Right now it’s 11pm where I live, and normally I’d be chilling on the couch or getting ready for bed, but my mind is on fire with that rare joy of discovering a new video game to fall in love with.
That game, to my utter surprise, is MultiVersus, a Smash Bros. inspired platform fighter who uses Warner Brothers’ extensive IP library for his array of colorful characters. Send Batman to war against Tom and Jerry, pit Wonder Woman against Arya Stark from Game of Thrones. Team up in co-op as Jake and Finn from Adventure Time and take on Shaggy and Velma from Scooby-Doo.
It’s absurd. It’s surreal. It’s surprisingly great. And it’s now free to play (and not pay to win) on Xbox and PC.
Wait, is it actually good?
After Nickelodeon’s relatively quick efforts with All-Star Brawl, it seemed increasingly likely that any attempt to monetize Super Smash Bros.’ unique fighting formula. was inevitably doomed to failure, or at least obscurity. Smash Bros. has always been a franchise that I have been able to enjoy passively over the years playing locally on my GameCube with friends and family.
Nintendo’s ambivalence towards a decent network infrastructure has kept me from playing many of its most recent multiplayer endeavors, as as an adult all my friends are scattered all over and relying on the internet to play together. As such, Nintendo games are barely fit for purpose when it comes to online multiplayer. Nintendo has started improving the cloud, but at least for the single Nintendo game I’ve wanted to play this side of Pokemon online, it might be too late for me.
MultiVersus has dedicated servers with rollback netcode, which absolutely wipes the floor with the hamster-powered infrastructure that Nintendo seems to prefer for its competitive games. Crucially, MultiVersus is at least comparable in quality to Super Smash Bros. – a feat that I am very surprised to put down on paper, given that so many have tried and failed to do justice to Nintendo’s legendary fighter.
AHAHA I love Jake. Reppin’ @TheJohnDiMaggio. #MultiVersus #Xbox pic.twitter.com/3QzwYpsYWgJuly 28, 2022
For starters, I chose Jake as my first character, the stretchy doge from Adventure Time. I had no idea his moveset was anything like Kirby from Smash Bros, complete with Kirby’s swallow move and the heavy down special, which is replaced by random objects that Jake can transform into. Finishing an assault attack with Jake will give you that familiar and nostalgic shrill chorus from Smash Bros.’s baseball bat. Knocking enemies off the stage also produces colorful explosive plumes in the Smash Bros. style, completely unabashedly.
MultiVersus seems to know in great detail what Smash Bros. fans want, but is also not afraid to innovate. MultiVersus weaves in soft co-op gameplay beats that allow characters’ movements to communicate in a positive way. For example, Wonder Woman can offer buffs to a co-op teammate, while Batman can use his grappling hook to prevent a fellow player from falling off the map.
The game is also completely free to play and offers cosmetic boosts via a battle pass, as is standard these days, in addition to premium skins and characters that spin for free. Refreshingly, there are no loot boxes or gambling here. Given the past behavior of Warner Bros. monetizing some of its past games like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, it’s a surprise how fair monetization feels in MultiVersus, at least for now.
My colleague Miles Dompier recently wrote an article where he shares his thoughts on the beta as a more hardcore Smash Bros. player. He said MultiVersus seemed like a rare Smash Bros. clone with real long-term promise, and at this point the data seems to agree with him.
MultiVersus is currently blowing up on Xbox and PC
At the time of writing, MultiVersus “has an extremely stellar run on Steam, tracking up to 150,000 players, according to SteamDB. Similarly, MultiVersus has moved up the list of “most played free games” on the Microsoft Store on Xbox, placing it at number two behind Fall Guys (although I suspect it will supplant Fall Guys in the coming days).
Warner Bros. calls the current version of the game an open beta. However, it feels polished enough to be prime time ready, despite having a few heroes labeled experimental. There’s quite a number of fighters and maps to choose from, with the promise of more characters and seasonal content down the line. There are Founder’s Packs that you can purchase that unlock all fighters, as well as unique rewards for participating.
The soft launch reminds me somewhat of Fortnite back in the day, before the game turned hard to the battle royale formula we see today. Unlike Fortnite, though, MultiVersus looks incredible out of the gate, with tight combat, fun characterizations, and a truly limitless source of IP to tap into.
In some ways, there’s even more potential for cameos and crossovers here than Smash Bros. itself, and that’s pretty exciting.
As one of the oldest media companies, the Warner Bros. content library. one of the largest and most comprehensive, and they’ve already tapped into some unlikely combinations for MultiVersus. Where else can you get the family-friendly Taz the Tasmanian Devil sharing the stage with Arya Stark from the heavily R-rated Game of Thrones sex-meets-violence-and-then-more-sex TV show, albeit with some softened up anime- style cartoon aesthetic?
This is the source of nostalgia that this kind of game ultimately needs to be comparable to Smash Bros., which relies heavily on Nintendo IP and beyond to build its roster. Warner Bros. owns the entire DC universe, including characters like The Joker and The Sandman; the rights to major film franchises such as The Matrix, the Harry Potter universe and Dune; and even owns Adult Swim, Cartoon Network. Heck, since WarnerMedia now owns the Food Network thanks to a recent giant merger, it could add Paula Deen with a skillet and electric whisk if she wanted to.
In some ways, there’s even more potential for cameos and crossovers here than Smash Bros. itself, and that’s pretty exciting.
An end to the jealousy of Smash Bros. on Xbox and PC?
Smash Bros. is a big game on Nintendo platforms that didn’t really have a strong competitor in its multiplayer, platform battle space. There are some really great Smash Bros. likes out there – Rivals of Aether is great and Brawhalla is decent too – but I can Batman here, which is difficult to combat.
Smash Bros. has been a selling point of Nintendo systems for a long time, but ultimately, And last but not least, after all these years, Xbox and Windows may have a similar option in space to scratch that unique platform from the itch. And hey, it could become one of the best Xbox games in history… as long as Warner Bros. don’t drop the ball.
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