The Super Smash Bros series is a near-impossible act to follow, but that’s exactly the challenge MultiVersus faces as a new free-to-play Smash-esque from developer Player First Games. Now in open beta on PS5, Xbox Series X, last-gen, and PC, it’s a 5GB download that anyone can get in on. It’s admittedly light on options – as you’d expect from an open beta – but you can tinker with 17 characters – all fully voiced. Crucially, MultiVersus also launches with robust online play, built from the ground up with rollback netcode – giving it an immediate edge over playing Super Smash Bros Ultimate online on Switch. It’s off to a good start. Speaking purely of MultiVersus’ visual design as an Unreal Engine 4 title, how much does it stack up next to Nintendo’s heavyweight? And where does it seem to fall short in its open beta state?
So, what’s actually in the 5GB package? Entire modes are blocked with a ‘coming soon’ descriptor, but you do get a practice mode to test everything out. MultiVersus’ character lineup alone is fascinating enough to give it a try. Instead of pitting the mascots of the video game world against each other – as Smash’s remit is – here are famous faces from the Warner Bros. properties. A wider network is thrown between comics, movie franchises and TV shows. Frankly, the result is as eclectic as it sounds: from Batman to Bugs Bunny, and from Arya Stark to LeBron James (in his Space Jam lineup). Fortunately, the game is mechanically good at its core. Smash fans will feel right at home with its 1v1 or 2v2 melee combat; standard and special attacks, double jump, dodge – it’s all there. Even if the movement needs to be tweaked a bit – and my preference remains in this spot with Smash Bros Ultimate – it’s impressive how much MultiVersus does well.
The technical make-up of MultiVersus on console is strong. In a nutshell, you get native 4K at 60fps on PS5 and Xbox Series X, while Series S aims for 1440p at 60fps. Dynamic scaling is possible as it’s an Unreal Engine title, but frame rates are generally rock solid at 60fps on all three machines – with the exception of unique small drops on PS5 during the Sky Arena phase. All of this is an excellent foundation to build on for a contender for Smash Bros. To compare the two, I found the closest best match card in Smash Bros Ultimate to the small roster in MultiVersus. Hands up here, some side by side are a bit far fetched I realize. Still, in the photos below, you can see that some maps — like the Colosseum — have direct equivalence.
The first point of comparison is image quality. To the credit of Multiversus, it has a pristine, almost aliasing-free image thanks to the 4K resolution on premium consoles. It looks clean in a way that Smash Ultimate simply can’t compete on Switch, as it’s stuck at 1080p. Regardless, Nintendo’s brawler still scales well to a modern 4K display in general, where the bold character designs make the action readable even in massive eight-player games. The look of Smash Bros in general has a crispness, which helps, while MultiVersus opts for a clean, pristine, post-processed image. Oddly enough, MultiVersus allows bold colored outlines on characters by default to make action easier. It’s an unusual choice, especially considering Nintendo’s approach is clear to read without such visual aids – but they can be turned off.
The following are the stages themselves. The stage detail in Smash Bros is just much higher, more inventive and busier. Taking the colosseum levels in each game as an example, the distant seats in Smash Bros Ultimate are filled with crowds, flags, bonfires and finer masonry – it’s packed out. As for MultiVersus? Instead, we get a simple, bare-bones set of seats: no background crowds and little movement. At least there’s some physical destruction, with distorting platforms on the Batcave changing the playing field. In general, MultiVersus stage designs are highly functional, readable, but too often static in comparison. I would dare to say that more should be possible here in terms of spectacle. Each should be a celebration of a theme, especially when looking at brands as vibrant as Looney Tunes. Returning to Smash Bros Ultimate for reference, each stage is treated as a character unto itself, moving like a fairground ride and taking advantage of all the nostalgia you might have for a game.
Finally, there are the character designs. Again Multiversus uses highly stylized character models, a Saturday morning cartoon style fused with full 3D rendering. The result often works: all characters – regardless of their origin – end up in a similar aesthetic space. It’s an almost cel-shaded look without the high-frequency texture work seen in Smash characters. Materials use Unreal Engine 4’s toolset, with hair, skin, and metals reflecting and scattering any oncoming light. Detailed shadows and shadow gradients have also been added with ambient occlusion. A huge highlight, however, are animations. These are all round excellent; Authentically realized in a 3D space with a smooth flow to each character’s start-up pose, supported by hair physics. Again, it’s not always spectacular, but it all feels authentic to the source material.
As for Smash Ultimate, Nintendo’s approach to character design is more ambitious in some ways and less so in others. Most of his selection includes proper texture maps to begin with – giving the impression of greater detail. For example, Fox McCloud uses a real fur texture map, as opposed to the flat texture on Taz in MultiVersus, which is the closest parallel. The texture resolution isn’t flattering up close, of course, but it works from afar during Smash’s gameplay. Likewise, Mario’s denim dungarees show a striking texture, while Wonder Woman – to cite one example – is built on a cleaner design. The examples go on and on. The advantage in MultiVersus is of course the lighting, shading and physics, even though the materials are quite simplistic. Comparisons really do vary by character, but in most cases MultiVersus’s style fits the material perfectly – and sets it apart from Nintendo’s work.
This is not a final word on MultiVersus, as there is a lot of work to be done. We need to see more maps, characters and modes – where the current rendering is pretty barebones in terms of features. What’s here, however, is still surprisingly robust. The rollback net code is excellent, the character animations are authentic, and overall the mechanics are in a good spot. Still, it’s surprising to see that MultiVersus isn’t more ambitious in its use of high-end machines like PS5 and Series X. Despite Smash Bros Ultimate being a Switch exclusive, Nintendo’s console is still pushing bigger, eight-player battles, and more dynamic, more granularity. Cards. The most notable visual benefit for MultiVersus is the 4K image on PS5 and Series X – plus better overall material lighting and shade. That aside, MultiVersus remains a fascinating project. It feels like a clean slate. Another break for another developer to put a spin on a well-known gaming staple in the Smash Bros form, and I’m looking forward to seeing it grow.
0 Comments