Marvel's Avengers had been in production for nearly a full year before its release on September 4, 2020. As fans flocked to pick up the promising game, many were looking forward to playing as one of the newest members of the Avengers, Ms. Marvel, known to her friends as Kamala Khan. 

As the game loads up, it features some immensly detailed graphics, even on something as simple as the loading screen. Although next-generation consoles promise little to no load times, it seems that Crystal Dynamics has put a fair amount of work into these load screens, and for good reason. The game takes up to two minutes to load into the next level or cutscene, taking the player out of the game for a considerable amount of time. Hence, the detailed load screens, giving players a glimpse of what is to come on higher powered platforms.

The game plays very smoothly when it does work, and each character feels unique. Players are forced to play each character at least once upon introduction, but after that there is freedom to play your favorites and leave the others on the back burner, if that is how you wish to play. 

Throughout the game, players will assemble a full team of six Avengers, which allows for friends to jump in easily and help with more difficult levels. Although a majority of the game focuses on defeating numerous faceless enemies, that is kind of the idea of an Avengers mission. The title is immensly more fun with friends than with the AI, as it feels like a group of superheroes fighting cohesively, just as the Avengers themselves. Additionally, players can "Revive" downed teammates, or be picked up by AI heroes. 

The overarching story of the game is very detailed, and easy to follow. A new twist or surprise comes every few levels, keeping the story interesting for players. For those of you who are unaware, the game's main villain is MODOK from the comics, a villain with an abnormaly large head and a weaponized hover-chair. 

Marvel's Avengers sets up a unique world and introduces MODOK in a new way, separate from his origin story from the comics. As you may have guessed, the new title does not feature MCU actors or storylines. Rather, these actors are specific to the game's narrative, setting the universe of the game apart from that of the films. 

Personally, I believe that this is a welcome change, as the idea of the Avengers game is supposed to be a unique, new story, featuring never-before revealed stories. Using non-MCU actors allows the game to change the universe in a unique way, and often gives characters a bit more depth, if players use them throughout the game.

Each of the Avengers has their own line of "Iconic Missions" in which players can follow a unique mission, centered around that hero. Although these stories are separate from the main mission, they are nevertheless enjoyable, and give players more experience with that hero. 

The game has leveled items and new skills that each hero can acquire once they level up, granting the hero more power and unique combo abilities. If read carefully, each item details how it can improve and assist gameplay. However, players need not grind endlessly to level up so that they can continue the story. 

Each mission is preceded by a positive or negative number, revealing how difficult the mission will be, based on character level. This allows players to prepare for a challenging mission by leveling up via side quests, or grabbing some friends to make things a little easier.

Overall, the new Avengers game is immensely enjoyable to play, as each character has a smooth moveset, unique to their abilities. However, the PlayStation 4 is severely underpowered to run the game, and I often encountered enemies that disappeared from the screen, as well as portions of the map not loading in. However, I knew that this was a problem with my console rather than the game itself, as all I had to do to fix the problem was to restart the game, and ignore the sound of the cooling fans working overtime.

Many DLC heroes have been revealed, including Hawkeye's understudy Kate Bishop, Spider-Man for PlayStation users, and even rumors of Black Panther, though this was not revealed pre-launch to honor Boseman's passing. More DLC characters are expected, spanning a majority of Marvel's history, making Marvel's Avengers the ultimate Marvel superhero game. 

Kieran Mouritsen
Editor, NoobFeed