Marvel Rivals taking a page out The Finals playbook to stand out

Marvel Rivals may have brought the capes, but standing out as a chaotic hero-shooter game can be a tricky task. Given how many popular titles fall under the "tactical shooter" category, including the likes of Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege, Apex Legends, and Overwatch 2, it can be difficult for a newcomer to find a place and retain players.

However, since Marvel Rivals is a 6v6 hero-shooter, its direct competitor is Overwatch 2, or rather the original Overwatch title. Thus, NetEase has taken a page out of The Finals' book, by allowing certain structures to be "destroyed".

Let's dive deeper and take a look at this fresh take on the superhero brawls, something that might potentially be the next big thing in this crowded genre.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions.

Marvel Rivals to have a unique mechanic for strategic showdowns

Allowing the destruction of structures and buildings is a known concept, and many games employ this mechanic to add a layer of strategic depth. Notably, games like The Finals and Battlefield have a system where structures can be destroyed with weapons. In Rainbow Six Siege, certain walls can also be destroyed, fully or partially, to create unique angles and opportunities.

Before the start of the Marvel Rivals closed alpha, Community Manager James mentioned in the official Discord channels of the game:

"We want to be able to tear down buildings and structures with our awesome superpowers, but because this is a team-based PvP shooter, we needed those blocks to exist for strategic showdowns."

The new mechanic that Marvel Rivals has been working on is termed "Thematic Environmental Destruction", a feature that sounds both interesting and futuristic, at least from what the Discord message reveals. James further revealed on Discord:

"In the realm of Yggsgard, the destroyed buildings will gradually restore themselves after a short period, thanks to King Loki's determination to keep his golden kingdom looking regal. And over in the futuristic world of Tokyo 2099, we're building up some spider-bot shenanigans."

There is no simple way to explain this mechanic, but it seems that each map will have its distinct version of how the system would work, based on the map's lore according to the actual Marvel Multiverse.

According to the message, King Loki's world, Yggsgard (Yggdrasil + Asgard is my obvious guess) will have a system where the destroyed structures would gradually be restored over time. Similarly, the Spider-verse world of Tokyo 2099 will likely feature certain "spider-bot shenanigans", probably in the form of a security measure. James also mentioned:

"One interesting design we’d like to share is our ongoing consideration of how our environmental destruction differs from that of other games and how we can make it cooler and more Marvel."

What's more interesting is that there will be a stark difference in destructible structures as well. While some can provide unique "pathways", there will also be structures that will serve as blockades and strategic covers and cannot be touched even with the superpowers of each Marvel Hero.

Final thoughts

The developers behind Marvel Rivals understand that visuals aren't enough to compete and remain a player in this genre. The Unreal Engine 5's Chaos destruction system and Lumen's lighting tech are being used to create effects that are not both stunning and strategically impactful.

This focus on synchronized destruction sets Marvel Rivals apart from destruction-heavy games like Battlefield and The Finals. Essentially, the game world in Rivals is set to be an environment that is constantly evolving throughout the match, offering a new layer of dynamic gameplay.

On paper, this does sound like an extremely interesting take, and if done properly, it has the potential to be the next big thing in the hero-shooter genre. However, with the playtest contract preventing players from providing negative criticism, an authentic review might take a while to make its way to the masses. Only time will tell how this feature turns out, and how the ever-critical gaming community takes to it.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

Quick Links

More from Sportskeeda