Highlights

  • Marvel's Midnight Suns received critical praise but remains overlooked due to commercial expectations.
  • The game features 16 playable Marvel characters with unique movesets true to their comic book origins.
  • Marvel Rivals, a hero shooter game, is following Midnight Suns' model with character spotlight trailers for fans.
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Back in December 2022, Marvel fans received one of the most critically-acclaimed video games in the company's long history, but it's a title that's still overlooked today. Developed by XCOM and Civilization studio Firaxis, Marvel's Midnight Suns received a wealth of critical praise upon its launch in 2022, but it failed to meet publisher 2K's commercial expectations and remains a game that so many fans have yet to play, likely due to its turn-based, deck-building strategy gameplay.

But few games have managed to portray the Marvel universe quite like Marvel's Midnight Suns, which brings together an impressive total of 16 playable Marvel heroes and villains, each with their own distinct moveset that perfectly captures the essence of the character's comic book appearances. Characterization was an integral part of Marvel's Midnight Suns, and thankfully, it seems like the upcoming Marvel Rivals is also leaning into that strength.

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Marvel Rivals Is Borrowing Midnight Suns' Character Trailers

Midnight Suns' Character Spotlight Trailers Were Short But Sweet

Beginning in July 2022, Marvel's Midnight Suns released one short trailer every week, almost right up until its release in December. Called "Character Spotlights," these extremely short 30-45-second trailers were designed to introduce both veteran fans and newcomers alike to the game's unique roster of titular Midnight Suns, a team that's changed faces multiple times since its debut in 1990.

Each Marvel's Midnight Suns Character Spotlight trailer contained a handful of gameplay snippets, each one giving fans a pretty good look at this universe's version of iconic characters like Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Doctor Strange. These gameplay snippets also revealed a bit more about how each character would play in Midnight Suns, giving brief teases of in-game attacks and special abilities. Each of these trailers was also injected with a few voicelines from the game, cementing the type of characterization that players could expect in the final product. Not only did these trailers serve as a way to keep fans excited in the lead-up to Midnight Suns' release, but they also served as a short and sweet introduction to some lesser-known Marvel characters like Nico and Magik.

Marvel Rivals Is The Perfect Game for Character Trailers

Announced just over a month ago, Marvel Rivals is an upcoming 6v6 hero shooter that seems to play very similarly to games like Overwatch, but rather than play as a range of original characters, Marvel Rivals will see players take control of a plethora of iconic Marvel heroes and villains, each with a unique form of attack, special moves, and an ultimate ability. With almost 20 playable characters already confirmed for Marvel Rivals, there's no better way to spotlight each one than with some Midnight Suns-like trailers, and that seems to be exactly what the game is doing.

Just a few weeks ago, Marvel Rivals released a short 40-second trailer highlighting Loki and his unique moveset. Just like Midnight Suns' Character Spotlights, this Marvel Rivals trailer gave fans a good overview of the character's gameplay and characterization, with a few voicelines being played over the top of the gameplay footage. At this time, Marvel Rivals has also just released a short 45-second trailer focusing on Hela, which would seem to imply that it's going to continue to release these spotlights right up until release, which is a great way to introduce fans to these specific iterations of such beloved characters.