Tribute Games have been on an absolute tear lately with fantastic beat ‘em ups like TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge, Scott Pilgrim EX, and last year’s Marvel Cosmic Invasion. After a DLC pack added Cyclops and Thing earlier this year, we’re booting the game back up with its latest DLC: The Siege of Castle Doom.
As with any story involving Doctor Doom, his ego has him convinced that he’s the only one capable of defeating Annihilus, and so he built a weapon to defeat him called the Cosmic Inductor. The problem is, it’s highly unstable, so your goal is to storm his castle and shut it down before he destroys the planet himself. And that’s about as much plot as you’ll get in this new rogue-like mode, since the main meat and potatoes is the core gameplay loop: running through Doom’s castle to reach the end.
Despite being a rogue-like mode, Cosmic Invasion’s core beat ‘em up gameplay stays the same. You’ll explore floor after floor of Doom’s castle, walloping on whoever’s in the way. As you defeat enemies, you’ll acquire battery cells that will charge up your stabilizer, and this does multiple things. It has three slots you can charge, and for each one you charge, you’ll gain a perk that lasts throughout your run.
These perks come in three categories: offense, defense, and tactical. You’ll see things like buffs to melee or ranged attacks, reduced damage from environmental hazards, or increased projectile ammo. What you choose changes how your character feels based on how you like to play them. For example, I really like Iron Man’s repulse blast move, so I like focusing on increasing its range and damage. Another player might like to play Wolverine and hone in on melee boosts, turning him into a glass cannon.
Once you’ve charged your stabilizer three times, you’ll be able to leave the current floor you’re on to the next zone. You’ll need to do this three times before you can face off against Doom himself. Throughout each floor are doors you’ll enter that will give a specific reward, similar to most rogue-likes you might have played, like Hades or whatnot. A door might promise battery cells, special equipment like massive lasers you can rain down or an orb that gives you life steal for a few seconds, healing items, an event room that might pit you against a boss from the campaign or a similarly unique encounter, or (my favorite) the infinite room where you’ll be granted infinite ammo/focus to use for that room. Characters that rely heavily on projectile weapons are a blast to use in these rooms.
If there’s any one complaint to lob at the mode, it’s that some runs can become difficult, especially if playing solo. The mode features a “siege gauge” that increases anytime you take a hit or even slowly on its own. The further it fills, the stronger enemies get, which can happen quickly if you get a bit of bad luck in some rooms.
If you’re a fan of the genre like me, but hate the lack of progression some games can have, you’ll be pleased to know you can acquire permanent upgrades or modifiers for future runs. You’ll be able to use fully charged stabilizer batteries to invest in things in Reed’s lab. You can get new equipment like the Earth Idol of Golthana that attacks airborne enemies around you, or buff yourself with vibranium. You’ll also be able to unlock modifiers that let you gain perks, but charging a stabilizer cell heals your hero. You can also add new event rooms to a run, like losing the ability to swap your hero or fighting enemies while mines drop across the arena.
There are, of course, two new characters to play: Doctor Doom himself and Sue Storm. They’re both a lot of fun to play, but Sue might be a new favorite. She can attack with invisible constructs and drop a spike wall in front of her which is great to use if you can pin an enemy on the edge of the screen. Drop the spike wall and watch as they bounce endlessly against it. Her projectile also lets her stick an invisible orb on an enemy, freezing them in place to give you breathing room while you deal with others. She can also go invisible when sprinting, walk in the air with the aid of an invisible platform, and her super blasts everyone across the room with a massive wave of invisible energy.
Doom plays a bit slower, but is just as powerful. His attacks crackle with supernatural green energy that deals additional damage to enemies, and he can place sigils on the ground that erupt in a blast of energy when an enemy steps on them. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a Marvel vs Capcom-style dropkick, but he does have a pretty sick elbow drop that sends enemies flying. And if that doesn’t do the trick, he can blast electrical energy all over the place with his super.
Good
The Final Word
Marvel Cosmic Invasion’s The Siege of Castle Doom DLC is a fun way to return to last year’s great beat ‘em up.
