It took me a while to get around to playing Marvel Cosmic Invasion after its launch last December, but it still lived up to the hype. As a diehard Marvel Comics fan and a beat-em-up enthusiast, the Dotemu production impressed me with its snappy gameplay and unusual character roster. Now, two more iconic heroes are joining the fray as DLC, with one of them being one of my absolute favorite comic characters, so I was extremely down to try them out early. Both Cyclops and The Thing bring wildly enjoyable new gameplay styles to the mix, setting quite the high bar for future expansions.
Credit: DotEmu
Cyclops is the character I was most excited about, and he more than lived up to my hype with how he’s presented in Marvel Cosmic Invasion. The way that DotEmu implemented his optic blasts into his close-quarters melee strikes is nothing short of brilliant, making Cyclops play exactly like you’d hope. He throws small blasts into his combos between his CQC attacks, and though it’s a small thing, I love that his dodge animation has him blasting the ground to slide away – a striking visual that recently appeared in X-Men ‘97 as well.
One button is used solely to shoot optic blasts straight ahead of you for as long as you hold it, as long as you have the energy. You can even stay afloat mid-air by using the beam, which feels wonderfully goofy. I was blown away by his ultimate attack, too, which has Cyclops remove his visor and wildly spin his head around. It really nails the vibe of him losing control a bit, in contrast to how calm and in control he usually is.
Credit: DotEmu
The ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing, naturally, has a more “in your face” fighting style that combines massive smacks with a surprisingly flexible grapple move. He can grab opponents on the ground or mid-air, then either wallop them or bounce them off the ground. You can set up all sorts of combos with the grapple, and being so “up close and personal” feels perfectly in line with the Thing’s character and history.
His aerial attack is great, as he balls up and soars downwards toward whatever sorry foe is waiting beneath him. And his special move, which has Thing essentially do a spinning double lariat like Street Fighter’s Zangief before him, is a fantastically fun way to clear the screen by just demolishing everything around you. He’s truly different from any of Marvel Cosmic Invasion‘s other heavy hitters, as he should be.
Credit: DotEmu
The first Marvel Cosmic Invasion DLC characters have lots of slick palettes to use.
Both characters come with a plethora of color schemes, many of which reference costumes and colors they wore over the course of their many years of existence. To name but a few, Cyke has schemes that draw from the original X-Men costume and the Extinction team costume, while Thing has both the classic and John Byrne-era looks, among many others. Both of their voices are spot-on, too, conveying that ‘90s arcade level of energy that you’d hear in games like Marvel vs Capcom and X-Men Arcade.
The fact that the first DLC characters have turned out so well has me already wondering who else could be added down the line, with almost childlike excitement. If you enjoy the quick and fluid gameplay of Marvel Cosmic Invasion, then Cyclops and The Thing seem like they’ll be just the thing to bring you back for another playthrough.
