MARVEL Cosmic Invasion hands-on preview — Ready to assemble

Arcade stylings and comic books are the perfect combination. Maybe it’s because they’re from the same era, or maybe it’s because of the retro feel both have. Could be the way both display vivid color. At any rate, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is the right blend of both, and at Summer Game Fest, I had a blast taking on the Annihilation Wave at the Dotemu booth.

Although my time with the demo was quite brief, there’s a lot to like about this game. Made by Tribute Games, the same team behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, the DNA shared is apparent. This beat-em-up takes you back to a simpler time, running around the screen with a couple of friends eliminating the many enemy sprites before the scene shifts you to the next area.

As obvious as it sounds, the biggest difference here is the setting, along with a fun twist. Up to four players can enjoy MARVEL Cosmic Invasion, with a roster taking on something we’re only just getting to in the MCU: Space. The Annihilus story is one of my favorite comic runs in MARVEL history, cementing my love for Richard Rider’s Nova. I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say bugs get zapped. Tribute Games tapping into this popular comic run is an inspired choice with tons of material to draw from.

The twist MARVEL Cosmic Invasion brings with it is the ability to choose two heroes, bringing up to eight into your current playthrough. One sits in the wings, waiting to be tagged in at a button press. Where I had the most fun was the additional attacks this adds, with the secondary character able to pop in and deal some extra damage for you. This reminds me a lot of MARVEL vs. Capcom’s tag team style combos, and it’s a nice touch that adds extra oomph. My only qualm with this design is being able to pick the same heroes; when you have multiple Captain America’s on-screen, it’s easy to get lost in who you’re controlling.

With the abundance of heroes able to be selected, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion has already assembled a pretty great roster so far. Fifteen total are coming at launch, and so far we already know the first eight. My favorite to use was Venom, who has a broad range of attacks beyond being an absolute tank. Watching the animations as he turns into a giant mouth in one attack, teeth brandished as he tears through waves of insectoid invaders is awesome, along with a grapple move with his webbing that just seems unfair. Eddie is great to use versus the flying foes as well, making him an easy first choice. Nova is also similarly powerful, although with a more classic beat-em-up style to go with being able to fly/hover. While this genre of game can suffer a bit from repetitive gameplay, the team seems to be pressing hard to make each hero have their own style, even if some attacks feel familiar.

MARVEL Cosmic Invasion is going to get attention on style points alone. It’s graphically stunning, managing to be a fantastic retro callback along with vibrant colors that pop. Combining that with the responsive controls, and you’ve got what most likely will be Tribute Game’s best game yet. That’s not even taking into account the insanely great soundtrack; you might get up and join the Avengers yourself after hearing it.

While I didn’t get to spend much time with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes + more, I can’t wait to dive into the full game. If you love Shredder’s Revenge, or just enjoy a good beat-em-up, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion looks to be an exemplary entry in the genre. If you’re just a MARVEL fan, this is a fantastic presentation of some of your favorite characters. I just need Tribute Games to nail down a date already, I’m ready to assemble. MARVEL Cosmic Invasion releases sometime in 2025, and will launch on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox and PC (you can wishlist the game here).