The Marvel Avengers, six months later

The Marvel Avengers he was as plagued with zombies as with inertia. Before the game’s release, it was defined by a chaotic rumble of muddy messaging, high expectations from the sky, and that little thing called the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After the release, the conversation changed: he would become oneno other success like Destiny, go disappointing way of Hymn, or land somewhere in the middle? Six months later, here are the things.

• In 2017, Square Enix announced a partnership with Marvel to make games based on Marvel franchises. Crystal Dynamics, hot Tomb Raider restarting, would lead the development of a game based on the enormous popularity of Marvel Avengers franchise. Eidos Montreal (Deus Ex: Mankind Divided) would be presented.
• Crystal Dynamics removed the curtain The Marvel Avengers a Presentation of Square Enix’s E3 2019, announcing the release date of May 15, 2020.
• About this demonstration. Fans noted that something was … out. The five playable characters: Black Widow, Thor, The Hulk, Iron-Man, and Cap, bore a striking resemblance to their screen counterparts in the Marvel Movie Universe, and even mocked like a bunch of Hollywood Chrises. It seemed a bit like Crystal Dynamics was trying to copy a facsimile of a fictional universe that already existed. Also, where was Hawkeye?

• In the 2019 New York comic, Crystal Dynamics revealed that Kamala Khan (who you may know as Mrs. Marvel) would be the sixth playable character in The Marvel Avengers. She would turn out to be the engine of the game’s narrative.
• For much of 2019, it became clear that The Marvel Avengers would be a single player game with cooperative elements and would have game elements as a service, in the Destiny. The presentation of E3 sure seemed orderly. But it was not clear how exactly all the disparate parties would come together. A video from the end of October left things surprising clarity. Put on that booty mole, girl!
• Two weeks into 2020, Square Enix delayed the game until September 4th.
• While cities across the country made moves to (finally) remove Confederate monuments, the official said The Marvel Avengers Twitter account published a brief advertising site showing a deteriorated statue of Captain America, flanked by drones flashing police-looking lights. The account quickly deleted the tweet and posted an apology.
• Ah, there is Hawkeye! In July 2020, Crystal Dynamics revealed that Clint Barton, also known as The Guy Who Totally Bailed On Infinity War, would be the first hero of the DLC for The Marvel Avengers. A week later, Crystal Dynamics announced that Spider-Man would also join the list, but only for the PlayStation version. Oh yes, and I would be free. Exclusive DLC for console, folks: it sucks. too it makes no sense.
• Throughout August 2020, Crystal Dynamics held a series of open betas. KotakuMike Fahey he turned the game around, but came out unimpressed, not entirely inspired by the combat itself and repetitive mission structure. Because Mrs. Marvel and Iron-Man were pretty cool, though.
• Just before the launch of the game, an enterprising individual superimposed the real faces of the MCU actors in the game models The Marvel Avengers. (Warning: Don’t click this link if you don’t want amazing valley nightmares.)
• A third character after the release. Crystal Dynamics announced that Kate Bishop, instead of Hawkeye, would be the first hero after the game was released. There are no hard feelings between the mentor and the mentored, right?

• During a pre-release broadcast, Crystal Dynamics insinuated that Black Panther would also join the The Marvel Avengers list at some point. Following the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed the hero in the movies, Crystal Dynamics modified the initial plans of this current.
• The Marvel Avengers officially released on September 4, 2020, but those who picked it up the luxury edition we were able to play on September 1st. With your hands on the full game, KotakuMike Fahey he found himself more impressed than him with the beta, mainly because the game’s historical missions, anchored by a scene theft Mrs. Marvel—They were creative, attractive and true delight for any longtime Marvel fan.
• The spectrum of microtransactions, which have basically infringed all live games to some extent, it did not turn out almost as intrusive as future players feared.
• The other big cloud hung The Marvel Avengers before launch: “How serious is the mill?” That too it did not turn out almost as bad as many expected. Of course, with all the various game currencies and level indicators, a certain level of rise in watch numbers was to be expected. But the campaign was, surprisingly, the focus and you could play The Marvel Avengers as a single player single game. The mill was there, though only if you wanted to. What a pleasant surprise.
• Of course, those who wished for the inconvenience quickly stumbled upon problems. Less than a week after the launch, the final players noticed that booty drops at the end of certain high-level missions sometimes dropped low-level teams or, worse, no equipment, even though those same missions had the possibility of dropping top-level gears. Crystal Dynamics recognized the problem of loot fell through and a solution was announced, but it was noted that higher-level items were going down “as intended.”
• The Marvel Avengers it is not based on or even related to Avengers movies. Easter eggs are fair play, though. In one of the many game centers (more on this annoying design option in a bit), players uncovered a good reference to Avengers: Age of Ultron. Who is worthy now?

• The game was plagued by a series of small problems, from an unbalanced combat to some occasional infinite load screen, but few things worst players than computer-controlled teammates. Among other mistakes, AI Hulk, Chief and colleagues. it would attack the enemies when you needed to revive and it would stop attacking the enemies when you were still absolutely alive. The most powerful heroes on Earth? For sure. The smartest heroes on Earth? No way.
• Crystal Dynamics dropped the first big patch of The Marvel Avengers on a Friday evening in mid-September. It dealt with a lot of these little issues mentioned, but it didn’t change any of the more fundamental issues (specifically, a lack of new content or engaging end game activities).
• Then, crickets, for a while. As players maximize lists and infinitely repeated infinitely repeatable missions, enthusiasm for the game waned. In early October, more than a month after launch, Steam’s gaming base fell below 2,000. Crystal Dynamics he said Kotaku that the game would be exciting again, citing upcoming versions of Kate Bishop, Hawkeye, and new mission types as examples of content that would come to the game without a hunger for content. Meanwhile, the most fun we had then was in a game chair.
• In mid-October, Crystal Dynamics dropped a second big patch. Like the first, it consisted almost entirely of quality-of-life adjustments. There was a major addition, however, with the inclusion of a new hub: the SHIELD substation. Beyond that, the patch also did so so that factions would not be relegated to specific centers. (Before upgrading, if you wanted to collect a faction’s reward, you would have to load in one center, collect all your tasks, load them in the other hub, collect those tasks, etc.). could do all this busy work in one place. Sweet relief.)
• October 2020, Crystal Dynamics delayed Kate Bishop’s DLC from this month until an unspecified date. In addition, next-generation versions of the game, which is scheduled to launch alongside PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S in November, were introduced in 2021. Crystal Dynamics cited difficulties with a work-from-home framework such as due to the delay.
• Kate Bishop launched herself in early December with an operation, that is The Marvel Avengers-speak for “main mission” —called, unforgivably, “Take AIM”. The expansion was quite funny, at least for a while, thanks to an engaging story, albeit a short one, and the wonder of Kate’s powers.
• It took months, however, for Crystal Dynamics in December done so that Captain America could use his shield to refract Ironman’s laser beam.
• Iron man received a dress that makes him look like a dead-eyed boy. It’s purely cosmetic and as terrifying as it is fun.

And here are the things. The Marvel Avengers it certainly generated more excitement in the weeks leading up to the launch than in the weeks following, but nothing less remains. On March 18, the Hawkeye DLC—which seems totally bafflingIt will come out along with these next generation versions. Think, too, that there are more Marvel superheroes on Earth than grains of sand. It is a bottomless pit where you can take advantage and it could serve as a basis for a seriously heroic comeback.

But these superhero stories always have an evil, and for that Avengers, is not MODOK or Thanos or any other giant purple-faced thumb. It’s the wheel. When the Hawkeye expansion arrives, the game is in disrepair will receive a major review, moving from a linear system of experience points to an exponential one. It will start for all the characters “around level 25”, half way, which basically does nothing but add more annoyance to the game. Crystal Dynamics explained the change saying it could help “new players” adapt to the game’s skill system. Now, all the game needs are those new players.

More looks back