‘MultiVersus’ Review
Another competitor in the arcade-style fighting genre stepped into the ring this week. One of the most anticipated releases of 2022, MultiVersus, gives us a new take on mainstream pop culture figures beating each other to a pulp. Developed by Player First Games and published by Warner Brothers (WB), MultiVersus is a free-to-play crossover fighting game that provides players plenty of fun. However, the game is certainly not without its downfalls. Regardless, WB has already accomplished quite a lot with MultiVersus being their largest launch for any WB game on Steam, as well as reportedly having over 10 million players in their open beta.
Gameplay
MultiVersus, like Super Smash Brothers, is a platform fighter in which players attempt to knock their opponents out of the defined boundary of the arena. There are currently a few different game modes to participate in. Although most of the game is played in their 2v2 format, there are also 1v1, free-for-all, and “practice” options for players as well.
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MultiVersus currently has 19 playable characters on their roster. I say currently because along with their Season One rollout, WB has also announced that Black Adam, as well as Stripe (from the Gremlins franchise), will be joining the roster. This announcement comes just a few days after they confirmed Rick and Morty will be arriving, some sources indicate as soon as August 23rd.
Each character has a class designating them from each other: Assassin, Bruiser, Mage/Ranged, Support, or Tank. Each class behaves a little differently from the other. For example, a Tank can take more hits while a Bruiser has a higher attack output. Additionally, each character has a category describing what direction their skill set is best utilized, either Horizontal, Vertical, or Hybrid.
Every character has an array of abilities, some that differ from others, others that do not. For example, every player has a basic attack and special attack with the possibility of using them in different directions. However, where Wonder Woman’s special ability is using the “Lasso of Truth” to rope in an opponent for a strike with her sword, Batman can utilize his grappling hook to either get back onto the platform or attach directly to an opponent for a subsequent attack.
The attention to detail in some of these abilities is to be commended. Some are fairly obvious, like Superman’s frost breath, but others are more inconspicuous. For example, Arya Stark possesses the ability to “steal a face,” where she changes form to look like her now “faceless” victim to confuse the other players. This clearly confused me just as much as my opponent. It is also worth mentioning that I audibly laughed out loud when LeBron complained about a foul during one of my matches. *chefs kiss*
Graphics
MultiVersus looks and plays exceptionally well. There is certainly a cartoonish inspiration to the character designs, but not so much so that they look silly or feel like unauthentic representations of the characters. Additionally, for a beta that had millions of players over the estimated amount, I personally never had connectivity, matchmaking, glitching, or bug issues that made the game difficult or annoying. As the first of its kind from WB, MultiVersus is the shiny and polished version that players deserve to have right out of the gate.
Pros And Cons
The biggest pro that MultiVersus has is the roster of characters available to players. The game is less than a week into its first season, and we already have four additional characters confirmed to join its already respectable roster. There is no doubt in my mind that this selection will grow exponentially larger in the coming months. In addition to the characters, another huge win for this game is the voice acting WB decided to incorporate. Although it is not a huge part of the game, it is delightful to hear Kevin Conroy’s voice as Batman when he tells me he doesn’t have his Batarang after my 27th consecutive attempt. This is a minute detail in the grand scheme of things, but it elevates the experience that I have with the game ten-fold.
My biggest issue with this game thus far is the lack of game modes that we have access to. Admittedly this may be an unfair criticism considering this game is less than a week into its first of hopefully many seasons. However, this does allow the game to become stale quicker than it should be. The addition of different game modes as well as customizable options is inevitable as the seasons progress. I look forward to those improvements as they will allow me to play without reaching mundanity so quickly.
Any platform fighting game will, justified or not, naturally draw comparisons to Super Smash Brothers. A bone I must pick with MultiVersus that I do not have with Super Smash relates to the concept of knocking players out. With MultiVersus, if you find yourself knocked across the screen but still within the boundaries of the arena, there is little to no difficulty in getting back to the platform. I would see it as an improvement if these arenas were made bigger to present the player with more of a challenge in getting back to the platform. This flaw is highlighted by Batman’s grappling hook ability. If hooked onto another player, it is entirely possible to fly from one end of the arena to another in the blink of an eye.
Verdict
Overall, I find MultiVersus to be a very enjoyable experience. The different characters that we currently have access to, as well as ones that we will see in the future, elevates its replayability. However, there need to be improvements made to prevent play from getting stale so quickly. Nevertheless, MultiVersus is a fun experience to have with friends or as an option for a casual gamer at the end of the day.
MultiVersus is currently free to play on PS4/5, Xbox One/S/X, and PC.
Rating: 7.5/10
Developer: Player First Games; Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment; Players: 1-4; Released: August 15, 2022; ESRB: T for Fantasy Violence, Language; MSRP: Free-to-Play
Review played on PS5
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