There is a lot to love about Marvel Rivals, from its unique art style to its vast roster of playable heroes and villains. Of course, it has big shoes to fill from both its predecessors in the hero-shooter genre as well as past Marvel titles. However, there is one game that Rivals can fairly confidently ignore while climbing to the top of the best Marvel games, and that is the unremarkable Marvel Avengers. While it managed to squeeze out some enjoyable DLC, Marvel Avengers didn’t leave the best legacy and ultimately disappointed comic book fans and newcomers.

Fortunately, Marvel Rivals’ reviews are shaping up to be very positive, and, in many ways, it seems to address the flaws of Marvel Avengers. However, there is one particular issue that Marvel Avengers suffered from that Rivals is fixing. Comic book fans can finally rest easy knowing that a fundamental flaw with Marvel Avengers’ approach to both its characters and their overall design has been thoughtfully solved in Marvel Rivals.

Marvel Rivals Offers Players A Unique Take On The Comic Book Characters

They Feel Fresh Yet Familiar

Marvel Rivals takes many of the classic costume designs from the comics and adapts them to its unique anime aesthetic to create something wholly different yet ultimately very familiar. This art style has proven to be a hit with fans, with the character trailers successfully building hype for the game and helping players decide who they will main first. It’s not an entirely new approach to character design, and there are shades of Overwatch within each character.

However, where other games have merely aped Overwatch’s cartoonish style with little success, Marvel Rivals has used it as a perfect vehicle from which to adapt these already incredibly cartoonish designs. The overall aesthetic works better in Marvel Rivals than in a lot of Overwatch clones and feels more faithful to the comic books than a grittier or more grounded approach. It also allows for whackier characters like Jeff the Land Shark to make an appearance and not feel immediately out of place.

Most importantly, Marvel Rivals’ unique designs are already avoiding the biggest free-to-play issue by offering players satisfying character skins from the outset, rather than charging an arm and a leg for them. No matter who players pick, they’ll look as close as possible to their comic book counterparts with no money needing to be spent to get there. Of course, there are a plethora of cosmetics invested players can pick up, but thankfully the base designs are strong enough to entice players in from the start.

Marvel Rivals Costumes Are Much Better Than Marvel Avengers

They Aren’t Just A T-Shirt And Jeans

Marvel Rivals’ character designs far surpass those seen in Marvel Avengers both from an aesthetic standpoint and a monetary one. For starters, the majority of characters in Marvel Avengers simply had a t-shirt and trousers outfit when first unlocked, and it wouldn’t be well into the main story before they unlocked their actual superhero suit. It was a little ridiculous to see Thor head into battle in just a light blue tee, and yet Marvel Avengers thought it would be a good idea.

Fortunately, each character eventually gets a proper outfit, but these were far too grounded and seemed to be chasing the designs popularized in the later MCU movies rather than their colorful comic book counterparts. There’s a reason why the stylized look of Marvel Rivals is far more vibrant than the dreary look of Marvel Avengers tactical armor. That’s not to say that the standard designs in Marvel Avengers were terrible, but they lacked the charm that the best Marvel Rivals characters exude in spades.

Luckily, Marvel Avengers had a swathe of costumes for players to unlock, so long as they were willing to fork out the money for it. While many of them were little more than color variants, there were a lot that took direct inspiration from specific outfits found in the comics. These were a lot more impressive, but, rather cynically, that was evidently the point. It’s no secret that forcing players to run about fighting AIM in nothing but a t-shirt and trousers will get them to pay to look more like the characters they know and love.

While character design isn’t everything when it comes to either genre of video game, it certainly helps, especially when the characters are based on a well-known IP that’s famously overly colorful and exaggerated.

By avoiding this problem from the start, Marvel Rivals absolutely supersedes the failed Marvel Avengers and, as aforementioned, will likely see its player counts skyrocket. While character design isn’t everything when it comes to either genre of video game, it certainly helps, especially when the characters are based on a well-known IP that’s famously overly colorful and exaggerated. Of course, Marvel Rivals will need good gameplay to complement its character designs, although, luckily, it seems to have that, too.

Marvel Rivals’ Improved Costumes Will Help It Be A Smash Hit

They’ll Get Newcomers And Fans To Play

Custom Image by: Katarina Cimbaljevic

Marvel Avengers stuck far too rigidly to the design philosophy of the MCU films and the more grounded comic book adaptations, which ultimately only really appeased those who enjoy those looks. Marvel Rivals’ more stylized and anime-inspired aesthetic will appeal not only to fans of the comics and these characters, but also to those who are generally drawn to this art style. In an age where some of the biggest games have adopted this look, it makes perfect sense for Marvel Rivals to pivot in this direction.

Marvel Avengers didn’t fail because it had bad costume design, but it certainly didn’t help. Other live service games have also failed in part due to their uninspired character designs, including the infamously panned Concord. Marvel Rivals, meanwhile, is on track to do incredibly well, and it’s hard not to imagine that, outside of being free-to-play, it’s partially down to its art style. There is merit in believing that the biggest live service games – including Fortnite, Overwatch, and Genshin Impact – have, even in a small way, succeeded thanks to their expressive art style that accommodates more eye-catching and outlandish designs.

Ultimately, it is great for both comic book fans and newcomers that Marvel Rivals has put a lot of effort into its colorful character designs. The more appealing they are, the more enticing they will be to play as and discuss online, which will only lead to a healthy player base, at least at launch. It is a shame that Marvel Avengers never quite reached the same heights, but in many ways, its shortcomings only help to highlight the immense successes of Marvel Rivals.