Stuff - UK (2020-11)

TESTED GAMES

estiny with superheroes is
a tantalising power fantasy;
and in Marvel’s Avengers,
Iron Man flies and shoots repulsor
beams, Thor hits hard with both
Mjölnir and thunder, and Hulk?
“Hulk smash!” But after one of
the most epic storylines ever on
the big screen, it was always going
to be tough for the game plot to
live up to expectations.
To its credit, MA doesn’t attempt
to one-up. Thanos instead focuses
on newcomer Kamala Khan, aka
Ms Marvel (set to get her TV debut

on Disney+). We’re first in her shoes

as a fan-fiction finalist attending an

Avengers event. Her fresh-faced

energy is infectious, and she

continues this nerdy reverence

even after discovering her own

stretchy powers.

The single-player campaign

unlocks the Avengers roster but

always brings Kamala back to the

core. The rest of the cast aren’t bad;

it’s just that they lean so heavily

on what we’ve seen in the films,

the result is like watching a B-tier

cast play out a B-tier plot. “Good is

not a thing you are, it’s a thing you

do” is a line echoed throughout

the game. What you do, it turns

out, is smash up things. Fine when

you’re Hulk, less so when that’s

basically what every character

does regardless of enemy.

Attention has been paid to each

hero, with their own skill trees for

you to upgrade, such as whether

to add more to Iron Man’s arsenal

or focus on melee skills; but it

barely registers when missions

and combat are so one-note you

just have enemies chucked at you,

so tactics go out of the window as

you mash your way to victory.

The game just about delivers an

entertaining campaign – but the

missions quickly become a tedious

slog. Some will be content with

squadding up with pals for a

mindless scrap as their favourite

superheroes in silly outfits... but

it’s ironic that last year’s Marvel

Ultimate Alliance 3 offered even

more heroes and over-the-top

action without the pretence of

something more epic.

Alan Wen

STUFF SAYS An action-packed theme park of a game that quickly loses its novelty +++,,

Marvel’s Avengers

With a terrific new protagonist and an engaging single-player campaign, this could have been the

perfect superhero game. Pity about the blandly repetitive combat against forgettable enemies...

PS4, PS5, XB1, XBX, PC, Stadia / stuff.tv/Avengers

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