Spider-Man, Wolverine, and several more iconicMarvelsuperheroes are joining forces in a new pixel art beat-‘em-up game calledMARVEL Cosmic Invasion. We’ve recently seen all sorts ofsuperhero team-ups inMarvel Rivals, which is a more competitive multiplayer-style game. But this new title by Dotemu andTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revengedeveloper Tribute Games may be the game that scratches the old-school brawler itch for Marvel fans who just want to hop in alone or with a friend and save the world from evil.
The announcement trailer fromDotemushows Captain America, Spider-Man, Storm, Wolverine, and several others banding together in tag-team action to fight Annihilus and his army across the galaxy to prevent the deadly Annihilation Wave. The game’s beautiful comic book-style and ’90s-feel presentation is a nostalgia tour de force. The retro-style adventureMARVEL Cosmic Invasionreleases on PC and consoles sometime in 2025.
An Retro-Style Brawler For Modern Platforms
A Mix Of Modern Convenience And Classic Gameplay
MARVEL Cosmic Invasionwill feature 15 playable characters, drop-in/drop-out co-op (both online and local), and a tag system called the Cosmic Swap. The system lets players choose two heroes for each level and switch between them instantly and create unique combos and powerful special attacks. Confirmed playable characters includeCaptain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Storm, Venom, Nova, and Phyla-Vell.
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At first glance, players might think this is a game from the big arcade era, similar to theDouble DragonandStreets of Ragegames from the late ’80s and early ’90s. Theretro style paired with modern amenities, like online co-op, seems to create a perfect match for anyone craving simple brawler actionwith their favorite superheroes. While this is a new game,MARVEL Cosmic Invasionseems to be following a modern trend of bringing back older (or retro-inspired) titles with modern sensibilities, likethe recentDragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, which saw a classic game adapted to a more modern audience while keeping itself rooted in its classic gameplay.
Our Take: Old-School Co-Op Fun Is A Good Thing
There’s A Place For Retro-Inspired Games
In an age when remasters, remakes, ports, and half-remaster-half-remake titles are virtually everywhere nowadays, it’s clear that there is a big demand for games of the past, whether that’s for a nostalgia itch-scratch or because a lot of fan-favorite games are from older generations. Getting a new game with a retro-style art design, coupled with arcade beat ‘em up-style gameplaymight be the combination that appeases older and younger fans alike. Couch co-op games were also getting rarer and rarer, but games like thewidely acclaimedSplit Fictionare seeing a lot of interest, soMARVEL Cosmic Invasionmay be coming at the perfect time.
This new pixel art game seems to be aiming for simple co-op fun with popular superheroes and bringing the gameplay of the past to the modern era, and we won’t have to wait too much longer to team up with Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the rest of the roster whenMARVEL Cosmic Invasionreleases later this year.
