Marvel Rivals’ Cinematic Trailer Really Makes Me Want a PvE Mode…

This weekend the yearly event that is San Diego Comic Con happened! It was, as usual, mostly news regarding movies and TV shows (I’m sure some actual comics were in there somewhere), but there was some games news as well!

Arguably the biggest game present was Marvel Rivals, which is still in closed beta with no release date at the moment beyond a vague 2024 date. I wrote about this previously, even if Marvel Rivals is a well-made Overwatch clone, that’s not really my thing so I probably won’t be playing it.

But then, they put out this cinematic trailer that actually suggests some kind of story going on, and I really wish they’d do something with that for Marvel Rivals. Some kind of PvE mode where heroes and villains can team up to take on Doom and possibly other enemies. I do know enough about Overwatch to know that while they made cinematics about their characters and world that hinted at a story, they never really followed through on it.

But a PvE modewas a highly requested feature Blizzard was supposed to at least put in Overwatch 2, and that mode being canceled could be pointed to as a major reason Overwatch 2 is not doing well.

Granted, games are in development for a long time, often several years or more. So it may have been too late for Marvel Rivals to put in a PvE mode in time to launch. But what I’m hoping is developer NetEase is looking at the enormous success of Helldivers 2, one of the biggest multiplayer games of the past several years, and a staunchly co-op PvE game, and wondering if they can’t get that in their game in a way that works. The basis is there, and it would open Marvel Rivals up to people like me who aren’t too keen on online competitive play, but might like to play as either our favorite or some really obscure but fun and weird superheroes (like Jeff the Land Shark!) on a team battling evil Doombots or whatever.

Marvel Rivals is still a game in beta, and as a F2P multi-player online game it certainly has room to grow if given time. I think the ingredients are certainly there, hopefully sooner or later it’ll give me a good reason to check it out. But a PvP mode, even with all these deep-cut characters, isn’t it right now.

That’s all for today, we have yet another modern port of a Star Wars classic game coming with Star Wars: Bounty Hunter out this week. I’ll be checking that out and giving thoughts so see ya real soon!