Latest NetEase game ‘rivals’ ‘Overwatch 2’ for gamers looking for action fix

“MAXIMUM PULSE!” The latest Marvel game release has gained quite a large amount of attention. Marvel Rivals is a 6v6, player-versus-player, free game that was released on December 4, 2024. It has quickly risen in popularity, with an all time high of over 600,000 players. Some see this game a bright new step forward in the third person shooter genre, but these claims might be mere hearsay.

Rivals is one of the many games developed by the China based company NetEase. NetEase has collaborated with the Marvel brand a few times before releasing Marvel Rivals, specifically with Marvel Super War and Marvel Duel. However, both of those adventures were created for mobile devices and relatively more niche compared to the heights of Marvel Rivals. So what changed? Marketing is the simple answer to that. Marvel Rivals is a similar game to Overwatch 2 or Valorant, so it had to put in quite a bit of effort to differentiate itself from the pack. 

Thankfully, it has the power of Marvel superheroes and a very open team on its side. The roster of Marvel characters allows many players to connect with their favorite heroes like Iron Man, Hulk, and Mantis, and they can also connect with some villains such as Hela, Magneto, and Jeff the Land Shark. The NetEase team was also able to draw a lot of attention to the game by specifying how every character would be unlocked and free to use right away, in contrast to its competitor, Overwatch 2.

One of the main draws of Marvel Rivals is the actual gameplay. Rivals is a third person shooter where teams of six face off against each other in head to head battles. The main modes featured in the game’s competitive and quick play are Convoy, Convergence, and Domination. Convoy is a mode where one team is assigned to aid some form of moving object to get to a specific point and if it reaches that point within the allotted time, that team wins, but if it does not, the other team wins. Convergence is similar to Convoy, the only difference being that the team must first capture a point before being able to escort the object to its specific location. Finally, Domination is the mode where two teams are set to fight it out to capture a single point, and it is the first team to win two of those rounds in order to win the match. 

Yet, when it comes to setting up these teams, how does one decide who to play? The developers thought of that, and decided to split the roster into three distinct classes, those being Vanguards, Duelists, and Strategists. Vanguards are the tanky members of the team, featuring characters like Venom, Captain America, Groot, and many others. The Vanguards’ main difference between the two other classes is the fact that they tend to have more health and the purpose of contesting objectives because of that aforementioned extra amount of health. Duelists are the characters that tend to do most of the damage within the team, currently featuring Punisher, Moon Knight, Wolverine, and about 16 others. Duelists will be the heroes that get in more duels, which has made them the favorite class to be played by many Marvel Rivals players. Finally, the Strategists are the supportive members of the team who help keep the rest of the team alive, with some of those heroes being Adam Warlock, Luna Snow, Jeff the Land Shark, and a few others. Strategists will often be the players who are ensuring the rest of their team can survive the fights that they are getting in. 

However, embracing the entirety of Marvel Rivals shows that everything isn’t as perfect as it may appear. Many people within the community continue to dispute the power that some characters have over the entire game, such as the character of Luna Snow. Luna Snow is a character that has an ultimate move that creates a healing field around her that immediately heals everyone to full health, and heals at such a fast rate that it is impossible to kill anyone within that field, except for using another ultimate move such as Iron Man’s ultimate, for 12 seconds. However, this issue with Luna Snow has helped unveil the larger issue at hand that many players have with Marvel Rivals, that being the sheer strength of Strategists within the game. The healing output of many characters in the game offers an explanation for why many team lineups have been shifting to three Strategists, one Vanguard, and two Duelists, because with three Strategists it becomes nearly impossible to kill anyone on that team if they are playing well. 

Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that the game hasn’t been addressing any of these concerns. As the first season began for Marvel Rivals, the team at NetEase has been adjusting characters' abilities to make the game a more balanced and fun experience for everyone. Another facet that has come along with the first season is the introduction of the Fantastic Four as characters in the game, with Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman being the first two to join, and the Human Torch and the Thing set to join later.  

Ultimately, Marvel Rivals appears to be doing everything in its power to become a new mainstay in the gaming scene, with it even ‘rivaling’ Overwatch 2 as the new 6v6 game on the block. Yet, only time will tell how far Marvel Rivals will go, but if one were to base it on the current state of the game, it could go on for quite some time.

Grade: B+

Despite some of the faults of Marvel Rivals, nothing can beat shooting a nuke at a shark.

by Jacob Stinski

Published February 3rd, 2025

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue IV