Marvel Future Revolution is an open-world RPG that brings the multiverse chaos to your fingertips

Marvel Future Revolution is an open-world RPG that brings the multiverse chaos to your fingertips
PHOTO: Marvel

After all the hype… and ultimately disappointment of Marvel and Square Enix’s Avengers, any Marvel game that follows will inevitably face a huge burden of trying to surpass that failed title.

Luckily, the next one out the door doesn’t have the heavy expectation of a massive production that has players pay US$60 (S$81) for the base game. Instead, it’s free to play on mobile, feeds off the massive fanbase that Marvel has amassed over the years with their comics and cinematic universe, and if you want to pay to win, by all means.

If you’ve been following the latest movies and Disney+ series such as Loki, you’d be aware that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is gearing up towards a clash of the multiverse and dimensions. And that’s also the basis of the upcoming mobile game by Marvel and Netmarble.

Known for their successful Marvel Future Fight, Netmarble is back with a brand new open-world RPG, MARVEL Future Revolution, that offers players an impressive gameplay experience that’ll hit the spot for every Marvel fan and provide them with a platform to play as their favourite heroes in an immersive storyline of the multiverse.

MARVEL Future Revolution puts players in a clashing world of multiple dimensions, each reality bound to collide in an event called the Convergence, which was partly prevented when Vision sacrificed himself. 

After which, the worlds are fused as one primary Earth but the calamity isn’t entirely over, as it has brought in dimensions where villains such as Red Skull and Maestro (alternate Hulk) rule. Players now have to rise, use their heroes to find out how they can fix the Convergence and prevent each reality from taking over the other.

Players will get to pick up to four (upgradable) superheroes for their squad. These superheroes are essentially characters you create and progress through a narrative like any other MMORPG, and you can swap them whenever you want. Netmarble has done a spectacular job in creating a unique starting point and storyline for every single hero, with the number of heroes in the game – that’s quite a lot of effort put in.

You’ll be giving your superhero squad a name and the squad will be levelled up as you progress your characters throughout their stories to get multiple bonuses and skills that are shared across every character.

For starters, the heroes you can choose from currently include Spider-Man, Storm, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Black Widow, and Star-Lord.

Now if you think a blind button mashing and villains smashing game is all that Netmarble offers, you’re slightly wrong – all the narratives, including the introduction scene where Vision sacrificed himself have been presented in some top-notch gameplay cinematics that took us by surprise, especially for a mobile title. 

ALSO READ: Marvel and Netmarble launch first open-world mobile role-playing game, Marvel Future Revolution

The cinematics and immersive narratives the game provides makes us wonder how Netmarble can do so well for a mobile title and Square Enix couldn’t. The cut scenes in the game were well animated, follows a proper storyline and include convincing voice lines that almost feel like it’s not a mobile title.

Built on Unreal Engine 4, the visuals for the game was also up to snuff considering that it’s one of the biggest projects that Netmarble has done and we can vouch for it. The game will feature an extensive collection of cosmetics where players can customise every part of their hero including their body, hands, legs, head, and hair. Netmarble boasts over 400 million combinations per hero.

The gameplay follows closely to a third-person action role-playing game, and what’s even cooler is that Netmarble has implemented three camera angles that players can select and adjust to fit their preferences: you can play the game in a full-on third-person or isometric-like view.

Like any mobile battle arena games such as League of Legends or Mobile Legends, movements are controlled on the left and skills are used, and displayed on the right. Every skill for each superhero differs, whether it’s web-slinging, shield throwing or magic manipulation, there are quite a variety of attacks players can learn, upgrade, and equip for each superhero.

As indicated by developers Danny Koo and Joe Lee in a group interview, MARVEL Future Revolution is meant to welcome players and fans all around the world whether they’re gamers or not. While the UI of the game looks intimidating at first glance, it truly delivers on a fun, and casual experience that anyone can just hop in to smash some HYDRA extremists or unlock cosmetics to customize and make your already cool superheroes look even cooler. 

It even features an auto-play function that players can press for their characters to do auto-walking and even the fighting for you.

While presumably unavailable in the preview build, the game will also feature multiplayer content such as a 10 versus 10 player vs player mode and massive 50 player free-for-all zones.

As their in-game currency, players earn coins throughout quests and challenges which need to level up their skills, squad powers, and any other additional upgrades. It can also be used to purchase different items such as potions, unlocks, and hopefully cosmetics in the future. These coins, however, can be purchased on a limited basis via cash.

ALSO READ: Marvel Future Revolution is Marvel's mobile all-star RPG

The in-game store for Marvel Future Revolution will include a plethora of items, unlocks, and costumes for players to purchase via the in-game currency or crystals (purchased using cash). These costumes aren’t entirely cosmetics as they do give certain stats, especially if you have the complete set: it adds an additional bonus. Purchased using crystals, these themed costumes are retrieved via “Draw” at random, which is similar to loot boxes.

While it does feel like a pay-to-win experience at first glance, the developers have responded that there are multiple ways to acquire said crystals such as rank games, challenges, and event rewards. Additionally, costumes can also be crafted or retrieved through achievements and rewards from quests.

For challenges, players can complete throughout the game to earn in-game currency and items include daily challenges, upgrade challenges, battle challenges, and normal challenges. There is also a battle pass-like feature that allows players to get even more rewards besides coins.

The current number of heroes each player can have is four, but players can purchase Hero Slot Expansion Tickets to unlock an additional hero slot and add a new hero to their squad. The developers themselves had promised besides, regions and scenarios, more characters will be added to the game in the future.

So if you’re looking for the next Marvel-related content to consume besides Disney+ shows or the latest Black Widow, Marvel Future Revolution, despite having pay-to-win experiences, is a great game that offers quality content, story, and reasonable gameplay for everyone or anyone who are not into competitive modes.

Now that the hype for the Phase 4 MCU is starting to pick up, this game will be worth your time as a fan and as an alternative platform for you to kickstart the whole multiverse craze.

Fans can pre-register Marvel Future Revolution now to receive a comic-inspired costume, the game will officially launch on Aug 25 on iOS and Android.

This article was first published in Geek Culture.

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