Why Marvel’s Avengers Game May Already Be Dead on Arrival: A Beta Review

A Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups advertising campaign from the ’70s introduced a wonderful phrase into our cultural lexicon: “Two great tastes that taste great together!”

Originally, this phrase referred to the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Since then, though, this phrase has become synonymous for creating something new by jamming two old favorites together.

That’s basically the design philosophy behind Crystal Dynamics’ new Marvel’s Avengers game, set to release fully on September 4. The game seeks to combine the immersive world of Marvel with the engaging gameplay of games like Destiny.

However, early beta impressions make one thing clear: this is not chocolate and peanut butter. Instead, it is simply a disappointment.

Uncanny designs

Obviously, taste in character design is very subjective. But the first thing we need to talk about are these weird-looking characters!

Marvel’s Avengers moves away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in terms of design, so don’t expect Iron Man to look like Robert Downey, Jr. or Thor to look like Chris Hemsworth. That’s not such a bad thing, considering some of the best Marvel games (like the Ultimate Alliance 3 or Spider-Man) feature original designs.

However, Crystal Dynamics still wanted character designs that looked more realistic and movie-esque. The final result provides a kind of “uncanny valley” experience, with characters that look like they are badly cosplaying the MCU’s characters.

Bottom line? As petty as it is, these designs are often distracting and disappointing.

Slow gameplay

How would you describe combat in your favorite Marvel movies and games? The most typical description is “fast.” Unfortunately, the combat in Marvel’s Avengers is often quite slow.

Most character’s punches and other attacks feel very slow and sluggish. While that makes a kind of sense for a big boy like Hulk, it feels weird to throw slow punches as Captain America or Black Widow.

Even ranged combat often feels slow and laggy. And while some of this could theoretically be cleaned up before the final release, it underscores a major problem: none of these superheroes feels very “super.”