MultiVersus is a free-to-play platform fighter from Player First Games that features a host of characters from all over Warner Bros.’ brings together.’ history in 1-on-1, 2-on-2 or free-for-all matches.
MultiVersus doesn’t spend a lot of time explaining the circumstances, which is fine. There’s honestly no expectation of the genre at this point, but the short intro film paints an entertaining picture of how these characters would react if they were unknowingly plucked from the multiverse to face off against each other.
MultiVersus usually sticks to the basics of the platform fighter genre, using percent meters to represent player damage, with higher percentages resulting in further attack recoil. Fighters all get four targeted attacks – up, down, side and neutral – as well as four targeted specials, and all eight moves have air variants. There is no grab or block, so players can only rely on jumps and dodges to avoid damage. In the air, you get to do two jumps, two directional dodges, and two specials before you run out of options, making recovery easily manageable for just about any fighter.
Where MultiVersus attempts to differentiate itself is with its focus on team fights. Each fighter has skills and equipable perks that buffs can give to a teammate, providing many opportunities to team up with a partner. Some special moves can even actively affect partners, such as Wonder Woman’s ability to tie an ally back to the stage. The depth makes the 2v2 mode the premiere mode for competition and the metagame. Plus, items and hazards on stage are fairly tame and there are no flashy full-screen finishers, so full four-player matches rarely turn into unreadable chaos.
The game is generally a lot slower than many others in the genre, and that’s one way it stands out from the pack; I wouldn’t call it intentional though. Slow animations can lead to floaty battles, which can divide players into preferred lines, but MultiVersus is fun nonetheless – and that’s largely due to the selection of well-realized characters.
A lot of thought has gone into the portrayal of the cast. Not only are they brought to life with the participation of many official voice actors, but their sets of fighting moves are often a means of expressing their personalities, such as how Tom & Jerry essentially fight each other but damage opponents in the crossfire. Fans of certain longtime fans will find nods to their history in their movesets or voice lines, and the mid-battle voice lines where characters address each other directly is exactly the kind of fan service that makes a player giddy.
But there’s still a lot to be desired in terms of features and presentation. The game currently has no way to view custom matches, and oddly enough, three players can’t start a fight without an AI bot. While it features rollback netcode, that hasn’t stopped some games on the brink of being unplayable thanks to laggy, teleporting characters. At the moment there is a meager amount of podiums, and despite also taking advantage of WB’s many IPs, many arenas are dull and don’t feel great to fight in. The music is also largely disappointing, with a few exceptions, namely the Steven Universe theme. The new orchestral versions of well-known themes such as “Come Along with Me” by Adventure Time or Batman: the animated series‘ theme just not from their originals.
As a live service game, there is a chance these negatives will change. I personally would hope that the current monetization system, which locks some really great cosmetics behind $20 in premium currency, is first on that list of changes, but I won’t hold my breath. At least there is functional crossplay.
MultiVersus manages to make a clear cut of the newly thriving platform fighter genre for itself using some of the biggest fictional names in the world. The game’s lineup, consisting of cartoon royalties such as Bugs Bunny appearing alongside contemporary favorites such as Arya Stark from Game of Thrones, is pretty revealing about how deep WB’s bank can go and how weird the game is willing to get. Over time, the roster could easily become a spectacle on a par with what Nintendo’s mascot fighter has to offer, and if it can improve the fluff around its solid core, it could very well deliver an equal level of hype.
MultiVersus is now free to play on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X | s.
Watch the review in 3 minutes for MultiVersus.
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