Marvel’s Avengers has been pitched by Square Enix as a strange marriage between single-player/co-op action and live-service elements. How this will play out in the final product remains to be seen. There will certainly be microtransactions, but there won’t be any loot boxes (which is a good thing in this day and age). Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have confirmed there will be absolutely zero loot boxes in the game, but of course, this doesn’t mean there won’t be microtransactions … just that there won’t be any loot-box-specific microtransactions. So, we could see things like cosmetic skins, currency, or going so far as even a subscription like Final Fantasy XIV.
As everyone has noticed by now, loot boxes usually come packaged with “live-service” games pretty often these days — so it’s good to see Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics refraining from adding them to the game because, after all, they do make games a lot of money … if done properly the first time. That being said, with all the emerging legislation around loot boxes, perhaps it’s a wise call. You don’t want to structure your game’s economy around loot boxes and then have to take them out down the line, for that can lead to so many problems (like Battlefront II).
Regardless, from what people are saying about the gameplay that’s being shown behind closed doors, people seem to be pretty optimistic about what they’ve seen. This is how the characters will play, based on what they’ve said.
Thor sounds like he plays like Kratos in the latest God of War game with the Leviathan axe, but instead of the axe we have Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, which you can use to pin people against walls, do combos with, and perform lightning based abilities as well — like slamming it into the ground to cause lightning strikes.
Iron Man, from what I am hearing so far, is like a Javelin from Anthem … being able to fly around and start shooting at enemies as only Iron Man does. No word yet if his ground gameplay will be seamless with his air gameplay.
Hulk is what you expect him to be — a tank. He is able to perform his classic moves like his Thunder Clap and Hulk Smash, but is able to pick up smaller enemies and slam/throw them around (think of Hulk slamming Loki around in the first Avengers film).
Captain America is able to charge up his shield-throwing ability to make it rebound against the environment and enemies, as well as slam his fist against the shield to cause a sound blast to knock enemies back.
Black Widow plays like Batman in the Arkham games as well as use her pistols, batons, and can generate shockwaves with her fists.
Marvel’s Avengers, if no delays occur, will release on May 15, 2020 via the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia. At the moment of publishing, there’s been no word of a Nintendo Switch port, however, such a port hasn’t been ruled out yet.
For more news and information on the upcoming Avengers game, be sure to keep it right here with us at GamingLyfe!
