Doom is everywhere right now. With Avengers: Doomsday approaching, Marvel’s most imposing metal-faced dictator is having his moment. Even Jeep commercials are giving us glimpses of Latveria. Apparently, world domination requires a marketing budget.

Marvel Cosmic Invasion (read our review here) joins the festivities with The Siege of Castle Doom, an expansion that adds two playable characters and a substantial new mode. Doctor Doom and Sue Storm, better known as the Invisible Woman, are welcome additions. The bigger attraction, however, is a roguelite spin on the original game’s beat-’em-up formula.

It is an ambitious idea. After spending somewhere between 15 and 20 runs trying to get comfortable with it, I am still deciding how much of that ambition translates into fun.

Welcome to Doomstadt

Doom, predictably, has invented something dangerous. His Cosmic Inductor is intended to stop Annihilus, but its flaws threaten the cosmos in the process. The heroes must storm Castle Doomstadt and shut it down. You would think someone with that many doctorates could arrange a second opinion before switching it on.

Each player selects two heroes, with support for up to four players. From there, the familiar business of punching everything on screen becomes a more complicated exercise in managing resources, choosing routes, and assembling a build.

Two gauges govern your progress. Battery cells charge Reed Richards’ stabilizer, helping you advance and acquire perks. The opposing Siege Gauge puts pressure on the entire attempt: enemies become stronger as it rises, and filling it ends your run. It creates an uncomfortable relationship between progress and punishment, because struggling also makes subsequent encounters tougher.

Between encounters, you choose doors offering different opportunities. Healing, equipment, battery rewards, and events all compete for your attention. Infinite doors can grant unlimited ammunition or focus, while events temporarily change the rules. Perks fall into offense, defense, and tactical branches and apply individually to your heroes, giving team composition more significance than simply picking everyone’s favourite Marvel character.

Storming Castle Doom

On paper, this is exactly the sort of structure that could keep Cosmic Invasion interesting after the campaign. Choosing immediate healing over a potentially useful reward is a meaningful decision. Pairing complementary heroes gives co-op groups something to discuss beyond who gets to play whom.

Progress between attempts comes through Reed’s Lab, which expands the available equipment, events, and modifiers. That distinction matters: progression broadens what can happen in later runs, rather than simply making your heroes permanently stronger until the difficulty disappears. Some modifiers can also increase the challenge.

I am still adjusting to having RPG and roguelite decisions layered onto a beat-’em-up, particularly when I am playing with kids who mostly want to bash everything on screen while riding a cosmic motorcycle. Asking that audience to stop and consider building synergy changes the rhythm considerably.

That does not make the idea wrong. It does make this a different proposition from the campaign’s more immediate pleasures.

The difficulty makes that adjustment harder. In my 15–20 attempts, I reached Doom just once, and I am still not convinced I understand what made that particular run successful. Was it our character pairing, our upgrades, our route, or simply a favourable combination of encounters? A good roguelite makes failure feel instructive. Here, I have too often finished a run knowing we were overwhelmed without knowing what we should change next.

The Siege Gauge contributes to that frustration. Taking punishment is already a setback; having it strengthen the opposition can turn a rough encounter into a downward spiral. With more players, the screen also feels increasingly cluttered. I cannot say whether the underlying multiplayer scaling is responsible, but the combination of visual chaos and escalating pressure makes it harder to read what went wrong. Compared with the campaign’s smoother progression, Castle Doom feels considerably less forgiving.

I can only describe it as a worthwhile continuation for players already comfortable with the game, while questioning whether its environments and enemy variety stay fresh. That suggests the intended audience quite clearly: people who finished Cosmic Invasion and wanted a tougher reason to keep playing.

The Tribute Formula

Fortunately, the two new characters are easier to appreciate.

Sue Storm’s force fields can lock enemies in place, leaving teammates free to deal damage. In a crowded co-op fight, that ability gives her a useful role beyond adding another set of attacks to the screen.

Doom feels slower and heavier, but his screen-wide ultimate is wonderfully suited to crowd control. There is a satisfying sense of authority to clearing a battlefield as Victor von Doom. Why he is helping invade his own castle is beyond this reviewer’s mind map. Just know that it looks cool.

The presentation remains a highlight. Tribute Games and Dotemu understand the appeal of retro-inspired arcade spectacle. The pixel art is gorgeous, the characters remain distinctive on a large screen, and the limited voice work captures the exuberance of arcade games of yore.

I am currently working through TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge on Android, and the shared DNA is easy to appreciate. There is considerable craft in making familiar characters feel immediately recognizable through movement, animation, and a few well-chosen attacks. Cosmic Invasion continues to get that right.

Real Talk

Ultimately, The Siege of Castle Doom gives the game a promising framework for repeat play, alongside two enjoyable additions to its roster. I can see the appeal for experienced players who know their favourite characters and want to coordinate builds with equally committed friends.

For my household, it needs a gentler introduction and clearer feedback about what makes a run succeed. A balance patch could make its depth easier to enjoy without removing the challenge.

There is plenty here worth returning to. Right now, though, Doom seems a little too determined to keep his visitors out.

FINAL SCORE: 65/100