I have over 1000 hours in Overwatch, but only about a dozen hours in Marvel Rivals, the megalithic comic makers’ attempt to cash in on Blizzard’s once-winning formula. In all the matches I’ve played in the game’s beta as the Guardians of the Galaxy leader Star-Lord alongside other heroes and villains in the Marvel universe, I find myself using Overwatch’s terminology. Escort matches are “payloads,” Star-Lord’s “Blaster Barrage” ability is a “Reaper Ult” because both have dual-wielding gunners dancing in gunfire and shooting enemies within a small radius. As new players have joined, my friends and I have relied on Overwatch comparisons as shorthand for how different heroes work. Marvel Rivals is pretty unapologetic in inviting those comparisons, but I can’t help but wonder what NetEase’s take on the genre has to offer players if I can’t boot it up without thinking of a different game. Maybe it’s that it doesn’t have ten years of drama and fan in-fighting to shape it yet.
Marvel Rivals is unapologetic in how much it clearly draws from Overwatch. It has the same objective structures of escorting carts across a map or capturing points, and every hero feels like their kits were made with a handful of Overwatch characters in mind. Star-Lord blends Tracer’s hornet-like hit-and-run style with Soldier: 76’s aimbot ultimate. Rocket Raccoon mixes Baptiste’s healing and damage alternating weapons with an old Orisa ult that powers up every teammate within range of a device he sets down in the middle of a battlefield. Adam Warlock harkens back to Mercy’s original team-reviving resurrection.
For some, Marvel Rivals probably embodies the best parts of Overwatch, a lot of which have been patched out and tweaked in the game’s eight-year history. It hasn’t yet been sanded down to prioritize competitive play and headshots, or endlessly reworked and readjusted to avoid annoying metas. Right now, it feels like a chaotic frenzy of high-impact abilities, some incredible teamplay potential, and really endearing, off-the-wall decisions like including Jeff the Land Shark. It doesn’t feel quite as polished as its direct competitor, but maybe that’s what those who are tired of Blizzard’s botched approach might need right now.
Overwatch hasn’t lived up to its promise since it was originally revealed 10 years ago, and that has only grown more apparent since the launch of Overwatch 2 in 2022. The sequel has shaved off nearly everything that made it a new game, from gutting the big PvE suite and reportedly canceling the promised story mode. Now, Blizzard is flailing, trying to sort through the game’s identity crisis. It’s kinda refreshing that Marvel Rivals is unrefined but not weighed down by all that baggage.
As players devour Marvel Rivals, start tier-listing heroes, and decide upon a meta, the stakes for every patch note will grow. If Marvel Rivals lasts as long as Overwatch, parts of it will probably be as unrecognizable in a few years. Right now, it’s a fast-paced, Marvel multiversified version of a game that hasn’t yet lost its way. Whether or not NetEase learns from its inspiration’s mistakes remains to be seen. I’m too much of an Overwatch 2 sicko to jump ship, but I can see how Marvel Rivals might appeal to someone who hasn’t pushed a payload in a few years. Hopefully, some competition is enough to get Blizzard to examine its own failings. Perhaps, one day, Marvel Rivals will teach Overwatch a thing or two.
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