{
"post": {
"title": "Marvel Rivals - The opinions of a first time player",
"selftext": "**A foreword: I have already used my level 6 code, so this won’t be a thread for that**\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nTo preface, I don't think it matters, as they are vastly different games under the surface, but for reference, this opinion is coming from the perspective of a long-time Overwatch player (beta). I peaked Low-Diamond, consistently high Plat; putting me right in the middle as an average player. While my opinion in itself is irrelevant -- I would imagine it could reflect the majority of people's experience if they gave this game a try, or were on the fence about doing so.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nMy initial expectations and excitement for the game were very high; I was in an on-again-off-again relationship with the aforementioned game that I (hate) love. The problem with that game that I was having? I was no longer having fun; whether we were stomped or stomped, had a clutch victory or had the win snatched from right under us... I wasn't having fun. Moment-to-moment gameplay became stale, and more often than not I'd be looking at the clock at the end of a session and questioning if I had just wasted however many hours I had voluntarily subjected myself to; yet I'd come back, for the same experience, day in, day out.\n\nSo Marvel Rivals had some big boots to fill, and while expectations were (likely unfairly -- given the Closed Beta status) high, my biggest hope for this game, first and foremost, was that it was going to be fun. To reignite that spark that was seemingly lost.\n\nWhile I know I am going to waste time writing this, I don't plan to keep anyone here longer than they wish to be. Does the game feel that niche? Yes. Is the game fun? Yes. Absolutely.\n\nIf you care to hear my reasoning, or ramblings, then feel free to continue...\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThe game is a love letter to comic book fans, more specifically Marvel fans. It oozes fanservice and, for the most part, really plays into the power fantasy of stepping into the shoes of your favourite superheroes; it makes you FEEL like Iron Man (heh). It does so while wrapping the characters and gameplay in the (at this point) tried and true presentation of a hero shooter.\n\nIt's 6v6 (the better format), without any sort of role lock in place, meaning that any composition of heroes is possible. While long-term, this may require adjustments for balancing purposes, I think it is the right fit for the game in its current state -- everyone is learning, everyone is new, and without enough time for any hard metas to have developed, it's definitely too early to tell if the game requires it, while I have seen some commentary to add role lock/open queue now, I don't think it's the right time to fragment the player base during a Beta Test with limited numbers.\n\nThe game, as mentioned presents another hero shooter, yet this time with the presentation that seemingly is lacking from other \"copycats\" in the genre. The UI/UX is clean and sleek, colours are vibrant and everything feels... well, polished. There is certainly an attention to detail that is being presented that scratches an itch and brings a little joy just by interacting with the games interface.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nOne of the most important things for me when discussing this title is the characters and the roster we currently have been provided. It's the main pull of the game, other than just being another run-of-the-mill hero shooter... instead, this time it's backed by the House of Mouse and littered with the fabled superheroes, lore, and worlds that people know and love. Split into three factions that are -absolutely- not \"Damage\", \"Tank\" and \"Support\", but instead coined as Duelists, Vanguards and Strategists, with a decent enough number of options to choose from in each category respectively.\n\nThey do an absolutely superb job of bringing the star-studded cast to life. Some of the heavy-hitter names like Iron Man are here, but they are also offering to shine a light on lesser-known characters like Luna Snow and Magik. They do so on a fair level; all of the characters feel fleshed out, realised, and have a high quality of polish. This inclusion feels like it not only shows a care towards the source material and that these developers have a genuine passion for these characters, but it also inadvertently allows less room for people to gatekeep against those that don't know the characters well. Most people know how Iron Man or the Hulk should play, whereas playing as the alternate heroes that have lower social exposure, everyone is on the same level.\n\nPersonally, in order of trying and experimenting, I've currently played the following characters: Magik, Starlord, Punisher, Hela, Mantis, Iron Man, and Magneto. Some were short-lived as their kits felt slightly out of my depth, but the latter three have taken up the majority of my playtime. Everyone I played, felt strong, or at least that they have a high skill ceiling. While I don't want to sit and discuss the individual balance as it is relatively up in the air right now, and too early to tell -- I see a lot of reports and commentary surrounding the likes of Spiderman being underpowered, yet the hero that I have the most trouble coming up against... is spiderman; when he's being piloted by a skilled player. I think it will take some time for people to adjust and become comfortable with how everyone plays, and this needs to happen before we start looking at making sweeping changes or micro-buffing/nerfing anyone. I think right now, the important thing is to play and just have fun (which I am, a lot), embrace the wild swings between absolutely carrying on your chosen hero before going into your next game and being humbled by someone who has already gotten more experience than you, take each moment as an opportunity to learn and improve before everyone has collectively decided how the game should be played.\n\nThe controls feel tight and responsive, and each of the character's controls seem to have been bound with their playstyle in mind -- while it can be a little jarring at first that there isn't a standardised control between characters (switching to a new hero that you have yet to play is highlighted in this regard), given some practice, a lot of the base layouts seem to fit just right. Luckily, for those like myself who do prefer to amend the controls to suit their personal preference, you can do so to your heart's content.\n\nHistorically I have gravitated towards being a tank main first, dps second and support pulling up the rear if the situation really needed it, or if I needed to shake myself out of the not-having-fun funk (it never actually worked). However, so far, I haven't found myself predominantly sticking within one class, I'm learning and experiencing them all equally, and surprisingly one of the highlights for me is that the Strategist class certainly feels like it's hard correcting on the argument of support vs healer, Strategists are support characters first and foremost. You absolutely can pump out insane healing numbers, but the characters are not chained to this, they can output a relatively high and consistent amount of damage and can handle themselves in a team fight (or 1v1) rather well -- they have their own identity, rather than just being the pocket to the playmaking counterpart, tank/dps.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nOne of the standout features for me is its high-quality graphics and stylisation, it feels like it is taking that previously established look, you know, the almost \"pixar\" clean, but adding its own spin and style layered on top, a more mature rendition; it brings the Marvel universe to life.\n\nAll of the environments we have experienced so far feel meticulously designed, capturing the essence of iconic Marvel locations and creating an immersive backdrop for the games, I remember my first time playing on one of the Asgard maps and being greeted by an ethereal-hologram of Loki, swirling around my character and my only thought was \"That's fucking cool\".\n\nThe character models are another highlight, as they are incredibly detailed and faithful to the source material. Whether it's Iron Man's armour being sleek and metallic without lacking the intricate details you'd imagine a suit of that nature would require, the imposing presence of an older magneto who looks like he's experienced enough battles before, the game and characters are littered with fanservice... not to mention the other fanservice on offer too (looking at you, Venom, I can't ignore that cake). The animations in play enhance this even further, every movement, from basic actions like jumping to complex combat manoeuvres like being Spiderman perched on a wall and at a moment's notice fully committing to a web swing arc that launches you past the enemies before web-grappling into their face with a follow-up uppercut; each step in this process is animated so well that every move flows into the next. It really feels like you can lose yourself in the hero or villain you're playing, immersed in being them, performing all of the signature moves you (I know I) have always wanted to.\n\nElephant in the room, when talking about the basic actions you might have noticed that I didn't mention running... well, personally, it's too slow. Whether that be the animation itself, or the actual speed of traction, base movement feels like a little bit of a slog -- which is a little jarring considering most characters can propel to match ten with the press of a button. As I said, this is just personal preference though, I prefer the consistency in speed of everything else.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nThe voice acting is great -- while the writing may feel a little \"millennial\" for some, I enjoy it, weapons and abilities feel weighted by the sound they make, my one lasting wish surrounding the sound is that I would really appreciate an option to reduce the frequency of voice lines, the audio clutter can get a little overwhelming and there are only so many times I can listen to spiderman proclaim that he's about to get sticky, or that galactic knows the clock is ticking. I think that with this, the emphasis on some of the ultimate abilities and their queues could be more pronounced -- it does often feel like they are being drowned out by the sheer amount of commotion taking place; but this could just be from the bias of not having the audio cues ingrained into me... yet. Sure, you can reduce the volume of the voices, but that's a patch, not a fix, I want to hear it all still, just not this much.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nI personally have had a fairly seamless experience, playing on console (Xbox Series X) with a slight jitter here or there, but nothing to complain about, even with a ping sitting around 100ms (cannot seem to switch to a more local server) the latency is negligible; possibly complimented by how well the animations are executed, I didn't find myself blaming anything on \"lag\", misses felt correct and accuracy felt intentional.\n\nI've been writing this for longer than I imagine was necessary, so to finish, I'll say that in my opinion, Marvel Rivals is an exciting addition to the hero shooter genre, it excites me and has reinstalled my appreciation for the genre, I think it's that previously mentioned unfamiliarity with everything, the systems, the roster, the metas, how fights will play out that contribute towards the spark and enjoyment being found here, I do really hope that they are able to capture storms lightning in a bottle and continue to improve and grown this game, hopefully, without becoming stale like the predecessors that came before. I imagine similar feelings will ring true for others, for Marvel fans especially. While still in closed beta, it seems to be offering a promise of a very well crafted project that could potential stand up against the titan(s) of the genre that it will inevitably be pitted against.\n\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\n\nFor those of you, who haven't yet had a chance to try the game for yourself, I'm sorry, but if you have any questions, or care for the opinion of an average player, feel free to ask away!",
"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/marvelrivals/comments/1eb4346/marvel_rivals_the_opinions_of_a_first_time_player/"
},
"comments": [
{
"body": "Really great write up and insight, thank you!"
},
{
"body": "Very good and in-depth impression with the game!! I share the same opinion about the base speed being slow."
},
{
"body": "Great write up.\n\nPersonally this game added a bit of excitement to my boring 9 to 5. The voice acting is fantastic (Punisher asking if Mag was fast enough to stop his bullet only to be threatened that his gun trigger was already disabled. Play nice and he'll put your toy back together lmao).\n\nThe gameplay is fun. It's hard to describe the feel, but never once would I have imagine the day come where as Iron Man I'm flying to chase down a Spidey who was harassing my healer (Mantis). There are fights happening on the ground, just Marvel stuff a la Civil War (folks beating each other up), and you look up to see spidey swinging and Storm trading hits with Iron Man mid air. \n\nIt's your comic fantasy come to life.\n\nOnce optimized (and if they add my boy James Rhodes), this game is gonna do well."
},
{
"body": "I rly enjoyed reading that! Thank you!"
},
{
"body": "Ain't readin allat but I appreciate whatever you just said",
"replies": [
{
"body": "😂😂"
},
{
"body": "literally what i said lmaoo"
}
]
},
{
"body": "Spiderman is definitely OP in the right hands even tanks can get overwhelmed by him."
},
{
"body": "Not reading all that. Chatgpt summarized it.\n\n\n\n\n-The writer, a long-time Overwatch player, shares their impressions of Marvel Rivals during its closed beta. While initially skeptical due to their fatigue with the hero shooter genre, they find the game refreshing and fun. They praise its immersive Marvel fanservice, polished presentation, and diverse hero roster that includes both iconic and lesser-known characters, allowing for inclusive and varied gameplay experiences.\n\n\n-The game’s 6v6 format without role lock is seen as suitable for the beta phase, and the controls are generally well-designed, though base movement speed feels slow. The graphics, animations, and environments are highly detailed and faithful to the Marvel universe, with standout moments like playing on Asgard. While the sound design and voice acting are strong, frequent voice lines and audio clutter can be distracting.\n\n\n-The writer enjoys experimenting with different heroes and highlights the balanced gameplay that encourages learning. Overall, they believe Marvel Rivals revitalizes the hero shooter genre, offering promise and potential to compete with established titles, particularly appealing to Marvel fans. They hope the game avoids becoming stale and maintains its charm as it evolves.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Why are you responding to a 4 month old post, just to be rude?",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Oh I'm sorry bro. My feed shot this up to me. Didn't see the date/age. lmao thought this was fresh post. Thank the new reddit -_-",
"replies": [
{
"body": "How strange, oh well, nevermind"
}
]
}
]
}
]
},
{
"body": "Just got to play it and it sucks so bad it's laughable. Uninstalled after a few matches once I realized it was actually worse than overwatch. Got a good laugh at least.",
"replies": [
{
"body": "it seems most shit doesnt do damage half the time. My team isnt gonna pick support, so i will try but oh wait, everyone is dead all the time but the enemy team is inside of each other"
}
]
},
{
"body": "[removed]",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Let people be excited and express it in the way they want to. No need to be an ass just for the sake of it."
},
{
"body": "You could’ve just shut up and moved on. Instead, you chose to be disrespectful to someone who put in a hundred times more effort into their write up than you did in your comment."
},
{
"body": "If you removed this sentence \n> I ain't reading all that, get a job at Kotaku.\n\nI would have upvoted your comment because there are indeed a LOT of OW players who haven't even played Rivals yet and already dislike it with all their heart. \n\nBut you know what, I read all that and could relate to everything. Next time you ain't respecting a thing OP writes, simply don't comment.\n\nSaid actually nuffin, True Believers."
},
{
"body": "[removed]",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Thank you for posting to r/MarvelRivals, unfortunately your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):\n\n**Rule 1: Respect and Courtesy.**\n\nIf you have any questions about this removal, feel free to [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/MarvelRivals)."
}
]
},
{
"body": "This is a truly impressive level of insufferable"
},
{
"body": "[removed]",
"replies": [
{
"body": "Thank you for posting to r/MarvelRivals, unfortunately your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):\n\n**Rule 1: Respect and Courtesy.**\n\nIf you have any questions about this removal, feel free to [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/MarvelRivals)."
}
]
},
{
"body": "Thank you for posting to r/MarvelRivals, unfortunately your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):\n\n**Rule 1: Respect and Courtesy.**\n\nIf you have any questions about this removal, feel free to [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/MarvelRivals)."
},
{
"body": "You right tho"
}
]
}
]
}