At the time of writing (Monday), we just got a huge announcement for the popular shooter game, Marvel Rivals! On October 23, players will be able to access a new mode based on the recently released Disney+ show, “Marvel Zombies,” where you can finally unleash your skills upon the undead! While the reveal trailer is roughly two minutes long, it more than makes up for it with its massively hyping reveals and details that generate excitement amongst fans (including myself)!
The Mode Itself
The first—and arguably most important—thing to point out is that this is the game’s first-ever PvE (Player vs Environment) mode! Up until now, we’ve only gotten PvP (Player vs Player) modes in the form of season pass storylines, such as Doctor Doom shattering the timeline or the assault on Klyntar. But now, for the first time since its launch, you’ll be fighting a major enemy team that won’t be just other people. And while the details and possible story are currently unknown, it’s still pretty straightforward: as mentioned previously, you get to fight zombies. LOTS of zombies. However, the truck doesn’t stop here, because you also get to fight zombie bosses! So far, the only bosses revealed are the zombified Wanda and Namor from the mini-series, and Wanda seems to be packing more of a punch than she usually does. From what we can see in the trailer, it seems Wanda is supporting or controlling the zombies, making her the central target to take out, but her apparent one-hit K.O.s make it very difficult! Anyway, adding an update of this scale is not only game-changing, but it’s also a very wise decision on the developers’ part. This is because the new PvE adds more to the game and gives it variety, which makes it all the more interesting and appealing to veterans and newcomers alike. Plus, it’s zombies! Who in their right mind would pass up on the chance to fight a zombie horde, superhero universe, or otherwise? So, whether you love or hate the Disney+ show, there’s no denying that fans will be eating pretty well this week.
The Characters
During the trailer, we see gameplay of five characters: Magik, Jeff the Landshark, Thor, Punisher, and Moon Knight as Blade. Unfortunately, it has been confirmed that ONLY these five will be playable, so no one will get to conquer the zombies as Iron Man, Winter Soldier, or any of their other favorites. This is because Danny Koo (the executive producer of the game), in an interview, said that the team wanted to keep things small until they received enough feedback from players. So you could think of it as a kind of test run on the developers’ part.
However, despite these limitations, the mode more than makes up for it by giving these characters some sweet upgrades! Nothing has been explicitly mentioned about Jeff so far, but the others’ boosts sound pretty crazy! For instance, Punisher used to have a few hundred shots depending on the weapon in the original game, but the trailer shows he has over 4,000 shots! This increase in firepower is not only awesome, but his attacks look twice as powerful. From what we see in the trailer, he seems to shoot many bullets at once, and they ricochet off the zombies. If that wasn’t enough, Blade also gets some Moon Knight abilities to complement his Disney+ counterpart, as he now has bouncing moon blades that circle him and cut the zombies down. This, combined with his heavy gun and massive sword, not to mention his “a thousand cuts” ultimate move, makes for an insanely deadly combination. Finally, with Thor and Magik, their abilities are bumped up to an insane degree! For Thor, it’s revealed that he’s getting an “Awakened state,” which might explain his limitless ranged attacks from the trailer. In it, he barrages opponents with wide lightning attacks while Mjolnïr flies around him, and his attacks are much faster than in the normal game. For Magik, it’s also been revealed that her Darkchild form will now be unlimited! However, I find it odd that we didn’t see any footage of this form during the video, because it looks like it’s just Magik in her normal form with the same old moves.
A Couple Other Details
To wrap things up, I would like to point out some extra things I’ve noticed when watching the trailer. Most fans probably already recognized these, but it felt like they were still worth mentioning. But anyway, one such example comes halfway through the trailer, when we see upgrade menus for Blade and Punisher. The menus alone should grab anyone’s attention, because such options weren’t available for the other characters in the normal modes. Sure, we have menus that show characters leveling up, and our rank of skill with each one, but nothing that allows us to upgrade their gear or powers. But in the trailer, we see a section called “Khonshu’s Blessings,” and for a brief second, we see a list of general blessings for all the limited characters, such as gradually increasing levels of Vitality Boost (increase in health) and Power Surge (increase in damage dealt). But then we get more details as we look at “Blade’s Blessings,” which mainly include upgrades to Blade’s sword damage, attack speed, and range. “Punisher’s Blessings” have similar upgrades that increase magazine capacities, bullet damage, the number of bullets fired at a time, and reduce the time between attacks. However, we’re then shown another menu for the Punisher, which appears that you can equip upgrades to Punisher’s ultimate move and also traits to make his attacks stronger.
Finally, there’s my favorite part: the lore itself. At some point in the trailer, we can hear Blade say that he made a promise to Marc Spector that he would carry on his legacy. This is interesting because the fractured timeline from this game doesn’t seem to be connected to the MCU, much less the MCU’s zombie universe. But it’s currently unknown whether this is the case, or if it’s just a simple event doing a shout-out for the Disney+ show. Either way, I’m excited to see how this unfolds once the event launches. Aside from that, we actually get a glimpse into some of the characters’ backstories for this event, notably the Punisher. From what little is revealed so far, it seems that Frank was part of the Midnight Sons (basically a team of supernatural heroes, kinda like Justice League Dark) at some point, but Wanda and her zombies got to Frank’s loved ones. It also says he was forced to do something, but the description cuts off at that point, and we’re not shown anything else.
Regardless, I am very excited for this event, and I can’t wait to see how it looks and how I can play it!
