Marvel’s Avengers might seem odd when you compare them to recent superhero games that have defined genres like Marvel’s Spider-Man and Batman’s Arkham series. In comparison, this game does not feel as innovative and impressive yet the more I played this game, the more I wanted to invest myself in it.
From the surface, it just looks like Marvel superheroes coming together and fighting off against their adversaries but there’s more to it. There are lies, deceit, heartbreak, sacrifices, and more that the characters portray helping you to dive deep into the lore of the game.
In this Marvel’s Avengers PS4 Review, we’ll discuss everything that works and things that do not work in the game.
Story
Marvel’s Avengers had a huge story catalog from which they could pick up the main storyline of the game. While there were a lot of comparisons that could come up if this game mirrored the plot of the film, the developers at Square Enix created a new storyline that starts off with a bang. You have to trace your steps back to reunite all of the characters and make them fight for the same goal. All of this is entrusted in the rather flexible hands of Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel.
This can be interpreted in many ways but for me having Kamala in the lead bringing back the Avengers also helped to understand the scale of the things which are at stake. Marvel’s Avengers starts off at A Day, which is shortened for Avengers Day which quickly goes awry as the heroes are easily overwhelmed by enemies. Plus, there’s Terrigen, a new power source that gets leaked into the atmosphere changing a lot of people by giving them superpowers.
Kamala Khan is one such human being that gets turned after inhaling the Terrigen mist and gets powers similar to Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic 4. One sad little thing to note is that while a lot of people have been affected by the Terrigen gas, not enough emphasis has been placed on them which seemed odd, like why would you ignore hundreds or even thousands of people who have been infected who form a part of your first act with just an introduction, I mean who does that?
While the Avengers get blamed for everything they quickly disband and go off on their own ways. The Government and AIM Robotics take over to ensure the safety of everyone else. This is where the game gets its core narrative. AIM starts off its propaganda where it terms all the new mutants as Inhumans and then tries to turn them back to normal by forcefully treating them to inhaling Terrigen X. In all of this, Kamala Khan learns the truth behind A Day event after going on a Reddit-like website and is soon chased by AIM robots accompanied by George Tarleton and Monica.
Gameplay
During the gameplay, it is pretty evident that this game is developed by Square Enix as you will see and find a ton of game mechanics that have been in their games in the past. Sadly, though, there’s no glimpse of the future as the game fails to show what new it could bring to the superhero genre by sticking to what works best and delivering it to their abilities.
In no way is Marvel’s Avengers a bad game or even ordinary – the storyline is amazing but you will often find your heroes with limited abilities. The worst of it is felt by Iron Man who is an arsenal of weapons himself. Other than him, the most fun character to play were definitely Kamala and Hulk.
You can go crazy with these two characters whereas Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America seem quite underpowered with their beefier bodies not really amounting for much damage. There is still a huge nuisance of your character failing to make a jump if you’re even slightly off course. Heck, even grabbing the zip line can be a bit obstructive but it is the action and chaos that will make you stick to this game. It can often feel like having a Quinjet and flying at airliner speeds.
Graphics
Graphics are still the current generation and this is an element that is a bit of a letdown. The game looks a bit dull on the PS4. Recent games like Ghost of Tsushima or even The Last of Us 2 show how you could still manage to churn out great graphics with enthralling gameplay.
It does not look shoddy, but Marvel’s Avengers is a brand synonymous with breathtaking visuals and mind-bending thoughts that do not quite translate into the game. We’ve always been mesmerized even when Marvel was restricted to just comic books but in this particular game, the magic is absent. Instead, you’re made to farm for objects that build up your armors and other things.
Music
Music isn’t something that stands out in Marvel’s Avengers. It does its job when needed but nothing stood out that could be remembered for generations. While saying this, like most videogames there’s a different piece of music for every situation which helps to convey the emotions of the scene perfectly. It isn’t eargasm worthy but still good enough to get the job done.
Combat is disappointing – no one wants to play as an Avenger with limited move sets but this is what you’re left with. You get one Ultimate Attack and two alternate ones which are good but it feels like playing a superhero game without superhero powers, in short. Melee attacks are the worst and no matter which character you’re playing as this will often be one of the worst aspects of your playtime.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Marvel’s Avengers had a lot of expectations riding on it, and while it did manage to meet most of those spot-on with the story, narrative arcs, and environmental details, it did not meet a few of the major ones. The replayability of the game will be questioned in the days coming ahead as there is a huge post-game road map delivered, bringing in new characters and missions but it isn’t something that I would lose sleep over it.
Marvel’s Avengers is perfectly suited to bring in a friend and play online multiplayer to spend the weekend discovering all the Avengers Easter eggs and other cool things that have been nicely hidden for players to find. Other than that, the singleplayer mission can get monotonous but with different characters, it cleverly hides that by giving you different powers that basically work the same.
The game is fun for those who are worthy enough to dig deep into the game, it has been crafted keeping the die-hard Marvel fans insight but sometimes it feels like it ignores everyone else. Marvel’s Avengers could have been a great game, maybe it still can but might need adjustments to do so.
