Dotemu and Tribute Games previously struck beat ’em up gold with the excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, and now the publisher and developer are set to do it again with Marvel Cosmic Invasion. After its debut at a Nintendo Direct presentation earlier this year, Tribute Games and Dotemu have steadily revealed information regarding what players can expect from Marvel Cosmic Invasion, leading up to the title’s playable debut at this year’s SDCC. Not only is Marvel Cosmic Invasion a worthy follow-up to Tribute Games’ work on Shredder’s Revenge, it sets a new bar for any future beat ’em up games to clear.
Coinciding with the game’s public demo at SDCC, Game Rant had the chance to go hands-on with Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and we walked away with the impression that it was ticking all the right boxes for its genre. Like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, Marvel Cosmic Invasion nails its difficulty balance and fun factor, and its large roster of playable characters is varied enough that no two playthroughs should ever feel the same. Before it even has an official release date beyond a vague “2025”, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is already one of the year’s most exciting upcoming releases for fans of old-school beat ’em ups.
The sheer number of iconic characters in the Marvel universe makes it fertile ground from which to pull plenty of cool playable heroes and villains, which is something that Capcom understood when making the Marvel vs. Capcom games. After all, why limit players to just one character when they could just as easily select two — or, in the case of Marvel vs. Capcom 2, three — and then swap between them. To my surprise, it’s a tradition that Marvel Cosmic Invasion wisely carries forward, giving players a massive roster of characters to choose from and letting each player select not just one, but two heroes to smash up Annihilus’ army.
The full version of Marvel Cosmic Invasion will end up having a total of 15 playable characters when it releases, 9 of which were accessible in the preview build. Like in Capcom‘s legendary tag-team fighting series, Marvel Cosmic Invasion incentivizes players to choose wisely when selecting their two-character roster, rewarding players who pick heroes whose playstyles complement one another. Those choices are streamlined thanks to a series of helpful icons on the character select screen, giving out valuable info regarding which characters can fly, have projectile attacks, or are heavy-hitters.
We tried every character available in Marvel Cosmic Invasion‘s preview build, but ultimately settled on completing the two levels it contains twice with two different match-ups for each run. First up were Captain America and Venom, the former being one of the best all-around fighters in the game and having his iconic shield throw ready to take care of ranged threats, while the latter was a slower, heavier-hitting brute who was capable of grabbing and tossing enemies as if they were ragdolls.
For the second playthrough of the entire preview build, we once again opted for an optimized pairing, choosing Wolverine and Spider-Man. Spider-Man is fast, can easily close distance with his web swing, and even has a ranged web attack that can slow enemies once it accumulates. And somehow, Tribute Games was able to craft what can only be described as one of the absolute best approximations of a playable Wolverine of any beat ’em up to ever feature the character. To say he borders on almost being broken is both an understatement and appropriate, given the character’s canonical power level and importance to the Marvel universe.
Tribute Games Has Once Again Struck a Great Difficulty Balance in Marvel Cosmic Invasion
On the spectrum between accessibility and challenge, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge opted for simplicity and fun over technical depth, which felt totally in line with the rest of the long legacy of beat ’em ups featuring those characters. The same can be said for Marvel Cosmic Invasion, which definitively keeps things light in comparison to more technically demanding beat ’em up games like Streets of Rage 4 or Fight N’ Rage. While each character feels different and has unique abilities that distinguish one from the next, they each operate using the same general control scheme and basic combos that mix up light and heavy attacks.
That simplicity is arguably perfect for a game featuring Marvel characters, as it’s hard to think of an IP with more mass appeal that might bring newcomers into the genre (or perhaps welcome back longtime beat ’em up fans). Those looking for complexity or an apex challenge along the lines of Streets of Rage 4 on the highest difficulties might find Marvel Cosmic Invasion to be almost too simplistic. But for anyone who played through Shredder’s Revenge and found it to be an enjoyable ride reminiscent of the genre’s heyday in the 16-bit era, you’ll be pleased to know that Marvel Cosmic Invasion once again strikes an almost perfect balance with its challenge and fun factor.
Cosmic Invasion Keeps the Beat ’em Up Renaissance Going
Despite once feeling like a relic of gaming’s coin-op past, the beat ’em up genre has been punching its way back from the brink for nearly a decade now. Things fittingly kicked off with a revival of the Kunio Kun games courtesy of River City Girls — itself seemingly inspired by the success of the very River City Ransom-like Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game — which then paved the way for Streets of Rage 4, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, and a slew of other like-minded retro throwbacks to the glory days of the side-scrolling beat ’em up. With Marvel Cosmic Invasion, it feels like a full-circle moment for the genre as players get a brand-new 2D Marvel beat ’em up in the post-MCU world — the first since Capcom’s Marvel Super Heroes in War of the Gems from 1996.
And Cosmic Invasion is far from the only beat ’em up that was announced this year, with a surprise follow-up to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game coming out of left field at a time when the spotlight is firmly on the genre. Marvel Cosmic Invasion is arguably perfectly timed with the genre’s ongoing renaissance, and its ability to balance the fundamentals of a great beat ’em up experience with the large roster and swappable heroes makes it one of the most exciting new titles out of the current and upcoming crop of side-scrolling beat ’em ups.
MARVEL Cosmic Invasion
- Released
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2025
- Developer(s)
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Tribute Games Inc.
- Multiplayer
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Local Co-Op, Online Co-Op
- Franchise
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Marvel
- Number of Players
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1-4 players
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Unknown
Marvel Cosmic Invasion is currently in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Game Rant was provided a PC code for this preview.
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