(Credit: Dotemu)
As a kid who grew up surrounded by comic books and video games, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is seemingly tailor-made for me: a 2D brawler with a gorgeous, pixel-art style that almost appears ripped from the funny pages. I demoed the upcoming beat 'em up at the Summer Game Fest, and like the Skrulls that hide among the Marvel Universe's populace, Marvel Cosmic Invasion is much more than meets the eye.
What's Marvel Cosmic Invasion About?
At first glance, Marvel Cosmic Invasion feels like a callback to the Marvel beat 'em ups of yesteryear, like Captain America and The Avengers or Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage. However, in terms of feel, it's a spiritual successor to the excellent Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, thanks to developer Tribute Games, which worked on both titles.
(Credit: Dotemu)The demo included seven playable characters, including popular heroes (Wolverine) and deep cuts (Phyla-Vell). The game is based on the comics' Annihilator storyline, though it's interpreted far differently. Think of it as a What If…? scenario.
Gameplay: Assists, Swaps, and Combos
What differentiates Marvel Cosmic Invasion from other brawlers is the Cosmic Swap mechanic. When you start the game, you choose two characters to take into battle against alien forces. Although you only control one fighter at a time, pressing a button calls in another for a quick assist, Marvel Vs. Capcom style. Or, you can swap one for the other. Each character has a health bar, so it's in your best interest to juggle characters to keep both superheroes alive.
The combat is fast and flashy, so expect your screen to fill with special moves. Tribute Games sought to keep the game accessible to both side-scrolling enthusiasts and people who just want to button mash and see something cool happen. Each hero has a unique moveset that's fine-tuned to highlight their superpowers. For example, Storm relies on weather-based projectiles, while the brawl-focused Captain America is great for lengthy combos. The two recent character reveals, Rocket and She-Hulk, were not playable in my demo session.
(Credit: Dotemu)In true Tribute Games fashion, the sprite work is phenomenal. I loved how Venom scurried across the ground and the symbiote costume extended from his body, exposing Eddie Brock underneath. That attention to detail extends to the backgrounds, too. The demo featured varied locations, such as New York City and S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, and each was packed with references to other characters in the Marvel universe.
The final game will feature a campaign mode and an arcade mode. Although the campaign mode will suggest characters to play as during certain stages (a rep from publisher Dotemu stressed that it will make sense dramaturgically), you can go buck wild in arcade mode.
The demo was limited to two-person simultaneous play, but the final game will support four players, each with two characters apiece. There's no cross-platform action. On the upside, Marvel Cosmic Invasion will support local and online multiplayer, plus a combination of both. The difficulty automatically scales with the number of players, but you can manually adjust it.
Dotemu reps were tight-lipped on new game details, but they mentioned that there will be an experience system that'll let you level up characters.
Platforms and Release Date
Depending on who you ask, being a Marvel fan is a great or terrible thing. Although the company's cinematic universe struggles to get its act together, its recent video game offerings have never been more exciting—Marvel Cosmic Invasion included. Marvel Cosmic Invasion hits the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in Q4 2025.