For a few over the weekend (7/8-9/08), the beta of the upcoming Marvel’s Avengers game , developed by Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal studios, and published by Square Enix, was available. What did we learn from the options available to us, and what shape is this title likely to take? Here are our impressions!
Although the premiere of Marvel’s Avengerswas announced on 04/09/2020, last weekend a limited group of players was given the opportunity to enter early and try their hand at its beta version. The entry codes could be obtained by pre-ordering the game for the PS4 console. The entire procedure looked reasonably well planned – a key was received along with the order bill, which had to be entered in the appropriate place on your Square Enix account. As a result of this procedure, the correct code to be used on the console was to be generated and sent by e-mail. Unfortunately, despite following the instructions, many players did not receive it. I also belonged to this elite group; In search of a solution, I found a live chat of players on the manufacturer’s website, where fans advised themselves what to do in such a situation.
To be the Avengers
The game kicks off on Avengers Day, when not everything goes as it should. To try to prevent a catastrophe, we play the role of successive heroes, thus getting the opportunity to test their initial skills. And so, from the Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and Black Widow set, I liked the Nordic god the most (mainly due to his spectacular attacks), and the least of the Hulk (due to the mass and the resulting limited maneuverability). In addition to the aforementioned good characters, we also have the opportunity to see the next installment of Taskmaster, which you may associate with Spider-Man productionfrom 2018. Despite the fights, unfortunately, a tragedy occurs, and as a result, not only does San Francisco hit hard, but also previously “normal” people are turned into Inhumans. Five years later, George Tarleton and the AIM organization rule the city, and the Avengers and other supernaturals are outlawed.
Up to this point, we get a lot of fictional scenes in the game, so we put ourselves into the situation quite a bit. The next point in the beta is another single player mission (the next part of the main campaign), in which, as Hulk, together with Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), we try to find Tony Stark (we play first green, then girl), and we find Jarvis and Helicarrier. What can be said about this episode of the game is that you don’t always know which way to go. Several times I had to look around several times because it was unclear to me what to do and where. That’s it for the main beta campaign.
The Kleo mission… no, it’s not here
After completing the aforementioned few missions, we come across the Avengers Helicarrier, which is, frankly, empty and in a rather deplorable state (it is possible that over time, as the story progresses, it will start to fill up with new characters or equipment). However, it is where another point of our gameplay is quite important, namely War Table – a place where we receive missions and access them in multiplayer mode (by randomly selecting partners, inviting our friends to the team or playing in a team with AI). The missions are not only scattered around different locations, but also have different difficulty levels (I do not recommend entering the one from lvl 20, when our character has lvl 3 – been there, done that). The skills of selected characters can be additionally practiced in a dedicated simulation space called HARM, which also provides the option of “trying yourself” in specific missions.
Avenger Avenger is unequal
We can develop heroes in three fields: character level, power level and challenge card (unfortunately I don’t remember the Polish equivalent of this category – challenge card?). In the case of the first option, it is quite standard: with the development, we get a higher level of our Avengers, and for it – a point to drive into skills. The second option relates to our statistics, which we can of course increase by upgrading specific equipment, thereby increasing the overall level of power we have. For these activities, we use the parts and elements collected during the games. The aforementioned challenge cardrefers to the possibility of taking part in daily or weekly challenges for which we receive points and rewards such as character emotes. You can see that the creators focused on such a cosmetic customization of the characters. For the beta period, I received over three thousand of their currency to be able to freely equip my heroes with, for example, other skins. Even though I have not noticed any payment element anywhere in the game (I read that at some stage of development it was announced that there would be no pay-to-win transactions), I am sure of their introduction.
Lord, give me an open world!
Summarizing the most important elements: it looks like the whole of Marvel’s Avengers can be played alone, although at the same time it is noticeable that part of the multiplayer has been expanded for something and it seems that the game will be more based on the aforementioned team missions (in this context I found comparison to Destiny – how accurate, unfortunately, I do not know). There are many opportunities for us to develop and change the appearance of the heroes, as well as many interesting locations. Graphically, it looks very aesthetic (I played on a regular PS4 and despite the voices that there are problems with liquidity, everything flickered in my case). What disappointed me, however, was the lack of even a sneak peak of an open world like the one I received in Spider-Man. I’m not the biggest fan of human games – I prefer local co-op. It is possible, however, that for the sake of the passage of the main story, I will reach for this title after the premiere.
