Marvel Rivals Is Exactly What Overwatch 2 Should've Been

Summary Marvel Rivals has the potential to dominate the hero shooter genre with a vast character roster & unique gameplay.

Marvel Rivals outshines Overwatch 2 with vibrant character designs, interactive maps, & team dynamics.

Marvel Rivals promises an exciting future with an expanding roster of Marvel characters, offering more intrigue than Overwatch 2.

With the Marvel Rivals playtest nearing its end, it is clear that NetEase Games have a gem on its hands that could take the hero shooter genre by storm. The title has many of the famous faces from the Marvel universe, with expressive designs and gameplay that seem to be orientated around frantic fun. There are more characters to come, too, and the roster seems like it could be eternally expanded with how vast the library of iconic characters is in the Marvel Universe.

With the money, recognizability of its characters, and the power of the mighty mouse behind it, Marvel Rivals could be the game that threatens Overwatch's reign over the hero shooter genre, especially with the disappointment that is its sequel. Overwatch 2's lack of innovation and changes only serves to make Marvel Rivals more exciting in comparison, especially with how fun and promising the playtest has been. With more characters expected for launch, Rivals could be everything that Overwatch 2 was meant to be.

Related Overwatch 2 Season 10: Release Date, New Hero, & Battle Pass Info Overwatch 2 Season 10 introduces new monetization changes, a creative Mirrorverse theme, along with the game's first new DPS Hero since launch.

Marvel Rivals Show Blizzard What Overwatch 2 Should Have Been

A Sequel In Nothing But Name

Close

Overwatch brought the hero shooter to the mainstream after its release in 2016, winning the Game of the Year award that year. It went strong for a couple of years before seeing a steady decline with the less inventive heroes, balancing issues that led to Role Queue, and a lack of fun PvE content. Then, Blizzard announced Overwatch 2, hoping to revitalize its hero shooter with a sequel, changing the format to five against five and promising a PvE campaign that many hoped for in the predecessor.

Overwatch also won awards in 2016 for the best Esports, Multiplayer, and studio game direction at the 2016 Game Awards.

Unfortunately, the PvE campaign never came, and the five verses five changes weren't quite as substantial as was hoped for, with Blizzard considering bringing Overwatch 2 back to the six-against-six format of its predecessor. With the lack of graphical upgrades and new heroes that would have been added anyway, it seems like Overwatch 2 isn't much of a sequel, lacking in innovation from both a visual and gameplay perspective outside some decent reworks.

Related Every Character Confirmed For Marvel Rivals (So Far) Marvel Rivals features some of Marvel's most popular characters from the Avengers, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more!

Back in 2016, Overwatch was innovative and very expressive with its animations and visual design, but a lack of substantial changes since then has made the game feel a little stale. It still looks good eight years on, but it pales in comparison to how expressive Marvel Rivals is. Everything from its character designs to its UI looks like it came straight out of a comic book, and the exceptional animations, which Overwatch still excels at, all help to bring it all together.

Marvel Rivals Gameplay Is An Evolution In Hero Shooters

Shows What Overwatch 2 Could Have Done

Custom Image by Katarina Cimbaljevic

With a lack of Role Queue and all three classes being fun to play (at least according to most), Marvel Rivals evokes the same feeling that Overwatch did back in 2016, and the changes really shine. Although in need of some balancing, the Team Up abilities are great fun, especially with how Jeff and Rocket can hop on Groot's shoulders. Some abilities like Magneto's buffed melee attacks with Scarlet Witch are overtuned, but it does add more to the character dynamics and adds depth to the game.

Team up abilities are usually activated with a key (C on PC), but some are passive, and it is worth reading up on them when choosing a character,

Destructible environments, especially bridges, make the game's maps feel more involved and give players more options to outmaneuver their opponents. Although not vital to gameplay, being able to interact with NPC in the spawn rooms to understand the map's objective is a nice touch, especially since the maps are tied into the Marvel universe. There is a lack of map variety in the playtest, but this is likely to change at launch.

Related I'm Glad Marvel Rivals Is Shining A Spotlight On This Classic Villain Marvel Rivals has revealed a new cinematic trailer at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, with its first proper look at Doctor Doom.

Marvel Rivals Has An Extensive Universe To Call Upon

But The World Of Overwatch Has Far Less Interest

One of the distinct advantages Marvel Rivals has over practically any game is that players will always be interested in what new heroes or villains will be added. With the title's expressive character designs, it will be intriguing to see NetEase take on popular Marvel characters. Even the skins could be exciting, especially since some have been and will be taken straight from certain comics. Overwatch 2 lacks this intrigue since Blizzard needs to actively endear its audience to every hero it announces.

If Marvel Rivals ends up adding PvE modes, too, it will have everything that Overwatch 2 had promised its players. It is vibrant, with brilliant character designs, and team-ups to keep the dynamics of teams interesting while helping players choose who they want to play. Every role is fun, the game is brilliantly expressive, feeling like a step up from Overwatch 2, and its future is exciting with so many characters still to add from the Marvel Universe.