During a recent Square Enix event in New York City, I had the chance to go to hands-on with Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming Avengers game. Being a long-time fan of both the Avengers and Crystal Dynamics, I was curious to see what this title was all about. After some extensive hands-on time, I can safely say Avengers is a rock-solid game. If you enjoyed what Insomniac did with 2018’s Spider-Man, you’re going to dig what Crystal Dynamics is doing with the Avengers.
My demo consisted of two parts. The first took place on the Golden Gate bridge. This was a highly scripted sequence containing plenty of Quick Time Event sequences and moments where each of the Avengers got a chance to shine. The second half had me playing as Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel. I’ll get to that portion later on. For now, I’ll discuss the first part of the demo.
The Golden Gate bridge mission is the very opening of the game. It does a great job of showing off each of the Avengers and their specific fighting styles. I began as Thor, who attacked foes with his enchanted hammer, Mjolnir. Like Kratos from 2018’s God of War, Thor could throw his hammer and then have it return to his hands. Being the literal god of thunder, Thor could cast down bolts of lighting as his special attack. It’s a great way to clear out mobs of bad guys. After wailing on some armored thugs and rescuing civilians, the game switched me over to Iron Man.
Iron Man’s segment began as an on-rails shooter where he blasted enemies out of the sky. After clearing the skies, Iron Man transitioned to the ground and fought standard enemies. Iron Man could hover over the ground and attack foes with lasers and repulsor rays. The Uni-beam super move did a fantastic job of clearing out mobs. Iron Man also engaged in melee combat. I had fun mixing up melee and beam attacks. After Iron Man came the big man himself: The Hulk.
As you would expect, Hulk is all about smashing anything and everything in his path. I actually felt sorry for enemies as Hulk mercilessly stomped and punched the puny humans who dared face him. This portion of the demo showcased some of the platforming mechanics. There was a sequence where Hulk had to run across the crumbling bridge and jump over large gaps to avoid falling into San Francisco bay. The best part was landing on top of foes with a devastating ground pound attack.
Before I move on to the last two characters, I need to address something that somewhat pulled me out of the experience. Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man are the most powerful Avengers yet they were wailing on regular humans as if they were Kang or Thanos. While these human foes had advanced weapons and armor, it was still weird having Hulk beating the holy hell out of them. This is not a major or even minor complaint. I’m going to assume these heavy-hitting heroes were holding back.
After Hulk came Captain America. His sequence was different from the others since it took place within the bridge of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Captain America is a martial arts expert so his attacks consisted of a variety of punches and kicks. As befitting the character, Cap could throw his shield and use it to protect himself. After playing with the three previous characters, playing as Captain America was a nice change of pace. I felt I could actually lose the fight since Cap is just a regular human (albeit performing at peak human efficiency).
The final portion of the intro featured Black Widow. Like Captain America, she is a melee fighter who uses her advanced combat skills to overpower foes. The majority of Black Widow’s segment consisted of a boss fight against Taskmaster. What was fun about this battle was Taskmaster’s ability to learn Black Widow’s attack patterns. As the fight progressed, it became difficult for her to successfully land blows. It was best to wait until Taskmaster attacked to then dodge and strike from behind. Black Widow won the fight by deploying a technique that made her invisible. Since Taskmaster couldn’t fight what he couldn’t see, Black Widow took him out fast. I had as much fun playing as the Russian spy as I did Captain America.
The intro ends with the Helicarrier’s Terrigen-powered engine exploding; obliterating most of San Franciso and seemingly killing Captain America. After the tragic events, the Avengers disband and an organization called Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M) rises to power and begins hunting down superheroes. If you’re familiar with the comics then you know A.I.M is not an altruistic organization. They serve as the game’s main antagonist when things pick up five years after the intro. Five years time gaps are not good when it comes to Avengers stories this year.
Kamala Khan acts as the “main” protagonist of the game. Players experience the narrative through her eyes. Considering how much of a fan she is of the Avengers, it makes sense she would be the one who tries to reassemble the team. Kamala was also the character I had the most fun playing as.
Kamala’s portion took place inside of the Avenger’s training room. The objective was to clear fifteen waves of increasingly difficult enemies. The first few waves allowed me to acclimate myself to Kamala’s controls. With her polymorphic abilities, Kamala is able to stretch her body and make it take on different shapes. Because of that, I was able to use my arms and legs like whips and handle numerous foes at once. I could also climb tall structures by stretching my arms and legs. Kamala’s super move, “embiggen,” let her grow to over 30 feet tall. As a giant, she made short work of most foes; even large mechs. Playing as Ms. Marvel was a blast.
Avengers promises to have a deep level of customization. Each character will obtain skills and gear specific to them. Players will have the ability to take this gear and further customize the pieces. Players can earn new gear and materials by playing through Hero Missions (the campaign) or Warzone Missions (online co-op). The tougher the missions, the better the rewards. Crystal Dynamics also promises the game will have “years” worth of content. In the coming months, we’ll find out more about the progression system and what players can expect in future updates.
Though initially skeptical of Marvel’s Avengers, I came away from the presentation wanting to play more. I’m genuinely intrigued by where the story goes and am looking forward to seeing which other Avengers end up making it into the game. The only thing I’m worried about is the “games-as-a-service” vibe I got from the progression system. I do not need to play a third-person version of Destiny. With that aside, I can see this game becoming a huge hit like Insomniac’s Spider-Man. Keep this one on your radar.
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