Dotemu is one publisher that you can rely on to put out a competent beat ’em up. In the last few years, they’ve worked with multiple talented developers to release some absolute modern classics like Streets of Rage 4, TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, Absolum, and more. So, I was naturally drawn to their upcoming beat ’em up, Marvel Cosmic Invasion. My hype doubled when I saw who the developer is. Tribute Games, the folks who made Shredder’s Revenge, the best TMNT game ever, are the creative minds behind Cosmic Invasion. Thus, I jumped at the first chance to play and review Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and here are my thoughts and nitpicks.
Beating Annihilus to the Punch
Marvel Cosmic Invasion offers the kind of storyline you’d expect from a classic annual comic event. It’s grand in scale, straightforward, and pushes you to experiment with every hero in its huge roster while taking on legions of supervillains. The plot centers on Annihilus, who has launched a relentless assault across the Marvel multiverse, corrupting both heroes and villains to fight for his cause. Now, it’s up to a Nova-led team to rise against the invasion and protect the galaxy—just another typical day for the universe’s mightiest heroes.
Like every Dotemu-published title, Marvel Cosmic Invasion shines with its stunning presentation. The game features crisp, detailed character sprites, fluid animations, and breathtaking comic-inspired locations that will tug at the heart of any Marvel fan. Special credit goes to the audio team for an incredible soundtrack and stellar voice acting. Characters react dynamically to events around them, exchanging quips and observations. Every aspect of the presentation—from the visuals to the sound design—oozes passion.
Expectations
Being a regular lurker in the Steam community hub, it has been easy to see the mixed reception surrounding Cosmic Invasion. Personally, Streets of Rage 4 deserves its reputation as a modern classic, seamlessly blending arcade beat ’em up action with nuanced fighting game mechanics to create an experience that is both deep and incredibly fun. Given that, it is only natural for players to treat SoR4 as the benchmark for future beat ’em ups. At the same time, every new game is its own artistic work and deserves to be evaluated on its individual strengths.
If you belong to the first school of thought and get into Cosmic Invasion thinking that it’s going to raise the bar like SOR4, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. The public demo for the game is a good representative of the rest of the game. What you see is what you’re going to get. It’s definitely style over substance, but the style is just so alluring.
If you are open to judging Cosmic Invasion on its own terms, there is a lot of fun to be had, even if it does not revolutionize the genre. At its core, it is a classic 2D beat ’em up that feels smooth to control and consistently satisfying to play. Each character comes equipped with a primary attack, a grab or projectile option, defensive tools like dodge or block, and a set of jump attacks. Special moves and projectiles draw from limited resources that recharge over time or through pickups, encouraging thoughtful use rather than constant spam. Stages are concise, roughly 10-minute runs that typically wrap up with a climactic boss encounter at the end of each level.
Cosmic Invasion only really starts to stand out when you look at its lineup of 15 of Marvel’s best heroes and anti-heroes. Each one comes with a distinct moveset, attacks, and special abilities, brought to life through bespoke animations and richly detailed sprite work. The visuals are constantly impressive, with the art team delivering a game that is consistently stunning to look at.
Tailor-Made Mayhem
Whether playing solo or in co-op, each player picks two heroes and uses the tag system to swap between them mid-action. Tag combos chain off basic attacks, or you can trigger a devastating dual special that clears the screen. Heroes bring unique passives and strong synergies, with missions designed around specific pairings, though players can mix freely for endless variety. The depth of combinations elevates it to feel like Marvel Ultimate Alliance reimagined as a beat ’em up.
I wish I could say how good (it’s gotta be) the co-op is, but I was unable to find any matches in the pre-launch version. Judging by the chaotic mayhem that was Shredder’s Revenge co-op, I can only imagine everyone’s eyes melting off with the visual effects. Do note that the maximum number of players in co-op is four, compared to Shredder’s Revenge’s six. It supports local/online play and a drop-in/drop-out adaptive system as well as crossplay.
The Nitpicks
Arcade Mode offers unlockable modifiers alongside extra lore entries and color palettes for heroes—fairly typical content in modern beat ’em ups. The campaign clocks in at roughly 4 hours total, with stages taking about 10 minutes each on a first run. Launch lacks extra modes beyond this and modifier-enhanced Arcade runs, which feel underwhelming.
Campaign difficulty swings wildly, staying too easy for most of the game—bosses like Thanos fall quickly even solo—but spiking hard in select missions before easing off again. No customizable difficulty exists for the campaign itself, limiting options to Arcade Mode only.
Heroes can level up and increase their special pool and HP by doing missions, though I found this to be an afterthought. Being a game with this many playable characters, it’s understandable that not all characters get the same amount of love. She-Hulk especially feels very bad to control, and she’s just not power-scaled properly. Heroes like Wolverine and Nova are so overpowered that you can solo the entire game using them. It’s also ridiculously easy to perform air juggles and even max out the combo meter by juggling enemies against the wall. Almost all the enemies in the game can be beaten by doing the same basic punch combo, too. But the combos and especially the tag combos look cool as hell, so you might as well learn them. Oh, how time has turned me into such a nasty gatekeeper.
Real Talk
Marvel Cosmic Invasion delivers on its promise: a soulful tribute to the Marvel Universe wrapped in a competent, if a bit by-the-book beat ’em up package. Dynamic combos flow effortlessly, seamless co-op supports up to four players with drop-in/drop-out, stunning sprite work captures comic authenticity, and the OST fits the controlled chaos perfectly. Adding one or two more game modes could cement its longevity beyond the short campaign.
FINAL SCORE: 83/100
