season. There's even a soundtrack on Spotify and Apple Music. There was no problem getting into the game, nor were there hardly any wait times. Of course, this season 0, so people are already saying (insert character here) is broken. Regardless, Marvel and NetEase went all out here.
I tend to worry about live service games presently. Suicide Squad, (who just announced Season 4?), Concord, Redfall, and now Xdefiant are all going or gone. And Marvel Rivals is...well let me just rip the band-aid off...Marvel's Overwatch. Punisher sounds a LOT like Soldier 76, and even the cooldown sounds are the same. It is a fun game. I just hope that Blizzard let's NetEase ease into the hero shooter foray. Otherwise, it's going to be Nintendo VS Palworld all over again.
